Lazy researchers, lazy journalists
Someone sent me an article yesterday, a study from a (the?) Canadian medical journal. I was quoted, which isn’t a big deal. Except they did what seems to be a trend lately: they (researchers and journlists) just lift something off my website and quote me.
The way it’s quoted always sounds like they spoke to me personally and got the quote. I don’t mind anyone pulling something I’ve said/typed off any of my websites, although not so good when it’s out of context. Fortunately, to my knowledge only one bad incident has happened. But then again, how do I know? I don’t subscribe to a clipping service.
It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a trend. It’s very lazy. How hard would it be to email me and then chat with me on the phone for ten minutes? Are they on deadline and in their procrastination didn’t have time to contact me for a quote? Or it’s just easier to pull something off a site? Probably some of both.
But it makes me wonder, how much quoted material in the media these days is legitimately sourced? I consider a legit quote to be a one-on-one conversation, or quoting someone giving a speech. Each instance where this has happened with my words, the author has made it sound as if I said it to them directly. Pulling one over on the editor?
I said one bad incident, but actually there are two.
There’s a dolt from some paper in Bumf**k, USA (one of these days I need to correctly write this up and correctly optimize the page for that “journalist’s” name…then let people arrive there when they google). He pulled a lazy and quoted me. Except that he didn’t quote me. He quoted a journal article that is on ect.org.
It was clearly “Some Journal Article” by Dr. So and So on such a date. Very obvious. Yet this guy was either so careless, or stupid, that he attributed this psychiatrist’s words to me. I would have never known, but thanks to this really freaky stalker guy, I found out.
I contacted both the newspaper editor and the author, and got a “gee whiz” from the paper, and no response from Dolt Boy. I really need to find that and publicize his name. I should mention that The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorite books.
The other bad incident wasn’t a quote from me. It was a statement of fact, in a textbook no less, that I’m a Scientologist. In fact, ect.org clearly states I’m not, on the very first page. How the authors missed that, I don’t know. And like these other lazy people, they never emailed me to ask. They just ASS u ME d.
What’s bad about this is that the authors are PROFESSORS. One is a history prof, used to teach at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. Now he’s somewhere else, but that’s a huge heehaw for me, because Greenville is close to where I grew up, and it really IS a bumf**k. OMG, who even knew there was a college there?
I get my laughs where I can.
The other author is a sociology professor in WOMEN’S STUDIES at KU, one of my alma maters. 
That’s even worse, although what could be worse than a history professor who can’t get a basic fact right? Duh. Does he know the story of Abe Lincoln, or he just makes it up?
Anyway, I ranted about that book on Amazon and they left it up. I was surprised by that, because I was PISSED when I wrote it.
In fact, I need to scan and upload all the legal documentation over that book. I came very close to spending a buttload of money to sue those twits for libel. But libel is a hard one in the USA, and I let it go. I regret that. I should have ponied up and made a stink. They just ignored my lawyers’ letters. Blah.
GUILTY, yes they are. They libeled my ass. (And please, no sad letters from Scientologists asking why it’s a bad thing. I mean no offense. Your letters make me feel terrible and I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, except the feelings of those bad authors.)
There have been some other research studies that quote me, but those were good. One study actually quoted PRIVATE messages from my message board, things NOT written by me, but members. I wrote them a kind letter, because I approved of their work. But that squicks me and is not cool.
So media and medical researchers…how about you all get off your lazy butts and do some damn work? What’s wrong with you???
