Letters.

Bought and Paid For

As a reporter at a travel trade magazine who frequently takes fully expense-paid press trips, I was very pleased to discover Elizabeth Austin's article "All Expenses Paid" (July/August 1999). Finally, someone has said what I cannot. A fellow travel reporter and I constantly joke about being "travel whores" ourselves and we both admit to feeling dirty after writing blatantly "advertorial" articles, which happens here more than it should, but this is simply the way it works in the travel business.

All trade magazines, and to a lesser degree consumer travel magazines, are a product of their advertisers. It is a symbiotic relationship and the travel industry especially is a very insular community. A good example of how things are not supposed to work comes from a big article in the August issue of Conde Nast Traveler on how the Caribbean has dealt with the rise in crime. It was actually a fairly benign article, but the Jamaican Tourism board immediately released a statement saying that because of the article, they were strongly considering pulling their advertising from Conde Nast.

At my particular publication, editorial space is sold against advertising, and if a section sells above and beyond its news worthiness, that's just the way it is. Yes, we write a hard-hitting article every so often to keep travel executives on their toes, but in the end, they know they have the upper hand and they control us.

NAME WITHHELD

New York, N.Y.

Winner Take Oil

Eric Umansky's article in your September 1999 issue, "Shooting the Whistle-blower," was an excellent piece of work. Truly, oil companies have been cheating the federal government (and many states) of billions for many years. I have been active in the area of stolen oil and gas royalties since around 1983. I have long documented that delay in reform is the name of the game. That ridiculous "investigation" of the two whistleblowers is exactly the diversionary farce that Umansky described.

In late July, officials from 32 organizations (including major educational and union groups, conservation groups and public interest groups) jointly signed a letter to all U.S. Senators asking that the barriers to the new royalty regs be lifted. (Note that federal oil royalties shared with some states routinely go to education.) That letter also noted that one company has offered to pay almost $100 million in "back" royalties. There is a lot of money being lost each month by not implementing the new...