Well, this clip's been floating around youtube for almost a year, now, but it's still very very relevant. We face very similar problems that these Kiwis do, except at least the media's not all "OH GOD THEY'VE GOT TERR'RIST WEAPONS."
I almost want to forward this to one of the local news orgs, with a note attached saying "hey, do you think you could do something like this for us? To, y'know, counteract all the bad press there is about our hobby?"
Though I guess that wouldn't be sensational enough.
call cbs and tell them you have an interesting story, not like they have anything importiant to report about.
EDIT: i didnt see TJ's post, i was watching movie. but when it is allowed...
But, surely, pictures of "Baby Suri" (and who's to say that really is their baby)is the most important news of the day, far more important than Iraq or Iran or Afghanistan or AIDS or Katrina victims or...oh, who left the sarcasm switch on? ...That's what they get for hiring a morning news personality, I guess.
I hate to bother you TJ, but is that because of something that happened before, or because PL Jeff doesn't want it? I know this was brought up pre-Obsidian Dawn, but I don't remember what the answer was.
there was an article a long while back where the writer asked to do a story, then completely jaded it and wrote an article about people with "terroristic weapons." media is not allowed, period.
I know I'ma regret admitting this to some of you lot :P The owner of the Philadelphia Gay News banks with us, as do the owners of The Key (new Philadelphia Weekly style paper) and they're all fairly liberal & open minded (the PGN guy makes Michael Moore look like the Florida Governor back in '00, could possibly persuade them to do a story slanted in OUR favor... Not exactly major networks but... *shrug*
__________________ "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."
-Thomas Fuller
Inviting any sort of media coverage problably is not the greatest of ideas, primarily because they are in control of the spin, and may sensationalise what it is we do. To paraphrase the clip, many people have not heard of airsoft because airsoft players keep it on the down low, because it is so easily misunderstood. In my experience, so far, I often have to compare it to paintball, to put it in context for people.
The downside to this is that without media coverage like this clip, or the G4 clip I've seen previously, the only familiarity the public will have is with young kids with walmart springers. Not exactly a favorable image. Paintball has been around for a number of years, but it still has trouble shaking the image of haybale fields with shop goggles, and kids shooting up their neighbourhoods.
What might be the thing to do, rather than invite media coverage, would be to produce a few PSAs. Show a few scenes of gameplay, followed by something informative about safety, or fitness, or fair play. A few more scenes, then one of our players talking about where their from, what they do, their choice of weapon, etc. Then another scene, and a cool choreographed moment like that video DoubleV posted. Then post it on youtube to spread the word.
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There is a metric assload of airsoft vids on youtube, most of them project a less than stellar view of airsoft. The problem is, and will always be, that there are a LOT of morons out there, and THEY will always make the news. Rational people having a good time will never be newsworthy. So, the media either covers only the morons in airsoft, or puts a negative spin on what we do.
We are better off being somewhat "underground". And there will NEVER be media allowed at our games. Ever.
But what about the article I wrote on airsoft (part of which I posted on the forum as sort of an AAR)? It got published, even. I'll post it sometime this week.
Don't post your real name or email address when you send an article into USA Today or the supermarket tabloids or wherever you send something like that.
__________________ "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."
-Thomas Fuller
The article in question was based on an assignement I had last semester, which required me to write a first-person (participatory) account of something; I figured hey I'll write what about what I like. Everyone in the class was going to get one of their works (we had several writing assignments) published in a weekly publication in Delaware County (publication being The News of Delaware County - 6/21/2006), in a section that was supposed to be for youth and students in the area. I was only notified well after I'd submitted my stuff for grading and review that they were going to publish that story (one of two that were 'potential' - the other was published a week afterward). The first half of it was the AAR I'd written up, and then the other half was just basic information about airsoft (equipment, safety precautions, why play in a controlled environment). Like I said, I'd be more than happy to share it with you guys (that's what I meant by "I'll post it sometime this week").
When I said "I don't count as media, do I?" it was meant as a joke; that is, I'm a journalism student, does that mean I can't be around anymore? I sure hope not. It's not like I'm going to be turning in articles to major news organizations any time soon, anyway - it'd be sort of a conflict of interest, it'd be repetitive, all that. Those are the same reasons I'd have to think it over before writing another article about airsoft, unless it was directed at the airsoft community (in the form of a newsletter, or something like that).
And I dunno if it would be a conflict of interest, I always figured newspapers & whatnot wanted people who were involved in whatever they're writing to do articles (IE: Comp Sci person reviews latest video cards or whatever)
__________________ "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."
-Thomas Fuller
There is a metric assload of airsoft vids on youtube, most of them project a less than stellar view of airsoft. The problem is, and will always be, that there are a LOT of morons out there, and THEY will always make the news. Rational people having a good time will never be newsworthy. So, the media either covers only the morons in airsoft, or puts a negative spin on what we do.
We are better off being somewhat "underground". And there will NEVER be media allowed at our games. Ever.
No Malarkey. But, when you think about it, everyone needs to open their eyes and realize that these morons are plenty eligible Darwin Awards. With their stupidity, they'll think it's funny to paint over the orange tip and then point it at a cop or something. And then, they will thankfully get blown off the face of the earth, taking their stupid genetics out of the world's Gene pool. Personally, I blame this behavior on Jackass and Viva La Bam. I think airsoft would be a much safer sport had those shows not existed.
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To be fair, idiots have been around far longer than they ever had TV shows... driveby paintballings anyone? I had a friend in college who used to have this car that was so beat up & broken that it literally had a 1' wide hole rusted out of the floor of the passenger side - just pull up the carpet & he would drop firecrackers out the bottom & whatnot so they would blow up under the cars behind him. He no longer has a license, needless to say.
__________________ "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."
-Thomas Fuller
