As the former staff of the Washington Blade plans their new publication, with pleas to the DC local community for support, I hope they will revisit their practice of keeping the local community at arms length.
For 10 years I was conductor of the DC's Different Drummers Symphonic Band. During that time we couldn't pro-actively talk to the reporters or editors at the Blade covering us. A PR professional -- a person who makes his living dealing with the media -- who we had engaged to help us with publicity says he had never encountered such unprofessionalism and unresponsiveness as he did at the Blade. Meanwhile, the Blade, when they did cover us, would take our press releases and edit them, making what they published about us totally factually inaccurate. No surprise -- they kept us at arm's length. This was not a DC's Different Drummers complaint only. I heard similar frustrations at meetings of the LGBT Arts Consortium meetings I attended at the time. The complaint was a familiar refrain: the Blade did not know or interact with the local DC LGBT community.
Now that they need community support -- and I am not opposed to giving it -- I hope they will change that practice.
1 comment:
Just came across your post and agree 100% and have had the same interactions (or non-interactions) with The Blade. Once Windows Media bought them out, they stopped interacting with local the local GLBT. My kvetch: Don't write a cover story, don't interview me, don't spend any time writing a story about my event ... but will you LIST IT?? So the local GLBT community knows it's even occurring??!! We had problems getting The Blade to even LIST our events, let alone write a story or feature a publicity photo. Oy!!
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