No, I can’t pay you for an interview

The clash between creators and journalists

Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.

No shade to the U.K., where Wikipedia tells me this is pretty common xx —Kate

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Photo by Joshua Rondeau on Unsplash

“How will I be compensated for this interview?” It’s a question familiar to any internet culture reporter. And yet it never ceases to catch me off guard when a creator asks me that, because paying for an interview is considered unethical in journalism in the U.S., and has been against policy at every single publication I’ve ever worked. A source motivated by money has no credibility, and a journalist willing to spend it sacrifices their objectivity.  

I don’t think influencers ask this question out of entitlement or due to any other negative stereotype of them. I don’t even necessarily fault the creators for asking, because their careers have been built on monetizing every part of themselves—their platforms, their voices, their bodies, their time. It’s why they’re in the DMs of small businesses by the hundreds, asking for products in exchange for posting them on Instagram. Sure, it’s free jewelry, but they also genuinely believe it’s a fair trade. And depending on the size of their audience, they might be right! 

Luckily, it’s never been a big deal when I’ve explained that it’s not an outlet’s policy to pay for interviews. But judging from conversations I’ve had with other journalist friends, it doesn’t always go that smoothly.