Giambalvo vs. Newhouse vs. Local Bloggers
In a questionably-motivated Publishers Note and display of pretzel-logic in this month’s issue of Mode Magazine, editor Scott Giambalvo writes an “open letter to David Newhouse owner of the Patriot-News”; implying that the Patriot is guilty of … ghast! stealing his story ideas.
The letter implies that Newhouse and The Patriot-News have repeatedly lifted his story ideas and that Scott has a problem with it.
I’m somewhat flummoxed by this for the following reason:
In the closing of his letter, he offers Newhouse two suggestions- the first being “Please stop littering my community with your failing Patriot-Plus freebie newspapers in non-biodegradable, obnoxious red plastic sleeves which, in many cases, sit in unsightly piles never to be read, yet requiring us, the residents, to clean up”.
And second, for the Patriot-News to “find your ideas somewhere else”.
While this may seem like a reasonable request and ballsy-jab at the local-news giant, what Giambalvo seems to have overlooked (or omitted) is that HIS suggestion to The Patriot echoes (or borrows from) those of blogger Josh Karns who wrote extensively about these little red bags last September.
It’s safe to assume that Giambalvo reads the writings of bloggers like Karns, Zarcone, Sheranko, Bozich and (presumably) myself.
(After all, an editor of a local-happenings publication must keep up with all forms of media.)
So The Patriot ran a story about an all-ages music venue in Lemoyne a few weeks after Mode Magazine ran a similar story.
And the editor of the magazine was insulted by this and, in retaliation, railed the editor of the newspaper for lifting his story idea.
But punctuated his open-letter by paraphrasing the thoughts of a local blogger without offering credit.
Coincidence? Possibly.
Hypocritical? Definitely.
Additionally, page six of this month’s Mode Magazine offers an interview with John Traynor- the developer who is rehabilitating the Police Athletic League building at 1110 N Third Street. A topic which has been covered by the local blogosphere for months- here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending Newhouse or The Patriot-News by any stretch.
In fact, I had a similar conversation with the short-tempered David Newhouse not long ago regarding a post that I wrote which seemed to be copied-and-pasted and then posted on PennLive by John Luciew.
Newhouse was extremely defensive and loud – barely allowing me to get a word in edgewise until I compared our conversation to one with my cellphone company’s customer service department.
I also pointed out to Newhouse that Luciew earns a handsome salary- while I (and every other local blogger) write tediously for the love-of-the-game and without the cushion of advertiser monies and financial compensation.
So Scott, I feel your pain, brother. I really, really do.
But your argument is moot because 1: Your publication is free and distributed to the pubic-at-large for their consumption in any fashion they see fit; and 2: You’re guilty of the same thing you accused the Patriot of doing- twice, in fact, in one issue.
Look, here’s how I see it: those of us who choose to write do it for our own personal reasons, but ultimately, it’s because the topics we write about, we sincerely believe the public has the right or need to know. Be it social commentary, entertainment news, politics, sports, dating, dining or the new entertainment complex going in on Third Street- we write to inform the public.
Harrisburg is a small town and, despite the motivations of a particular newsgroup or publication, we’re ultimately on the same team.
Stories are going to overlap. News gets lifted, borrowed, reprinted and footnoted every single day.
While I DO agree that there seems to be some lazy journalism happening at our local newspaper, the fact remains that we are all doing what we’re doing in order to get information out to the public.
And let’s not forget, Scott- imitation is the highest form of flattery.
David Newhouse doesn’t own The Patriot-News. Just FYI to Scot.
Scott “Print Is Dead” Giambalvo has started a print publication again?
Apparently, it’s “on”-
http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2008/03/its_on.html
I don’t get it; “It’s On” is usually a pretty confrontational expression. This is tantamount to saying “Yeah, we’re copying your work. So what?” Is the Patriot News trying to pick a fight with local bloggers?
What I found interesting in the PAL interview was the developer’s comment that bloggers on PennLive are negative about his project and then raised the “bath house” rumor again. I, for one, thought that rumor had been nicely dismissed on PennLive.
Mike,
To clarify:
1. Props to Josh Karns for his “Patriot Plus” blog, though I had not read it, nor your’s until today. Had I known about his piece, I would have given him appropriate credit, as I did for Karla Vierthaler.
2. Hypocritical, please. Asshole? Often. Hypocrite, not quite.
3. Dave Newhouse is neither the editor nor the “actual” owner. But when he finally reads the letter, and he will, he’ll say quietly to himself, “I’m not the owner.” So, my point was made, and hopefully he’ll acknowledge that he’s not the owner and stop pretending.
4. To floor9, Yawn. Print may be declining, but I’m not having any problems emptying street boxes.
5. Thank you for the publicity Mike… but imitation, in lieu of being creative, sucks. While blogs like yours are essential to the on-demand needs of our culture, MODE chooses it’s stories based on criteria including timeliness, reader appeal, advertising value, (yes it has impact), and creativity. Neither of the topics in our March, 2008 issue stem from another person’s work. And, and I’ll let you know when they do.
Also, Whether readers choose to “turn on their PC” or “pick up a paper” is moot, the action is proactive and demonstrates a conscious interest.
6. While you may not believe this, I would welcome writing from many of the local authors I read online. Writing for “the-love-of-the-game” is paramount, and one of the true reasons MODE exists at all. I applaud you for the extensive work you have done. I have been engaged by your site for hours, and will continue to read it from time to time.
Finally, please note that “Scot” has only one “t”, and MODE is not a magazine, it’s a newspaper. It would be appreciated, whether you blast or praise me, that you get that right.
P.S. If you know any Joomla programmers, I could use some help with my website. Thanks!
I’ve met Scot a few times but never knew much about him. But my first instinct was that I didn’t completely trust him.
On a related note. Back in the day of the Harrisburg Blogger Meetups I had the chance to personally meet several of the local bloggers. It was actually a lot of fun and I wish Ross was still around to host these. But after we had a few of these meetups, the Patriot News showed up and started asking lots of questions. Asking if there was any interest in blogging on their web site and talking about how they really wanted to hear “our” point of view on topics.
That really kinda pissed me off. And let me tell you why. The Patriot News makes money from advertising. And so does Scott from MODE. Sure MODE may be free, but you’re getting money from advertising, otherwise you wouldn’t waste your time. If I am going to write/blog about something, I will do it on my own site. If the Patriot News wants me to blog about something on their site… they’ll need to pay me. I am not about so spend my effort spilling out my thoughts on a topic and let others make money off it.
And I will agree with floor9, print is dead. Why would I bother picking up something in print when I can read it in my RSS reader and not waste a bit of paper?
Jonathan, I agree wholeheartedly with your mentality. It’s exactly why I started blogHarrisburg. I don’t make any money from the site; its sole purpose to promote the local blogging community. We were just talking today about bringing back semi-regular local blogger meetups. We’ve done them a few times before with the blogHarrisburg crowd and they’ve always been fun and productive, so we’re going to have a few that are open to anyone in the area with a blog. I’ll be posting details over on bH (and I’m sure Jersey will be mentioning them as well).
I certainly won’t be giving away free writing for a for profit newspaper. Since I make my living by the word, that would be silly.
Scot Giambalvo needs to be step away from his computer and go back home to the Coal Region.
His publication is for businesses that feed him for free.
Nothing about the content of MODE is culturally or cutting edge.
And he ALWAYS has an answer to every flaw found.
That’s when you know someone is LYING.