NAPA, Calif.--()--American wine writers are getting younger, are more female than in past years, are abandoning print for digital, don’t appreciate the work of publicists and marketers that court them and are very concerned about the economic difficulties that have effected the publishing industry.
“Today, numerous well established wine writers that previously worked only in print mingle on common Internet ground with upstart wine blogger who are beginning to attract a significant audience.”
These are just some of the conclusions drawn from the 2010 American Wine Writer Survey, the third such accounting the American wine writing community by Wark Communications, a wine industry public relations firm. The 36-page report can be downloaded at http://warkcommunications.com/media/2010WineWriterSurvey.pdf
As with other sectors of the media, bloggers have become an important part of the American wine writing scene according to Tom Wark, author of the 2010 American Wine Writer Survey.
“The blogging format and digital publishing in general has had a radical impact on wine writing,” said Wark. “Today, numerous well established wine writers that previously worked only in print mingle on common Internet ground with upstart wine blogger who are beginning to attract a significant audience.”
Because of the influx of independent bloggers into the world of wine writing, the overall composition of the wine writing fraternity has changed. Today, writers tend to be younger, there are more females represented among them, and the average writer is much more likely to be read on the Internet. However, the survey also reveals that in general wine writers don’t believe bloggers are as credible as those who write in the traditional media formats, a perception that must be overcome before wine bloggers are accepted as equals with traditional wine writers.
The transition to a digital publishing world has also changed the way writers work, according to the survey results. Email is the preferred method of communications and a large majority of writers now utilize social media tools such as twitter and Facebook.
The 2010 American Wine Writer Survey covers a variety of topics including the demographics of wine writers, how they work, where they publish, their views on important wine-related issues and their interaction with the wine trade.
About Wark Communications
Wark Communications is a Napa Valley-located wine public and media relations firm headed up by Tom Wark, a 20-year veteran of wine marketing. More information can be found at http://www.warkcommunications.com.
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