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In Reply to: Re: In Defense of Salvatore! posted by John Atkinson on May 2, 2006 at 09:46:10:
"I respectfully suggest you put your conspiracy theories back in your
pocket. I fail to grasp why the fact that I disgree with you over this
matter means I support the interests of my advertisers over those on
my readers."In fact, Stereophile's policy on reviews is generally unpopular with
manufacturers, because it prevents a brand being launched in the US
on the back of a positive review. Which is why I implemented it back
in the 1980s. Much the same reasoning underlies our '5-dealer rule.'"
And I respectfully suggest that you avail yourself of a good dictionary. I neither said nor did I imply "conspiracy". I did not suggest that any more than if I were to point to a merchant's good customer service. That is not a conspiracy. But, perhaps as my grandmother used to say, "The thief's hat is on fire."A review is not the only means to inform your readers. It turns out, in fact, that Harry Pearson (who seemed at once less beholden to advertisers and less successful than you) wrote about the qualities of the Shelter cartridge in The Absolute Sound before anyone was importing them. Apparently he found it of such quality and so reasonably priced that he could not resist. If memory serves he hoped that someone would import it. An adventurous soul could put that together with what Arthur Salvatore wrote, or with what information one could pick up on the Asylum and come to the correct conclusion, and purchase.
But not by reading Stereophile at the time.
It is not unreasonable for a relatively large circulation magazine (or commercial webzine) to write about products that are generally and easily available and have a continuing and convenient supply stream. But for the hobbyist, and I think the Asylum is full of hobbyists, that is not enough. Hence the interest in, and need for, sites like the Asylum and Arthur Salvatore's "High End Audio".
Mel
Follow Ups:
> It turns out, in fact, that Harry Pearson...wrote about the qualities
> of the Shelter cartridge in The Absolute Sound before anyone was
> importing them. Apparently he found it of such quality and so
> reasonably priced that he could not resist. If memory serves he hoped
> that someone would import it.
And as I said in my earlier message, that is precisely the scenario
that my policy is intended to avoid, for reasons that should be
self-evident. Introducing a product line to market should not be a
joint venture between manufacturer and the press, in my opinion. I
much prefer to let a new brand get established on its own before it
gets coverage in Stereophile.And I fail to see what your problem is if TAS had already alerted you
to the existence of the Shelter cartridges. Why the need for further
validation on your part?
BTW, I snipped the gratuitous insult from your text above because,
frankly,I am growing weary of being straight with inmates, only to
have some people taking the opportunity to be snide. I have no
problem with anayone disliking Stereophile for whatever reason.
But when you throw out the nasty little innuendos, you cross the
line between strongly expressed opinion and namecalling.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
v
BTW, you really ought to give Fremer a good kick in the shins the next time you see him ... IMHO of course! :)
First, I don't dislike stereophile. I am a subscriber and have been continuously for many years. You even ran a letter from me. I don't know what I said to make you think that. Do I think it could be better? Yes, of course.What HP did was simply good reporting; it wasn't a "review". If the NY times reports on a GM car running on sugar water in Brazil, it might generate interest on the part of US consumers. That does not put the Times into a joint venture with GM.
In direct response to your question, sometimes I find myself interested in a product that I have no opportunity to audition. At the time the Shelter was such a product. I seek out all the information I can and from whatever source I can. I evaluate the advice and the advisor. Thus, it was not merely the existence of the Shelter that interested me but rather the consensus that it had the qualities I was looking for. Validation at the time by Stereophile, to which I subscribed, would have helped come to a decision. As it is I made a good decision, but there was some trepidation.
I did that again just recently with a Lavry Black.
I'm sorry you think that my remark was a snide innuendo. It wasn't so intended. Had you been born closer to New York than to York you would have recognized it as a light-hearted and folksy remark. Apologies if you didn't.
Mel
z
> I'm sorry you think that my remark was a snide innuendo. It wasn't so
> intended. Had you been born closer to New York than to York you would
> have recognized it as a light-hearted and folksy remark. Apologies if
> you didn't.
Aoplogy accepted, Mel. I was put off by your inference that I put the
interest of Stereophile's advertisers ahead of those of my readers. I
do not. For me the readers always come first, which is why I operate
the policies I have described.
Glad the Shelter is working out for you.
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
Right!Next you'll tell us that our Congressmen and Senators in Washington NEVER put the interests of campaign contributors above those of their constituents back home.
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Boo!
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