New West Editor's communication

The following is an email exchange betwixt myself and the founder, publisher, and CEO of New West. This is shortly after he disabled the comments due to myself posting a link to the photoshop competition on TheBozemanFix.

New West Editor:

Casey, we're probably not going to chase you down for copyright infringement for stealing the photo, but we're certainly not going to be a vehicle for your prank.

If you think you and and some of the other MTBers on this thread have advanced your cause with this sort of rhetorical beat-down, I'd suspect you are mistaken.

Regards,
jw




My Reply:

Johnathan,

I'd say the sheer volume of the response should speak for itself. That article was nothing more than an attempt at bullying, so you shouldn't be surprised by a reponse in-kind.

Best,
Casey

New West Editor:

Casey, between you and me, I totally understand why the column ticked people off, and in fact I agree with most of the criticism. (And, in case you're wondering, I wouldn't know Jill if I walked into her on the street). But it's the comments, far more than the original article, that come across as bullying. A bunch of tough, aggressive MTB guys gang-tackling and pounding on a somewhat naive young woman...that's what I saw.

Regards,
jw


My Reply:

Johnathan,

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. But this is an utter slap in the face to anyone who rides a bike and I am quite frankly shocked and dismayed that a seemingly reputable publication would print something so lacking in merit, justification, or quantifiable fact. This entire drama developed and unfolded because your innocent and naive ideologue choose to taunt a peaceful group of people doing something completely analogous to what she herself was doing that weekend. The sign saying 'fat chance fat tire' may as well have said 'fuck you'. That level of hypocrisy is unconscionable. I am generally a reasonable, if passionate, person (especially where cycling is concerned), but this vapid assertion of self-righteousness is so senseless and unfounded that I'm surprised that you felt any shock at our, in my opinion, defense of ourselves, in the face a tyrannical action by an unjust bully. It is nothing more, nothing less.

Incidentally, I am not the individual who posted a picture of JillCo. on The Bozeman Fix, although from time to time I contribute to that blog. Moreover, as far as I am aware that picture originated from this site.

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/UMBphpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4793

It appears to have been taken by a camera phone, most likely by one of the cyclists on that ride. So, as to your vague threat of lawsuit, I'm frankly confused.

Best,
Casey



Additionally I sent this:


Jonathan,

In addition to my prior reply, and along with the theme of my frustration with both Jill's article and your handling of it, I have this to say (after this, I will step off of my soapbox, I do of course invite your reply).

There are two individuals commenting on that post, who in their defense of your 'naive' guest columnist, go far beyond 'rhetorical beat-down' and threaten physical violence on us 'bunch of tough, aggressive MTB guys'. One of those individuals posts as mike and the other individual posts as bear bait; he goes beyond the threat of general physical violence and states that he will in fact use a gun. So be quite careful who you stereotype as aggressive here. All in all, from my brief experience with your publication (limited to Jill's article and my exchange with you) your theme seems to be impassioned opinion backed-up by little in the way of quantifiable data or verifiable fact, which make up the core of responsible journalism.

As I stated previously, it is my opinion that the voluminous rebuttal Jill's article received speaks, well volumes, and I dispute your claim of suspicion that we advanced our cause.

Best,
Casey

I then sent this:


Oh, and btw, since I happen to disagree with you about how this helps our 'cause', if I promise not to post links to sites promoting satire of my least favorite wilderness advocate, will you re-allow comments to the post?

Case

New West Editor's Reply:


Casey, the vast majority of the 180 or so comments are attacking and ridiculing the author, I already deleted the most personally insulting ones, since personal insults contribute zero to the dialogue (and are clearly against the rules). There was some good discussion for a while, which is the point of this kind of thing. New West publishes a wide range of stories and opinion pieces, partly in an effort to expose many aspects of an issue. As I mentioned we had invited a counter-point column before this was even posted, I am not sure what the status of that is.

I think the thread on this piece has run its course at this point, but we'll definitely have some more pieces on this topic where we can continue the conversation.

Regards,
jw