In addition to late payment, which is chronic and was noted by a previous report, Polina Steier's magazine, Caviar Affair, is a total and complete scam.
Caviar Affair's purpose is to take advantage of "press trips", which are free trips designed to give a journalist first hand experience of a location/hotel/restaurant etc in order for the writer to produce an insightful and personalized account of the represented location. These are often worth thousands and thousands of dollars.
The "staff" includes her parents Milla Sukonik and Peter Sukonik. Both barely speak English yet Milla consistently has bylines throughout the magazine and Peter takes most of the magazine's original photographs despite the fact that the horrific quality gives away that he is in no way a photographer. Polina and her parents take these free trips, sometimes jot a handful of mediocre notes (barely decipherable and usually in broken English) and then hand off the assignments to unsuspecting freelancers who produce something based largely on a press release and website. Polina and her parents literally travel the world enjoying free food and lodging by duping people that Caviar Affair is a legitimate publication.
Despite claiming to be quarterly, the magazine publishes only when it accumulates enough advertisements and advertorials (unmarked) to cover the cost of printing - one or two times per year maximum. And distribution is basically non-existent. Legitimate editors never stay longer than one issue because they leave as soon as the scam becomes apparent.
PR reps and potential advertisers: STEER CLEAR. You are being taken advantage of in order to subsidize freeloaders.
Caviar Affair Reviews
In addition to late payment, which is chronic and was noted by a previous report, Polina Steier's magazine, Caviar Affair, is a total and complete scam.
Caviar Affair's purpose is to take advantage of "press trips", which are free trips designed to give a journalist first hand experience of a location/hotel/restaurant etc in order for the writer to produce an insightful and personalized account of the represented location. These are often worth thousands and thousands of dollars.
The "staff" includes her parents Milla Sukonik and Peter Sukonik. Both barely speak English yet Milla consistently has bylines throughout the magazine and Peter takes most of the magazine's original photographs despite the fact that the horrific quality gives away that he is in no way a photographer. Polina and her parents take these free trips, sometimes jot a handful of mediocre notes (barely decipherable and usually in broken English) and then hand off the assignments to unsuspecting freelancers who produce something based largely on a press release and website. Polina and her parents literally travel the world enjoying free food and lodging by duping people that Caviar Affair is a legitimate publication.
Despite claiming to be quarterly, the magazine publishes only when it accumulates enough advertisements and advertorials (unmarked) to cover the cost of printing - one or two times per year maximum. And distribution is basically non-existent. Legitimate editors never stay longer than one issue because they leave as soon as the scam becomes apparent.
PR reps and potential advertisers: STEER CLEAR. You are being taken advantage of in order to subsidize freeloaders.
Writers: Accept assignments at your own risk.