new media article from the seattle weekly
Posted by castaway2000 (blaze) on Tue, 2008-01-22 18:06
This page is from a past convention. It is kept here for archival and informational purposes only.
Please visit our forums for the latest announcements and discussion.
Please visit our forums for the latest announcements and discussion.
 |
ok so i saw this when it came out as i knew about it, because i am apart of the furmeet that was interviewed, and yes the blaze mentioned in the article is me. but i think this article is fairly good, considering others out there, i was waiting for someone elese to post it so i didnt have to, but i thought people would like to see this article. this article is about a bowling meet with the seattlefurs fur-life meetup group. i dont want any drama just want to know how people thought of this article. here is the article: p.s. we didnt invite him, he invited himself. |
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Technorati
Icerocket
Location: Ardmore, PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with you there...
Dragging up negative publicity from years ago is far from "good".
--
My LiveJournal - My Website - See what I'm doing on Twitter
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
i agree with you giza about bringing up negitive publicity, but this is a different artile, if you want me to i will erase this but i wanted to see what people thought of it.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
No drama was intended, nor was any snarkiness towards you intended either.
The sole object of my criticism is John Metcalfe, the person who wrote that article. It seems to me that he didn't even do more than the basic research on furries.
--
My LiveJournal - My Website - See what I'm doing on Twitter
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: NY state, USA
Website: [Link]
uninformative and poorly written, even by MY standards.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
i agree it only said what he saw there and who he spoke to nothing in particular about relating to the fandom
- Login or register to post comments
permalink- Login or register to post comments
permalinkIt is important to really look at the publication that you are talking to. Has anyone taken the time to look at all the links to other articles along the left side of the page?
Stories like: "Stippergate", and "Which is the Drunker Ethnic Group" should be considered warning enough. Also, never give an inteview to anyone whose publication you are not familiar with.
Remember, the media is not doing stories out of the goodness of their heart. They must attract reader and viewers, and nothing does that like sex and scandal.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
very true, and i was firmilliar with the seattle weekly publications, their targeted audience is more of the adult and more mentaly mature audiences ranging from 30 to 50 year olds, i didnt have any intention to say anything negitive infact i dont think did, but i know others are stupid enough to say negitive things, to a reporter. i was selective with my art book i showed him, i had 2, one all fury and the other mixed with life drawing, figure, and anthro. i showed him the one that was mixed because i wanted to emphisize it, as an art and not a fantasy that i obsess about, to wich i dont. i also didnt want to speak with him, he was persistant and so i was selective to how i spoke to him.
and we didnt invitw him he by chance saw the group leaders in suit, romping in down town seattle and asked them what they were doing, and when there next event was and than went on to say oh yeah im inviting my self to it, so i can speak with all of you.
i was not amused eather, but i do like how it turned out, considering other articles out there.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: New Brighton, MN, USA
Website: [Link]
I'm not sure what the point of the article was...
Fursuit bowling is just a way to have fun and entertain people. At least that's how I see it.
Who cares if their scores are below average, anyway? Even for me, outside of costume, I average an 85 or so.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
I second Giza's observation, and I would hardly call this "fairly good". I think "barely mediocre" would be a better assessment. Poorly written, poorly researched, and I fail to see why it was necessary to mention the negative media attention in the past (unless this guy specifically asked about it).
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Hamburg, New York
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
And to reiterate what everyone has said: this seems to be an under-researched and poorly written. The source in question seems to be barely credible, as a "good" journalist always goes into an interview knowing the subject in question. I agree that bringing up bad publicity is unneeded and just helps spread negative notions of the fandom. Also, the title of the article doesn't help all that much either...
Sorry if this seemed a bit long-winded and all.
“O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!”
....Shakespeare really knew what he was talking about sometimes....
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkBlog: [Link]
This was the first red flag.
Of course, when they show up, you really have no choice but to talk to them. Shunning them at that point only makes it worse.
At many conventions I give a talk called "presenting Furry Fandom to the public," and that includes how to talk to the media -- what to say, what not to say, and how to answer the very difficult questions. I ought to ask KP if we can run it at Anthrocon early on in the programming.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: NY state, USA
Website: [Link]
I definately believe that would be a panel I'd attend. It's always nice to get some fresh ideas for explanations.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Hamburg, New York
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
That panel would be very useful and interesting to attend! I believe it would help people not only when dealing with the "general public", but also in dealing with friends and relatives who find out/are told about the furry fandom. It would also provide a new angle that could be used in writing papers (for all levels of education) involving the subject of furries! Count me in for attending!
“O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!”
....Shakespeare really knew what he was talking about sometimes....
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
i read the forums here on how to deal with the media, i thought it worked on my end, but like i say its a human thing to mention things that are negitive... stupid ,but human.
were can you see lions... only at anthrocon!!!
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkBlog: [Link]
Indeed. That is why it is very important to train yourself not to do that.
*grabbing straw hat and cane*
o/~ You've got to...AC-centuate the postive! E-liminate the negative! LATCH ON to the affirmative... o/~
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
XD, exactly! i knew there was a reason i like you.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkBlog: [Link]
Well, it couldn't possibly be my good looks, so I'll buy that!
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkI might consider such a panel mandatory.
I mean, I can figure out how to maximize a convention experience, but a panel on
this can affect a lot of people for each person in the audience.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkI give you "presenting Furry Fandom to the public"
There, that's all you need to know.
