You never know who is reading your blog. I was stunned when my post about Dean Koontz’s racist rant at Men of Mystery showed up as a story in the Los Angeles Times. And I’m sure my friend Ken Levine felt the same way when the Los Angeles Times yesterday used some of his blog posts as the basis for a story on comedy writers who hate STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP.
Take Ken Levine, a seasoned writer who has worked on "Frasier,"
"Cheers" and "The Simpsons." His blog, By Ken Levine, has become the
hub of an online community of viewers who loathe "Studio 60," thanks to
his running commentary on the first several episodes."After watching Episode 2 of ‘Studio 60’ I must let you in on a little
secret. People in television, trust me, are not that smart," he wrote.
"And they keep talking about how unbelievably talented that Harriet
[Sarah Paulson] is. Have you seen evidence of it yet? I haven’t. But
then again, I’m not that smart."One week later he was less forgiving, writing, " ‘Studio 60’ is like
the Rand Corporation Think Tank doing a late night sketch show."
It’s easy to forget that blogging is publishing, and that what you post can have a life beyond the blog. It’s made me slightly more cautious about what I say here…but not much.
It amazes me that people waste their time reading my blog, but they do…and they seem to enjoy it. Knowing that, I’m always very careful in how I word my criticism. I try my hardest to be as polite as possible, even when I trash something. The approach seems to work.
Over on my blog (http://sex-in-a-sub.blogspot.com/)I’ve had to use a “names changed to protect me from getting my butt sued off” policy in order to tell some stories. It’s difficult to both be honest and tell people what really happens in the biz… and stay employed in the biz.
– Bill (from LaScala Cafe in Walnut Creek)
Um, isn’t “racist rant” a little bit of an exaggeration for a joke that was made in bad taste? Geez.
I think it can work in reverse as well. People know that you have a lot of power if they know that you are a blogger.
I take the position that reading my blog is the same as if you and I were sitting down for a drink and chatting. I say what I think just as if you were right there in front of me.
And yes, it has landed me in “trouble” (what are they going to do – take my birthday away?) with folks who don’t see things the way I see them. Especially the deluded fangirls from the Stargate: Atlantis crowd.
What’s even more maddening in my case is that the quotes are accurate but the assumption that I “hate” the show is completely false. I went back and read my original post and indeed I had made a point of saying I didn’t hate the show. By omitting that the whole spin on my quotes change. Oh well. It resulted in more traffic.
Happy New Years to all of Lee’s readers.