[stylist] censorship
Tamara Smith-Kinney
tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Thu May 7 07:09:49 UTC 2009
Lori,
Crap! I would muse upon this, but I have no inspiration...
I don't actually know what to tell you, or what I would do in your
situtation. It sounds like censorship to me, but I'm not well enough versed
to judge it more than that.
Questions: If you refuse to edit the magazine, won't they just censor
someone else? Is there any valid reasoning behind these arbitrary-sounding
nitpicks? I'm thinking of the product references, in case they refer to
something that might be dangerous but were discussed favorably enough to
convince an unwary senior to buy them without realizing the danger. (I
can't imagine, but I'm trying to look at it from more than one angle).
Tami Smith-Kinney
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of LoriStay at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 5:22 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] censorship
I may have mentioned that I edit a magazine called Musings of Maturity.
Last year, the Town commissioner for senior affairs decided to edit my
editing, and instead of consulting me, cut and pasted (literally!) little
squares of corrections, editing out names of products, and words she
considered
obscene, such as crap. (I'd already substituted that for the more pungent
word). Can't recall what she put. Probably something that didn't belong
there. She also decided to change the word "muse" to "inspiration," thus
changing the meaning of the article entirely.
This year, I've asked for guidelines, and suggested that I'd be glad to
make corrections so the publication doesn't look unprofessional with messy
cuts
and pastes. I was told, "But we don't do email."
Strange. Doesn't the U.S. Postal Service still function? I'll be glad
to use it if the commissioner will.
Or I could hand carry the corrections. It's not as though town hall is
that far away.
I'm one step away from refusing to edit this magazine. It's not a paid
position. Also, the writers who contribute to the magazine are quite
angry.
Last year was the first time our work was censored like this. We were
even told we couldn't rewrite a song such as "You're the top" if we said
Obama
was the top. (For heaven's sake, he's the President! Can't we surmount
politics? Apparently not.) The song writer gave me three possible verses
to replace, and all had product names, another no no.
Has anyone else run into this? Yes, I have, by the way, since on occasion
Slate & Style has had to change a word or two. but nothing like this!
Lori
**************
Big savings on Dell's most popular laptops. Now starting
at $449!
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221827510x1201399090/aol?redir=htt
p:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B214663377%3B36502382%3Bh)
_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>
stylist mailing list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comca
st.net
More information about the Stylist
mailing list