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Reporter alert: Markham Street Films Inc./Fanboy Confessions
14 years ago
Yeah, as if the name doesn't tip you off already.
The lady politely asked via flickr e-mail to use certain photos in her documentary and for an interview. Her selection was interesting, she pointed out only the photos of murrsuits in my collection and didn't bother to research which suit was mine. She said she was with the Canadian complementary to SyFy channel and wanted to do a light hearted documentary with "no negative portrayal".
I asked Uncle Kage about this, he said that she has contacted them before, and she seems to be looking for a "shlub" to take an interview.
I was approached at the last Furfright like this. This was a lady reporter asking for pictures outside the hotel. I politely refused, and this line threw her completely off: "I've personally been at several conventions where they said what you said, then used none of the material we gave them, but just invented their own material". She did NOT respond by addressing reporter integrity, she kept doing this act where she was rifling through her purse for something and saying "we want to shine a positive light on you".
I used this line again here, in the form of a simple polite refusal, and said she could speak with me personally if she contacted me through Anthrocon staff in-person at Anthrocon. Which at this point I doubt will happen.
Anyway, just an FYI everyone. Don't talk to the Perly! You'll S*** a brick when you read her story about you!
The lady politely asked via flickr e-mail to use certain photos in her documentary and for an interview. Her selection was interesting, she pointed out only the photos of murrsuits in my collection and didn't bother to research which suit was mine. She said she was with the Canadian complementary to SyFy channel and wanted to do a light hearted documentary with "no negative portrayal".
I asked Uncle Kage about this, he said that she has contacted them before, and she seems to be looking for a "shlub" to take an interview.
I was approached at the last Furfright like this. This was a lady reporter asking for pictures outside the hotel. I politely refused, and this line threw her completely off: "I've personally been at several conventions where they said what you said, then used none of the material we gave them, but just invented their own material". She did NOT respond by addressing reporter integrity, she kept doing this act where she was rifling through her purse for something and saying "we want to shine a positive light on you".
I used this line again here, in the form of a simple polite refusal, and said she could speak with me personally if she contacted me through Anthrocon staff in-person at Anthrocon. Which at this point I doubt will happen.
Anyway, just an FYI everyone. Don't talk to the Perly! You'll S*** a brick when you read her story about you!
And it seems weird that the documentarian that asked about the photo of an interesting suit and also asked this one fur I know of to use one of his photos of a group of suiters. Hmm. That does seem odd that while she asked one person about a regular photo of regular suits while asking you about another photo with a "special" suit. Yeah. Defenetely staying away from this one. People who say they will make sure it's a light heated documentary about geek fandoms are never light at all.
The Furfright reporter also wrote nothing, I refused a picture, she took none, then she spoke with con staff per my advice.
V
From my perspective yesterday, they didn't look too good. Monday I got the e-mail, Tuesday Kage told me they have been looking for "schlubs" for some time, AND that day two people watching me on FA said "oh yes, they contacted me recently too." I'm a nobody in the fandom, so for two connections to say they were contacted for me screamed spam and trolling.
Now that I see they went to Condition, and you two vetted them to me and researched their work, I'm considering releasing my photos. I'll look at their work myself and decide, haven't had time yet.
I think that, at a convention, reporters submitting to con staff makes a lot of sense. At the larger anime conventions local to DC, press need to register on the website. They close registration a month or so before the start of the convention. This gives time for the staff to both research the reporters and to prepare a show for them. Not a bad thing. Reporters are used to this for almost every event, especially professional ones, so anyone "just showing up" or otherwise breaking protocol are likely up to no good.
At Texas Furry Fiesta 2010, the local CBS 11 showed up without warning. They were sooooo nice. Looked us in the eyes, totally warm and friendly, "We just want to give an honest report." They even took some fun pictures with themselves and fursuiters. The dialogue was controlled STRICTLY. The main interview occurred in a closed hallway and for 20 minutes people were denied access to some hotel rooms. Every interviewee was explicitly asked by staff, "do you give consent?" and it was made clear to the reporters no other persons can be interviewed or photographed unless they gave consent this way. I was one of the many tasked to keep people from walking through hallways where they were taking video. The reporters were not one given one itty bitty smiggy chance of a Bad Thing [TM] to be seen. Here's the result:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIp9QehSnBU
So I've got personal reasons to be leery. I need a loooooot of evidence before I can trust, and I only trust on an individual basis. A nice handshake and nice eye contact isn't enough, warm words aren't enough, good credentials or "big" credentials are not enough, and control-freaking all of your words aren't enough. You need a real relationship with an individual reporter, it takes time, and it's hard.
Having said that, I've made it a habit to talk to mundane people wandering through the hotels at cons all the time. It's fun. My fursuit is a talker with a moving jaw, so it's designed for that. For me, it's EASY to explain what we're about. The vast majority of people are totally positive. They bring up only what they see, fursuits and crazy behavior, so that's what I talk about. I disagree with Kage's language when sex is discussed. Well, if you're really control-freaking reporters, you'd show clean art, fursuits, professional animators and mascots, and that's it, close without any discussion of sex. But if it comes up, I'd say things like "oh gee, 3,000 adults who all like the same thing trapped in one hotel for five days, and we brought booze. Naaaaaw I can't see how anyone could hook up in this environment." We're upset at Vanity Fair and MTV because they portrayed the fandom as 100% kink and nothing else. We've got furry porn, but without Lacy fursuits running in critter-lympics and improv by Alkali and everyone in the halls being as much of an actor as they are a watcher, I wouldn't be here. Nothing wrong with saying this to a reporter. But it doesn't matter what you say to a reporter when they're hell-bent on making you look bad. Relationships, the things geeks go to furry cons to do the geek way, not the high school backstabbing way.
Anyway, thanks again you two, you were a great help.