February 18, 2007
Posted by sfinkelp in Blogging, Freedom, Terrorism, Weblogs.1 comment so far
I just listened to a segment of NPR’s On the Media titled, Clink-Stained Wretch. describes the story of blogger Josh Wolf, who has been jailed in an American prison longer than any other journalist (6 months) for refusing to testify in federal court and hand over video footage, which he took at a September 2005 G8 protest in California.
Wolf’s footage captured protesters fighting with police and allegedly damaging a police car (considered federal property). While Wolf sold some of the footage to a local TV station, put some up on his website, he kept other footage that contains shots of the protesters that he has come to know as he’s been documenting civil dissent in the San Francisco Bay area for tow-and-a-half years (http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/47999/). This is what the court has subpoenaed and desires Wolf to testify on.
The subpoena is actually signed by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Wolf and his lawyer, Martin Garbus, along with the ACLU, argue that he should not be compelled to testify and identify the unmasked protesters that he filmed as it shows no footage of the clashes.
There are many thoughts circling through my head as I digest this story. On the one hand, I believe the police are in the right to investigate crimes committed against them. I also feel we do need to be vigilant and smart about investigating terrorist threats.
But on the other hand, I can’t help but feel that the case is less about the police wanting to discipline a protester, but more about heavy handed citizen surveillance, and a McCarthy like persecution of liberals. While we only have to listen to the daily news to understand why a terrorism task force is important, this case seems to be one more example of anti-terrorism dollars being spent foolishly.
The story of Wolf raises another complicated question. In today’s Post 9/11 climate, and given our conservative Supreme Court, how will journalists’ rights fare? Will we see them narrow in the coming years? Specifically, how will bloggers be viewed? Will they be considered journalists in the same way newspaper writers or television or radio and TV reporters are?
I hope our justices work in such a way that mitigates not only our fear of terrorism striking our soil again, but also our fear that we are loosing more freedom and privacy than necessary.
Long Time No Post & Tasteless Guerillas February 3, 2007
Posted by sfinkelp in Marketing.add a comment
Hi folks, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Here are some thoughts on the Boston marketing fiasco…..
When is Guerilla Marketing not cool? When it shuts down a major US city because it’s mistaken for a terrorist attack.
After a series of lite-brite-esque cartoon characters strung on bridges and tunnels in Boston were revealed to be a promotion for a Cartoon Network show, the mainstream media and blogosphere erupted in a debate of whether Boston overreacted and if the plot was brilliant or a low-point of marketing.
To the first point, Boston didn’t overreact. How should the general public be expected to recognize a cartoon that needs to employ guerilla marketing to get noticed and whose audience is the same demographic as the glib duo who hung the boards and then taunted the press as they were arrested and posted bond?
The commuter who spotted one of the strange looking advertisements and alerted the police was following through on what every DC metro commuter hears a dozen times a day– See something weird? Tell someone. What if this hadn’t been a hoax? The media would elevate the vigilant commuter to hero status, while the police and bomb squads would be praised for being on top of their game.
As for the success of the campaign? I’m certain the execs at Interference Media, the New York Guerilla Marketing firm hired by Turner Broadcasting are feeling like they did a pretty good job this week. While they have an apologetic splash screen up on their site, it reads half-hearted. After all, I’m a woman in my early 30s—not the show’s target audience– and I can not only name Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but I also now recognize its characters and can name the network it airs on. In other words, the campaign not only succeeded, it got well beyond the audiences it intended to reach.
So I’ll give this one an A for permeation and an F for execution. When it’s all said and done, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force clip I watched on the show’s website tells me, this is no Simpsons or South Park. The most brilliant marketing tactic conceivable can’t fix that.
What should we communicators take away from this story? Like any profession, we should operate with an eye on ethical conduct. There are some means that do not justify the end. In my opinion, this was one of those times.
