Food Writer Shamed by Twitteratti

Last month,  I posted an article about New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman being called out for writing about a Red Snapper with citrus salsa recipe. Red Snapper is considered an endangered fish by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Influential food writers can’t force the issue themselves—ultimately, we’ll need coordinated government action across the globe—but they have considerable power to point consumers in the right direction,” Mr. Phipott wrote. “The time has come to use it.”

Right away, people were atwitter… in this case literally.  The tweets began on Twitter and soon Bittman felt the need to respond.

“I’m happy to be called out for that kind of sloppiness, I realize people take my words seriously, I’m glad they do, and I have to write as if that matters,” Mr. Bittman wrote. “Look for a bigger piece in the Times addressing these issues in the not-too-distant future.”

Food advocate Naomi Starkman credits Twitter for providing the platform which got to Bittman’s core.

“One of the benefits I find through Twitter, personally, in dealing with reporters, mainstream media reporters, is that they don’t even answer their phones, they may not answer their email, but they will respond to you on Twitter.”

The world is watching. The Internet can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It’s interesting that Naomi Starkman would say that Twitter is more influential than a reporter’s phone call. Perhaps it’s the immediacy and the ability to create a dialogue, even if it’s only with 140 characters. In the food community alone, there are many influential and respected players following each other. Social media gets a bad rap (see Maureen Dowd’s article: To Tweet or Not to Tweet), but having worked as a reporter when cell phones were in their infancy, I can easily say having the ability to reach out to the world with an instant text is amazing. What happened with Bittman is just another example of the Internet as a “power of the people” tool. In Bittman’s case, he knew his peers and colleagues were watching. Even restaurateurs admit they have a constant fear of being critiqued by novice bloggers, especially on a site like Yelp.com. Are there misuses of these networks, especially by amateurs wielding their mighty keyboards for personal gain, settling a score or just simple ego gratification? Yes, many and often. But knowing that embarrassment is just a click away… that can be incredibly powerful. As for Mark Bittman, I recommend this seafood watch link for future articles.

Food Advocate Naomi Starkman on Contacting Reporters Via Twitter: ‘They Don’t Even Answer Their Phones… But They Will Respond to You on Twitter’ | The New York Observer.