I never intended to write for any of the magazines I wrote for, they approached me cos of either my blogging or what I'd written in other magazines - and all the editors gave me a lot of leeway and support. I enjoyed writing to a word count in a way, it made me more polished as a writer, but I definitely felt that pressure, as Noz says, to have an opinion about music I otherwise wouldn't have had much feelings about either way.
As he says, when you blog you tend to write about things you're excited about and want to share, whereas reviewing - especially when you have to fill a quota - you're often pulling some album out of your proverbial arse, listening to it once, taking notes, and coming up with something that sounds vaguely sensible. Even writing about music you LIKE becomes a chore, if you've got a full time job at the same time, and you're like me and prefer to spend your free time lounging about watching TV.
I certainly didn't phone it in all the time, but the most fun was by far when I really loved an album or really hated it.