Bloggers and journalists in historic merger

On Monday evening, an almost historic event took place in the Stadshuskällaren in Stockholm. The Swedish Association of Tourist Journalists, organised by its president Maria von Gegerfeldt, invited Sweden's biggest travel bloggers to join forces. Why historical, you ask? We'll explain!

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Association of Swedish Tourist Journalists

Sveriges Turistjournalister is an association of journalists, writers and photographers who cover the travel and tourism industry. The association was founded in 1979 and its purpose is to promote contacts between journalists and companies, to promote information about travel and to organise meetings and trips for its members.

Swedish Travel Bloggers

Groups Swedish Travel Bloggers was formed earlier this year by Christian Muda from Food and travel blogand consists of some of Sweden's biggest travel bloggers.

What ties us together is that we are serious about our blogs, that we think it's important to be honest and transparent with both readers and partners, and that we want to help each other develop and establish good collaborations.

A long road

Both travel journalists and travel bloggers write about travel. Journalists usually write for newspapers and bloggers usually write for a blog. But sometimes the journalists also write on a blog and sometimes the bloggers publish articles in newspapers. Our paths cross. We meet on press trips and events. And yet we look at each other suspiciously. Why is that?

There are historical explanations and I can to some extent understand journalists' concerns. They have a basic education and they carry the ethics of journalism as a high banner. Who are these bloggers really? Do they just photograph their breakfast and write a diary? Do they allow themselves to be bribed by entrepreneurs who give them a dress in exchange for showing it on Instagram? Who checks the ethics and accuracy of their posts if there is no editor in charge?

At the same time, the media world is changing at a rapid pace. Past truths no longer apply and everyone has to find their place in this new world. Two people who are not afraid to take on something new, and who have spent six months working on the hard to make this cooperation possible are Peter from FREEDOMtravel and Maria von Gegerfeldt, President of the Swedish Association of Tourist Journalists.

A historic merger

It is, of course, easy for journalists to dismiss bloggers as frivolous diarists, and bloggers can similarly be tempted to disregard journalists as "old media" writers who can't keep up. But what is the best we can do? Co-operate, of course!

The journalists in the Swedish Tourist Journalists Association have lots of experience in the media world, knowledge of journalism and contacts in the tourism industry. We bloggers know about social media and have an eye for things like vlogging, podcasting, search engine optimisation, and how to run your own platform. This is a merger that can be exciting!

Great food at Stadshuskällaren

From now on, the Swedish Tourist Journalists include bloggers from Swedish Travel Bloggers in their association and last Monday night this historic moment was celebrated with amazing food and fantastic wines at Stadshuskällaren in Stockholm. In fact, the chefs surprised us so much that there simply had to be a separate post about this place. Follow the blog so you don't miss out!

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