As a journalist and reviewer, it is important that I am impartial. As a freelance writer, it’s important that I get enough work to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. As well as news coverage, in-depth feature pieces and reviews, I also do technical writing, copy writing, and copy editing for numerous companies.
I have a strict ethical standard which creates a divide between these two aspects of my work. The effect of that stance is simple: if I accept payment from a company for any reason, that company’s products will no longer be considered eligible for review. In some cases, I will work for a company after I have already reviewed one or more of its products; the existing reviews will stand, but no future reviews will be written.
Client status does not exclude a company from featuring in non-review pieces, such as by providing expert opinion for a long-form editorial piece or as a suggested supplier of hardware for a tutorial; clients will not, however, be given special consideration in this regard. I am a journalist, not a public relations officer; I will always seek the best sources for a given feature, and will never accept payment from a company in exchange for coverage. Any company attempting to offer payment in exchange for coverage, whether for favourable reviews or simple name-dropping in upcoming features, will be permanently blacklisted and will not be accepted as either a client or a subject.
A list of companies for whom I have done paid work and who are thus not eligible for review coverage is provided below. This list is exhaustive and covers active and prior clients, and will be updated each time a company makes the transition from potential or existing review subject to paying client.
As an additional disclosure, I hold or have previously held the following professional memberships:
- British Association of Journalists (BAJ)
- UK Maker Belt Association (UKMBA)
- The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC)
- Computer Conservation Society (CCS)
- RISC-V International Community Member
I do not hold stock, shares, partial ownership, partnerships or any other financial holdings in any technology companies, except where pension portfolios out of my direct control may choose to invest in such.