"When you stand in the light of truth, the only place a lie can hide is under your feet."
-The Gonzo Journalist
Any journalism student will tell you that media law is a breeze. Memorize the terms, take the tests and forget most of what you learned after the semester ends, easy A. The last 24 electric hours have sent me to far corners of the internet. I've consulted experts, media law professors, even my old news editing text book.
Thursday night, Robert Tennenbaum took the offensive with a surprise attack on my senses. "Take down the post right fucking now," he shrieked. How do you explain to a screaming senior citizen that you're standing at a light rail stop in North Linthicum unable to check your blog, your email or even the MTA light rail schedule?
Shortly after the blitzkrieg, I got on the horn for technical assistance. Caller #5 had access to the internet and followed my step by step instructions, disarming the post and what I thought would be legal fallout. Then I recorded a statement as a podcast as a sort of personal PR move.
Statement
Almost a week later, I've received a lot of buzz about the "dust up" over the Tennenbaum post. Some people have commented anonymously that I have a one sided political agenda, or that I am portraying Tennenbaum as the "bad guy." Let me dispel the myths and half-truths.
This blog has no political agenda. When I interview residents about their Columbia experience, I publish quotes about what has worked and what hasn't. Robert Tennenbaum is not the bad guy. In fact I would encourage anyone who sees him to stop him and buy him a cup of green tea. I thoroughly enjoyed our interview, Tennenbaum has some amazing stories to tell. We may not have always agreed on things, but as the young people say, its whatever.
No Hard Feelings,
Jack Cole
3 comments:
Interesting and strange situation. Thanks for being so open and upfront about everything, the mark of a true journalist.
You've got a good thing started here; I look forward to seeing where it goes.
That's very odd. Did he mention why he got so offended?
I think you handled the situation like a professional. And it's also good to post about those sort of things that happen to you, because they humanize you as the blogger and they show that it's not a perfect world and that people aren't always going to agree with or like what you say, so I commend you for that.
Hunter Thompson was awesome. Keep up the good work.
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