I’ve been a critic of many things over the years: movies, wine and spirits, and all manner of tech gear, for WIRED and other publications. And no matter what it is that I’m writing about, there’s always that one guy who pipes up in the comments suggesting that my opinions were bought and paid for. It was invariably easy to dismiss these comments, but things got more complicated in September, when Vulture published a story that revealed the untold scale of the paid reviews industry.
About a third of those reviews go unpublished, presumably because they are not overwhelmingly positive. “Kirkus Indie has seen a lot of growth over the years and is another way for Kirkus to accomplish its goal of connecting books and readers,” says Schechner. “Many authors have been very happy with the program and have had multiple books reviewed.” How about the world of wine? Glad you asked.