Local foodies add online spin to food journalism
Within the last decade or so what we have grown to know as traditional journalism has been dying a slow death.
People aren’t buying newspapers or magazines as much as they used to and gone are the days when a person had to go to school and work several years to be considered a journalist.
Many consumers are reading news stories off of their smartphones and tablets and learning about breaking news from Twitter.And now almost anyone can create a blog on WordPress or tumblr, purchase the domain-name on GoDaddy and start their very own media brand.
Mixed within the realm of traditional journalism, is food writing, which has vastly changed over the years in terms of restaurants receiving critically acclaimed restaurant reviews from well-known chefs and well-versed food critics alike.
Just this week, Marc Vetri, Philadelphia chef and founder of the Vetri Family of Restaurants, wrote a blog article for the Huffington Post entitled, How Food Journalism Got as Stale as Day-Old Bread, lamenting the changing times of the formerly elegant world of food and restaurant critiquing.Within the post, Vetri complains that food journalism has become a “best” list and blames social media and newspaper layoffs for the change of the overall landscape.
But with websites like Eater, Urban Daddy, and customer-review sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon, what’s so bad about local foodies adding their very own spin to food journalism by writing reviews about the restaurants and food-related events in their areas?
That was freelance writer and photographer Rebekah Hale’s idea when she decided to start EpicureanDC.
Two years ago, the Pennsylvania-native relocated from Maine with her husband and children to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Hale, who is a food lover and world traveler, was looking for a way to explore her new home.
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out and meet people and make friends and put roots down in a place that I had always wanted to live,” said Hale. “I love DC, so I decided to start Epicurean. I figured that would be a good way to get out and learn a little bit more about something that I was becoming increasingly interested in.”
The stay-at-home mom labels the Washington, D.C.-based food, events and travel website as a “career-in-progress.”
“What I’m trying to build it into, essentially one day, I’d like to be the next Eater or the next Urban Daddy,” said Hale.
Hale, who previously ran a product review website called Deal Peddler, says she reached out to local PR firms who represent restaurants in the D.C. area in order to introduce the EpicureanDC brand to the D.C. market when she first started the site a little over a year ago.
“If PR people don’t know who you are, nobody knows who you are,” said Hale.
Since then, EpicureanDC has been organically gaining a following thru social media and Hale is enjoying the moments of being recognized publicly by her readers at the restaurants she has reviewed.
“Epicurean is my brand, which is awesome, and I feel like with the millions of people in D.C., people have heard about it, which is what I want, which will help continue to grow the following,” said Hale.
Within the next year, Hale hopes to expand the Epicurean brand into the New York City area and wants to grow the travel portion of the site. She also wants to write more “nitty-gritty” journalism articles that focus on sustainable restaurant and food procedures similar to the Bluefin tuna debate.
Although EpicureanDC is not gaining a lot of advertising revenue at the moment, Hale says she hopes that as time goes on more restaurants will begin seeking out ad space.
“I like the idea of if you follow your passion the money will follow, so that’s what I’m hoping for,” said Hale.
