Oh For Heavens Sake

I'm responding privately because I want this to stop now.

Your post was insulting and questioned my integrity. My contract with PJM stipulates that they will not interfere in the content I put on my site. If that ever changes, I hope I've made it clear that I would discontinue my association with them.

Rick Moran

This is what cracks me up about blogs. I made this post about PJM, pointing out valid questions about their stated goals of bringing large advertisers to blogs.

The blog I linked to did an update:

Dan at Riehl World View must think that my ultra-left alter ego Marvin Moonbat is a real person. He used some of Marvin’s more outrageous statements as examples of why corporate advertisers would object to content on my site:

The issue some have with PJM is its putting advertising and content in the same box. You can’t do that without censorship. Below are just a few items from RWNH with which I doubt a corporate sponsor would be comfortable.

He then lists some of the more un-pc things I’ve said when either being satiricle as with Marvin or caustic as I am generally.

Again, the point I’ll make is this – someone that wants to tell me what to write or how to write or what I can write about and what I can’t is more than welcome to do so.

But the idea that anyone would think that it would influence me is puzzling. Why ascribe less independence to me for taking PJM ads as someone who takes Blogads? The “content” PJM is looking for is on its website – a place I could care less about.

Sheesh…the things you can get in trouble for on the internets…

To which I commented at his blog:

Rick,

Either you missed the point, more likely, or you’re being disingenuous, which I do doubt. I didn’t misunderstand the nature of those posts. Read what I wrote:

“And I understand your context – and your humor.”

“Who” wrote the post is irrelevant. All it takes is one screen capture of a major corporation’s ad on a site with content like that to start a controversy for the corporation. And you and I both know the tactics of some well enough to not pretend it can’t or won’t happen.

And I didn’t suggest you would somehow alter your posting because you inked a contract with PJM. What I pointed out was a problem with their ad model as it has been expressed by them. If truly large advertisers with a great deal to lose are going to run ads on blogs, they will have to maintain some standards – most likely very PC ones, as a matter of fact. Pointing that very basic fact out is not an attack on you.

Why not consider and respond on that very valid point, as opposed to taking it as a personal, or blog vs. blog assault – which it was and is not? If you care about PJM, elevate the discourse, don’t drag it down. I certainly didn’t intend to with my post.

And he emails this:

I'm responding privately because I want this to stop now.

Your post was insulting and questioned my integrity. My contract with PJM stipulates that they will not interfere in the content I put on my site. If that ever changes, I hope I've made it clear that I would discontinue my association with them.

Rick Moran

Fine. Talk about a not ready for prime time player. Good Lord. If I had wanted to insult him or question his integrity, I'd hope I could have done a hell of a lot better job of it than that.

Comments

[cindi in pa]

Think someone may be missing the point. When you are supported by sponsers, you follow their rules. My daughters played travel softball. In order for us to afford all the traveling they did, we solicited sponsers. When you have that uniform on there is a certain behavior that is expected. If not lived up too, they would not have been able to keep the sponsorship. I believe Rick when he says he will not stop writting the way he does, and nothing will stop him from saying as he pleases. Good for him. Just hope, if there is a contract, he read it all the way through. Remember Woopie Goldberg and the "Slim Fast" folks.