Â§hria's Spot

Media vs media: Us against them

Many artists view the rest of the media with a spectrum of reactions ranging from at best, an irritating but necessary evil to at worst, the enemy of their privacy, their message and their public image.

I'll begin by defining us and them. By us, I mean writers of non-fiction. Generally journalists, reporters and public relations people -- though public relations people's production of non-fiction may be questionable. By them, I mean artists, performers and writers or creators of artistic/interpretive works. They could be musicians, actors, painters, photographers, poets, novelists or a whole host of other disciplines. Some of us are also them at times. Some of them are even us at times.

But, make no mistake about it, we are ALL media.

From Ask Oxford

MEDIA

noun 1 the means of mass communication, especially television, radio, and newspapers collectively. 2 plural of MEDIUM.

MEDIUM

noun pl.media or mediums 1 a means by which something is expressed, communicated, or achieved. 2 a substance through which a force or other influence is transmitted. 3 a form of storage for computer software, such as magnetic tape or disks. 4 a liquid with which pigments are mixed to make paint. 5 mediums a person claiming to be able to communicate between the dead and the living. 6 the middle state between two extremes.

adjective between two extremes; average.

ORIGIN: Latin, 'middle'.

What is media but a means of communication? We all communicate and want as many people to get our message as we can expose to it.

The journalist wants the world to hear what other people have to say. We are the ones in the middle. The other people are the artists, politicians, and anyone with a story to be told. The other people have a problem when the journalist filters what they have to say through his or her own ideas about what and how the world wants to hear it.

The artist often primarily wants to create but for many there is an underlying need to expose their creations to the world. They want to get their interpretations of the world out into the world to be interpreted and responded to. Some of them even want, on some level, for life to imitate art but most want some sort of response to their work.

Artists (as well as politicians, business people and others) generally realize the best vehicle to get their work (ideas and goals) out into the world is through journalists but they fear and hate what journalists may and often do to their work in the process of getting it out there. They tolerate us while we are doing what they want but, if we ask the wrong question (or they answer a question in a way they regret), take a bad photo or give the world information other than what the artist wants out there, we are the enemy. They openly distrust and exclude us more than they would any member of the public and justify their abuse of us by saying it is our job to get the story and get out so we should be able to take the abuse and get used to it.

What they really fear is that we will get the story and get out. They are afraid that we will find some flaw or shortcoming in them or their work and their public image will be ours to ruin. A few of them believe that we are there to find a way to ruin their public image and that is our primary goal in life. They even believe that we have the power to do that.

No one of us does. No single bad photo of a beautiful person will make the world believe that person is ugly. No solitary negative comment on a song or an artist will make the world believe that person's work or that person has no value or no worth; especially when there is a whole body of words and photos to say otherwise.

A journalist who continuously slams people for no good reason will lose credibility. We must let the readers/listeners/watchers make up their own minds about the facts and our influence on them must be negligible or very subtle for us to maintain credibility. Credibility is our only true currency so none of us will risk it lightly. Nor will most of us intentionally burn our sources without due consideration.

Both artists and journalists need to remember that we are ALL media, intent upon getting our ideas across to the rest of the world out there. For many of us, the world mostly involves the local arts and entertainment scene and who ever might notice us from outside our world is incidental. But regardless of the size of our world, we all just want to get our message out to it and for our message to be given credibility.

We all just want respect for our work, our ideas and ourselves.

Not long ago I posted a rather harsh blog after feeling excluded and mistreated by a community of musicians I held in great respect and whose acceptance on even a very surface level I craved. I thought long and hard about it and came back with the ideas above. I believe it is much the same as the blog I was flamed for but better stated and I stand by my assertion that many artists treat journalists poorly. Perhaps some of that poor treatment is justified; perhaps some of it is irrational and unfounded fear of humiliation. Perhaps my feeling that artists treat journalists poorly comes from my own irrational desire to have credibility among the artists I am a medium for.

I took my medicine over the last blog and am healthier for it. Now I am putting on my asbestos underwear and getting ready for more because this issue is far from resolved in my little corner of the world.

A few artists whom I have supported in the past have come forward to offer me private support for my annoyed rant. A few have come forward in private to flay me alive. One even told me not to cover any more of his shows.

I hope to continue to cover local artists in a professional way but no longer crave inclusion in their community. If they give me any credibility it will be a bonus but my primary goal continues to be to support local original music. I can do this from as far away as Brian Kelly does and I can do this without emotional involvement.