The More You Ignore Sic …
Our founding editor’s war of words with South Carolina’s largest newspaper escalated today with the following sternly-worded letter being sent to La Socialista’s executive editor, Mark Lett.
Apparently, Sic Willie didn’t take too kindly to La Socialista (a.k.a. The State newspaper) lifting yet another one of his stories without the courtesy of an attribution.
Enjoy …
Mr. Mark Lett
c/o La Socialista
via emailMark-
Every time one of your reporters “declines” to source FITS on yet another story that we broke (and your people missed), all it does is motivate me that much more to swipe yet another story from under the nose of your newsroom – and steal even more readers away from you in the process.
It’s funny, as blogs continue to wax – and MSM outlets like yours continue to wane – I’ve noticed that dinosaurs of your ilk are clinging with increasing desperation to your so-called “standards,” “objectivity” and “integrity.”
Apparently, you view sanctimonious, self-gratifying verbiage like this as a way to elevate what you do at the expense of what bloggers do, which is fine.
I get it.
On the subject of integrity, though, I would simply say this: When your reporters break news – to the extent that happens these days – I give credit to them for getting to the story first. I also provide my readers with links to their original stories so that they can click on those articles and read your reporters’ content should they choose to do so. And in those even rarer instances when your reporters take a breather from shilling for our state’s failed status quo and actually report on something objectively – like your reporter Gina Smith did recently – I applaud them for their work.
Now clearly, I’m not asking for this consideration to be reciprocated. At this point it’s fairly obvious that the policy of your newspaper – like the policy of many of this state’s crumbling institutions – is to simply “ignore FITS” and any other blog that comes from the center-right perspective of things.
Again, that’s fine. I get it. Besides, based on what I read in the diminished pages of La Socialista, it would certainly appear that you have a contractual obligation to print whatever Darla Moore, Bobby Harrell and Sam Tenenbaum tell you to print. You know, in lieu of objective, or actual, news.
Just know that while you’re asking “how high?” and sending out your shrinking newspaper to a shrinking number of tubes, my audience grew by 428% last year. And is growing even faster this year.
And I don’t jump for anybody.
The marketplace of ideas is going to bury you, sir, and no amount of ignoring me or what I do can stop it.
So source me on stories, or don’t source me on stories. It’s entirely up to you. Just know that, as Morrisey once sang, “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get.”
Sincerely,
-W
Nice … particularly the Morrissey reference at the end. That could’ve easily gone Lady GaGa and missed its mark …
Anyway, assuming we hear back from Lett, we’ll be sure to let you know …
Update – Yes, Sic is playing Nerf darts in that picture. And yes his forearms really are that buff.
Comments
By BIN News Editorial Staff on May 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
The BIN News staff does not understand the point of sic(k) willie’s latest rant against The Sate, but our Funding Editor noticed a few things.
First, sic(k) willie and joshua gross are twins. Check this pic:
http://otherbrooksbrother.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/joshuagross.jpg
Second, sic(k) willie still gets very angry. Wonder if he throws furniture at a photo of Mark Lett?
Third, all sic(k) willie breaks is wind. His news includes bogus claims of a Midlands’ elected official with a Strom problem. And everyone remembers him digging for gold over the grave of a “poor little black girl.”
Last, sic(k) willie has the solution for newspaper circulation. The State needs to include porn. That would work for them just like it works for sic(k) willie’s pathetic little porn site.
BIN News Editorial Staff
Flair and Balanced
By BIN News Editorial Staff on May 23rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
State
By Lulz on May 23rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Dont worry about the State. They will be bankrupt within 18 months and McK will sell them off to keep their other trashy papers on life support for another fiscal year.
By Mab on May 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
BIN — Sic Willie has a special Nerf dart just for you…
###
P.S. The State sunk below even its own crappy standards the last day I ventured a peek: Thursday, May 21, 2009, P. A3.
Alongside a story of Iran testing missiles which could now hit Israel, whom he has promised to wipe off of world maps, a photo of Ahmadinejad kissing a baby and being showered with flower petals.