And incase you have no sense of humor and can't tell this post is ment as a joke, it is ment as a joke.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Pittsburgh,PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
i'm not coming down on you in anyway for this blaze. just read the article, and i'm just totaly disgusted with the media and people who continually put the whole furry fandom down as perverts and crap like that. it's a fandom. there are all kinds of fandoms. fanns of all kinds of things where some dress up like their favorite charactors. lets not forget one of the biggest fandoms. SPORTS. which i'm not a fan of but it's probably the biggest one out there. how many sports fans out there dress up like their favorite player? lots. and i'm sure there are countless things people could find bad about a number of people in any fandom. it would be like saying that ALL sports fans are abusive child molesting alcoholics. and anyone who likes sports is one. they wouldn't get to far with that on the freaken news. i guess it's just easier to pick on the little guys.
i did see something positive in that article. he put it in there for a differen't reasons i'm thinking, and i doubt many people would pick up on it seeing as how the rest of the article seemed to be a smear tactic. but they were entertaining to the kids there. the kids who probably weren't having much fun on their own were having fun watching the furries bowling.
i would love to see more insight into dealing with the news media become available to the furry community. although they just put whatever they want into the story anyway. i bet if they didn't get anything negative to say from a furry at the con they would buy a fursuit for a bum and pay him to say something bad just to use it for their story.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Philadelphia area, PA
Possibly. If they did, however, it seems to me you'd have a pretty good case for libel, which is worth quite a bit in lawsuits.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find a reporter who'd take things quite that far, however--it requires a level of premeditated malice that's pretty uncommon. Most reporters, i believe, really do think they're reporting the truth; it's just that there are a lot of hurdles and a lot of truths.
A reporter has only got a very small amount of space to tell a story, be it written or auditory, and a small amount of time to research, write, and get the story published before it's old news. They have to simplify stuff, and it's easier if you don't have to expand your mind or give full credence to everyone's viewpoint. Saying something that isn't what people expect takes a lot more work to justify than saying what everyone thinks they already know, and salacious stories do sell better. And since we don't have any sort of media advocacy group pushing them to be accurate in their portrayals of us... *shrugs*
Reporters aren't really any less prone to prejudice and stereotyping than the rest of us, despite the way they're so often put on a pedestal; they're still just everyday folks with their own subjective viewpoints telling stories as they see them.
All of that isn't to say that i approve at all of the way the media treats us. I'm just not yet prepared to condemn them for willful misrepresentation.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
I wouldn't be so sure.
Generally speaking, the less specific a group being libeled, the harder it is to bring a successful suit in court. Making the statement, "All furries are X", even if untrue, would essentially be unactionable. Also: lawyers cost lots of money.
You mentioned a media advocacy group, and I think such a thing, if headed up by folks with PR experience, could be an asset to the furry fandom. Not unlike the ABBSA from the 1990s, for those of you who used to call BBSes.
--
My LiveJournal - My Website - See what I'm doing on Twitter
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Honey Creek, Iowa
Face it.... "we are silly and dress up in tails and fursuits" just isn't interesting enough to make the news.
Sex sells, so thats what gets printed. This article isn't so bad, but its not well written and rambles about facts that are not related to the story (and didn't get fact-checked - duh). Just poor journalism if you ask me... but I have seen worse!
Jeefers
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
sory i havent been respondig very much, i am having a fun time here in san jose, at FC if youre here in san jose, and youd like to talk to me about this whole thing, im wearing a badge that says kurt vendrun,((my mercenery wolf RP character)) and another that ays blaze(a scottish collie), and i look lke this http://www.freewebs.com/animate-art/aboutme.html (sorry i coulent get a beter link)
Sorry I can't talk more, but if you see me at the dance, I'm the guy that looks like the Christmas tree blinking!
Ciao,
Blaze
were can you see lions... only at anthrocon!!!
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: bellevue, wa usa
Website: [Link]
ok im back sorry that was sort of rude to ask in the middle of the thread if there was anyone there
anyways yeah the article could be better but the reporter was kinda off on the whole thing.
anyways ill leave this thread up but to me its closed anyways cya at the con
were can you see lions... only at anthrocon!!!
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkWebsite: [Link]
Maybe I should've made this a separate thread (or not posted it at all), but FWIW:
Goth Who Keeps Girlfriend on a Dog Leash Complains After Being Thrown off Bus
Doesn't mention furries as such, but comes close:
"Tasha likes to be taken for a walk," Graves said. "She is animal-like in nature so why not? Just like I used to have pets around the home, she is now my pet. It is difficult at first to have a pet as a partner but it's working quite well. We are so in love now."
[...]
"[The bus driver] made me really upset. He was really insulting. I am not a weirdo or a freak," she said. "OK, maybe I am not normal, but what is deemed normal these days?"
[...]
"We have had e-mails from all over including Australia and Japan. They are animal-like people who wanted to say thanks. Because they say we have given them the confidence and helping them out."
[...]
"I like being spoiled. I feel owned and I like that feeling," Maltby said. "It's a stability because you feel like someone is always there. I just love being a pet. It's when we are happiest the most," she said.
[...]
"Tasha is like pet to me, she is very animal like. She chose to wear the lead. It's the only way we are happy, the lead was the only way to go. She feels like she needs this lead, it's a sign of commitment," Graves said.
Ron
- Login or register to post comments
permalink