Beige prose from the Grey Lady
March 14, 2006
Well done to Jim Donnelly of IgoUgo, who is quoted in the New York Times today in a piece about travel blogs.
According to Mr. Donnelly, much of travel journalism, online or in print, is myopic, prissy, formulaic and predictable.
The thing I like about that is it describes the New York Times travel section to a T.
How dull is it? Take this clunky bit of writing from this week’s article about Reykjavik.
The charm of the place alone assures steady visitors. Icelanders are well traveled and multilingual, yet enjoy claiming they believe in elves. They speak the language of the Vikings largely unaltered and eke out livings on an Ohio-size island with 20 active volcanoes, and then strut out on weekends for hyperactive partying.
Ouch. My ears.
And yet this is the same paper which patronises travel bloggers with this:
Some write pedantically and some write quite well indeed.
How generous.
As for the NYT’s travel writers? Some write mellifluous prose; some make the Yellow Pages read like Thomas Hardy.
Tags: blogs, pr, public relations, travel, rss, journalism, bloggers, newyorktimes