No support there.
By Wilbur's Surprise on May 23rd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Damn … That’s two of the ugliest bald-headed dough-boys I’ve seen lately. Wilbur’s gonna have a tough time getting any females to follow that mess home so he can punch them in the face.
Josh ain’t worried bout the females, ya know what I’m saying …
By jeffy on May 24th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Bin you are boring, very boring.
By Wes Wolfe on May 24th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Somebody call the waaaaaaambulance. Jesus, what are you, 12?
By Mike on May 24th, 2009 at 11:48 am
What a shock that BIN, in his/her/its own words “does not understand the point” of this piece. That’s some refreshing honesty from ol’ BIN, and may be the first post of any real quality from that entity.
The rapid decline of the MSM in general (and local dailies in particular) is one of the biggest stories to hit the mass media scene in years. I still think the most amusing aspect of the story, though, is the fact that even as papers report on it, they still don’t get it.
Unless Obama and his cronies bail them out (which appears less and less likely based upon the current political environment and anti-bailout sentiment), the newspaper scene 5-10 years from now will be absolutely unrecognizable to the current crop of senior editors, who started their careers in the 70’s and 80’s.
By King Cotton on May 24th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
BIN, for all his or her flaws, is at least mildly entertaining. Wes Wolfe, on the other hand, is more akin to a gastropod, albeit a self-important one.
By StateOfBelief on May 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Since FITSnews.com is the blogging arm of a public relations firm, The State newspaper probably shouldn’t be sourcing it as “breaking news.” If anything, The State should source FITSnews as what it is — the blogging arm of a PR firm, just like they do when getting a quote from any other PR firm, non profit, political consulting outfit or ad agency.
The stories posted on FITSnews can’t really be viewed as “news” (as much as it seems that you to really, really, REALLY want them to be viewed) because of the nature of the website and the company and clients for which it is produced.
Because of that, every post written on FITSnews must be viewed by legitimate, traditional news sources as a news release, or the more dated “press release.”
The State is not a PR firm as much as you’d like to try and paint it as one working for “the status quo” or the “the education establishment.”
It is a newspaper that is able to produce (albeit shrinkingly) because of advertising sales, subscriptions and newsbox sales.
FITSnews is able to produce because of paid clients.
Why you would get so bent out of shape that The State is not sourcing you as a news breaker is kind of odd.
Is the umbrage you take at it sincere? Do you really think a PR firm’s website aught to be given credit for “uncovering a scandal?”
Wouldn’t you be upset if The State was crediting the website for RISE SC for “breaking news” about the voucher lobby?
Any casual reader of your website could already picture that headline.
If all this commotion really is out of jealousy then it’s understandable. But you decided to make your living as a PR guy writing a website for clients and not as a journalist. And since you probably make more money than most reporters at The State these days, I’d be happy with it and let it be for what it is.
I’m sure there are people who don’t know clients pay you and your service FITSnews and there may be some who take the posts here as actual “news.”
And yes, that is there fault for doing so.
But by writing this letter to Mr. Lett and then publishing it here, it’s almost as if your trying to reinforce that kind of thought, that somehow this website is NOT the blogging tool of a PR firm for paid clients, and should be sourced by The State for “breaking news” independently.
By BlackEyeVick on May 24th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
I quit reading the State rag last year. It is a joke.
By Um,no on May 25th, 2009 at 7:30 am
StateOBelief got it exactly right on the absurdity of this site demanding credit.
PS: The combo of whining plus the other undesirable personality traits equals sorta sad.
By POT TO KETTLE on May 25th, 2009 at 8:39 am
“It is a newspaper that is able to produce (albeit shrinkingly) because of advertising sales, subscriptions and newsbox sales.”
Hey, State of Belief (SOB?): Was that before or after it started shaking down advertisers (pay day lenders?) for more ad revenue in exchange for more favorable editorials?
By Julius Orange on May 29th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
If you call those forearms “buff” you really should step your game up a little bit.