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Printer-Friendly ModeSins article contains inaccuracies
January 16, 2006 —
I am writing in reference to the article by Andy Hoag, titled "Sins celebrates 25th edition," which was in the December 12, 2005 issue. The article had false information presented that needs to be addressed.
Firstly, the article notes that a "lowlight" of the Sins' Post Publication party came when Howard James Miller III read. The article further said that he tossed "his copy of the issue to the floor" and pulled "another of his poems out of his back pocket to read to the audience." This is completely inaccurate as Miller stated before he read that the poem was entitled "The Hairy Ape" by Greg Bliss.
Secondly, the article states that Amanda Conner, Editor of Sins, "alluded in an interview a week earlier to several instances when the staff had harsh disagreements on selecting some pieces." After speaking with Conner, I found that Hoag had either misinterpreted her or misstated her actual statement. She alluded to the staff having disagreements on certain subjects, but never specified these disagreements as being in regards to the selection of pieces.
Thirdly, Hoag then writes that "Miller's demeanor while reading the poem made it clear that it was one that was debated on heavily before being left on the cutting room floor." This is a blatant, and inaccurate, assumption on the part of Hoag, as he seems to suggest he knows the inner-workings of Sins and Miller's mind. The said poem was not even submitted to be published in Sins.
Miller's reading of this poem, whether inappropriate or not, has nothing to do with disagreements regarding the selection of pieces for the magazine. Furthermore, if one were to have listened to the poem, they would perhaps have a better understanding of that disagreement.
Finally, while Hoag's opinion of this incident being a "lowlight" can be respected, his presentation of false information and inaccurate assumptions, which I assumed was inappropriate in the practice of journalism, cannot.
Mathew C. Easterwood Co-Assistant Editor of Cardinal Sins