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Ethics in journalism, or lack thereof
Jun. 12th, 2008 09:20 amSo, there's this craft group meeting that happens once a month in Cape Town. Jezze sent a little announcement of our KIP day event to this group as a private email. One of the ladies on the group, unbeknown to us, has a Cape Times column and asked if she could say something about WW KIP day. Instead she pastes (literally) Jezze's blurb (including her full name and email address) into her column with no fact checking or proof-reading by either of us. Now Chavendish is throwing a fit because I promised the events lady that it would be 10 people, sitting quietly and knitting with no promotions or exhibitions or any paraphernalia. But, because it's been in the media (even though we didn't mean it to) it's classed as an "event" and is not allowed as it might interfere with the people watching rugby in the food court. "Security has been briefed", apparently, and if it turns into 15 people then they'll politely ask them to leave. I'm totally going to email the "journalist" and her editor about how unprofessional this was and how it's fucked up our whole event.
I'm so despondent that I want to cry. How did a small social thing purely for fun turn into a media circus?! The radio guy this morning said he called Cav and they said nothing was happening, so he spoke to a lady in East London instead. I'm going to email him later and say that I'll still give him something, but I'll talk about WW KIP day in general and mention the other events around CT.
Jezze and I are going to go anyway and if more people show up then we'll tell them to move to coffee shops. The idea is that it's a self-running thing, people are just supposed to go somewhere public and knit, there doesn't have to be a reason or an organiser. I'm sad that something that was supposed to be fun and social has turned into something ugly and surreptitious. I also blame Elle for hijacking the day to promote breast cancer awareness with their KIP day kits. I don't begrudge anyone learning about breast cancer, but they've totally given people in SA the wrong idea that the day was organised by them to promote their cause.
The lady from Cav was very nice about it and totally understood that we never meant it to be in the media but she wanted me to understand their POV as a shopping centre and their duty to their tenants and so forth. She is happy to do something next year when it can be organised through the proper channels. But again, that totally defeats the object of just going somewhere public and knitting something for no specific reason. Sigh, why is it so hard to understand that people want to do something with no ulterior motive of promoting/exhibiting/selling something? If I were more of an anarchist I would organise something Flashmob style and try to get as many people as possible just to see what would happen. Totally take over their stupid ass-baring-jeans-wearing teenager-infested hellhole. But I don't want to burn bridges I might need to use next year, even if it's not Chavendish another centre might refuse because of this stunt.
I'm so despondent that I want to cry. How did a small social thing purely for fun turn into a media circus?! The radio guy this morning said he called Cav and they said nothing was happening, so he spoke to a lady in East London instead. I'm going to email him later and say that I'll still give him something, but I'll talk about WW KIP day in general and mention the other events around CT.
Jezze and I are going to go anyway and if more people show up then we'll tell them to move to coffee shops. The idea is that it's a self-running thing, people are just supposed to go somewhere public and knit, there doesn't have to be a reason or an organiser. I'm sad that something that was supposed to be fun and social has turned into something ugly and surreptitious. I also blame Elle for hijacking the day to promote breast cancer awareness with their KIP day kits. I don't begrudge anyone learning about breast cancer, but they've totally given people in SA the wrong idea that the day was organised by them to promote their cause.
The lady from Cav was very nice about it and totally understood that we never meant it to be in the media but she wanted me to understand their POV as a shopping centre and their duty to their tenants and so forth. She is happy to do something next year when it can be organised through the proper channels. But again, that totally defeats the object of just going somewhere public and knitting something for no specific reason. Sigh, why is it so hard to understand that people want to do something with no ulterior motive of promoting/exhibiting/selling something? If I were more of an anarchist I would organise something Flashmob style and try to get as many people as possible just to see what would happen. Totally take over their stupid ass-baring-jeans-wearing teenager-infested hellhole. But I don't want to burn bridges I might need to use next year, even if it's not Chavendish another centre might refuse because of this stunt.
