@blissblogger - wasn't a lot of the "in-the-field" journalism of the music press hey day of the 70s, maybe even early 80s, mainly sponsored by the record companies hoping for a favourable review, and maybe fuelled by some drugs and other vices? I'm just looking for some gossip really
Journos would get sent on trips - the papers couldn't afford to fly people to America or Europe. They might run to a train ticket to another city in the UK, but usually the record company would cover that too. This was so normal and widespread, that in practice it had the opposite of a corrupting effect - it was taken for granted that WEA, or Island, would be paying for it, that was just how things were done.
For sure, the assumption from the record company is that the person who gets that assignment is well disposed to the group, and usually they would be. But in fact there are examples of writers who got sent to e.g. follow Prince around on tour in the USA and then wrote a quite devastating takedown. But even in that scenario, the record company benefits from exposure - a certain number of pages, or a front cover - which ultimately works as an advert for the new release.
But one of things I'm talking about there is to do with the difference between being in a room with an interviewee - and possibly hanging out more casually for some duration - and doing an interview remotely. You just get a much richer picture of someone if they are in front of you, how they carry themselves. I never used to go in much for physical descriptions or what the location was, but people who are good at that kind of thing can really convey the sense of a scene.
The worst development has been the email interview. It's convenient for the artist, they can slot it into downtime, all the stretches of sitting around that happen when you're in a band. Equally, the writer is tempted to go that route, cos there's no transcription, so time and labor is saved. But you end up with quotes that carefully composed, somewhat fussed over and prissy in feel, and the artist gets to present themselves exactly how they want to be seen.
If you talk to someone in the flesh - especially if they are intoxicated - they are more likely to say something unguarded and revealing. And the quotes have a better feel, it sounds like a human being speaking.
Sorry - I don't have any real gossip that comes to mind!