Hi Joanna, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I think that we’re very much on the same page about how this change will compromise the ethics of the publication and the Nat Geo enterprise altogether, especially in light of how FOX News portrays itself and news stories.

Hey Jason, good to hear your thoughts. You think that there was an overreaction to the acquisition of Nat Geo by myself and other people who were previously fans/readers/followers? Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that the bloggers, journalists and other freelancers who work for Nat Geo aren’t some of the most highly respectable, credible and incredibly talent people out there – I don’t think that anyone is saying that, because we all know that many of them are certainly at the top of their fields and the millions of people who did/do follow Nat Geo wouldn’t do so if it wasn’t for their amazing content.

The argument here isn’t about “changing Nat Geo’s profit margin.” Myself and other travel bloggers aren’t withdrawing from reading and following Nat Geo because we’re aiming to make them lose profits. We’re doing it because we feel that the influence that Murdoch now holds means that the content produced by Nat Geo can never be free of that influence and the publication does not hold the same credibility now that the person in charge has changed. The magazine is now a for-profit and the direction it takes is not in the hands of the contributors and freelancers that they employ – their work can be used and manipulated in whatever way Nat Geo as a company see fit.

I might add that I would never be using Nat Geo’s pictures because it is illegal to steal and use photos in this way without the correct creative commons licence. No one should be using pictures from Nat Geo’s website at all because they are not free for use.

On this point: “It’s not like when the greatest scientific research organizations is just going to bend over and falsify all of their information.” What is it that makes you think that won’t happen?

This is certainly not a click-bait article and my blog isn’t subject to high enough traffic for it ever to be considered as a publication that attracts readers through clickbait headlines and hashed together content. This is a personal opinion and discussion based piece.

Hi Nikita – I think that many travel writers and travel bloggers can relate to this. Nat Geo was certainly put on a pedestal by many of us, and I think it just goes to show how dangerous it can be when one publication has the monopoly like how Nat Geo does.

Hey Bobbi – yes, actually the news didn’t blow up as much as I felt it should have and it came across as quite hush-hush. I myself heard about it from another travel blogger (Shing from The Culture Map) and because of that decided it was important to write on the topic.

Yes, I agree entirely with what you’re saying. Unfortunately, the world is changing and we can’t expect things to stay the same forever, but it is definitely a sad moment for every writer within the travel community – and especially for those who write for Nat Geo I should think. I have very similar sentiments about it now.

Hey Mike, thanks for adding to our discussion. Yes, definitely bloggers have to be careful about what content they feel it is relevant to post on their websites, and certainly I don’t think that just every blogger should be including a discussion of it. Nonetheless, I’ve not seen many blogs at all, even where it could be relevant, touching on the issue.

To be honest, I’ve not looked at Nat Geo’s social channels since the news (I was one of the ones who unfollowed straight away) so I don’t know how much they’ve changed. I think that even if they hadn’t changed at all though, for me it would still seem wrong to follow a publication whose content is so heavily influenced and sponsored. I don’t know that you could ever trust that kind of content.

I hear what you are both saying (I do) but my personal anger and dismay at this hasn’t been covered on my own site because it simply doesn’t fit in with my target audience or niche, and I have to be very strict on that. My site is a business, not a personal forum. I suppose many others are the same, That isn’t to say every site is like that of course, just explaining why I personally didn’t write about it.