Oh crap! Now Mark Herbert's mad at us! (updated)

SooToday.com has received the following notes tonight from Mark Herbert, who was listed on the official Barack Obama campaign website as host of a convention watch party last week at Lake Superior State University:

************************* Mr. Helwig:

So that's what passes for some form of unbiased journalism for your online news - to show our little student Democratic convention party and make an offhand correlation between some kid's concert shirt (Taste of Chaos tour) and United States Senator and Democratic Party Nominee Barack Obama.

For good measure you create the page with not one but two ads for a movie created by conservative group to (weakly) attack Senator Obama.

Lovely.

Yes that is journalism at it's finest.

Edward R. Murrow would indeed be proud. When you gave me your card the other evening you actually sounded like you would like information about local news.

You seemed genuinely interested in our issues over here and stated you wanted to hear more information about them.

You even mentioned how you wished to mend some political fences between your publishing venture and our party.

After the hack way that you presented your story of our convention party and its candidate, somehow I don't think I will be making any future connections with your "news" agency.

I do hope running this little story was worth the creation of distrust within an entire political party, their friends, families, businesses and other associations in the entire local area of a neighboring country, as well as the disdain of any friends they might also know in your country.

You know how bad news does indeed travel fast in small towns.

Although it would seem you have a good grasp on at least a partial (although obviously partisan) market, you might want to rethink the marketing of your business as serious "news" agency to future potential customers or clients.

In fact I think I might take the time to make sure all of your current banner sponsors on your site do indeed know exactly how you are portraying the news stories you cover since their names do appear alongside of them.

Also, although I am not familiar (yet) about political advertisement regulations in Canada, there might be a couple of questions regarding the balanced advertisement of potential candidates on your supposedly neutral news network.

Now of course if you wish to state some form of partisan activity outright (such as contributing ad space), those questions would go away, but of course then the articles you publish would not be considered news but more closely regarded as propaganda.

On your card it states that you "do news differently," but in reality I have to say spinning things to suit you or your friends own views is not all that different from what is presented elsewhere.

We see it all the time even in much larger media then yourself.

Real journalistic integrity would indeed be different.

For me, at least, it would also be a refreshing change (oops there is that awful "C" word again).

By the way, before you attempt any spin this letter, I need to make sure you understand it is simply from me as an individual.

I am not speaking for the Obama campaign.

I am not representing any organization, the campus at LSSU, the state of Michigan, the United States, anything or anyone else.

Just me.

I hold no official titles, nor do I work for any agency as a representative.

Of course I think I have lots of friends involved in all of these and many other areas and I believe many of them hold my opinion in pretty good regard.

So if you don't like something I might say, or publish someplace (so many choices - the wonderful thing about the Internet don't you think), by all means come speak to me about it.

Personally.

Of course please do this only if you have an adequate amount of time, inclination or intestinal fortitude necessary to do so.

After all you might find I am a pretty typical American when it comes to defending my political views.

Mark Herbert

************************* Sent following posting of this article

Mr. Helwig:

As much as making the headlines used to make my day in most cases, I thought I made it pretty clear in my letter that I was not directly attached to the Obama campaign in any way.

Your newest "story" places me in the position of organizer of an event at LSSU and although I did indeed help some friends to do so, including posting some notice of it on the Obama website, I was not the sole organizer as you claim.

The actual organization that sponsored the event was the LSSU Democrats, a student organization, and you should contact them if you wish to have their opinion on your story, etc.

Please do not (again) try to superimpose something onto a United States candidate that does not belong there by his own making.

That would seem particularly unfair.

Oh, and your picture for the story could use changing as well.

You used the Taste of Chaos thing over Obama's picture already.

Unless of course you are getting a kickback or something from the promotion of the concert tour.

However if you really like using this same picture over and over, I am sure they would like the extra exposure to your readers.

Mark Herbert ************************* We do news, differently

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