Blogger Blackball

by digby

As most of you know, Dennis Hartley has been doing film reviews here every Saturday night for over two years now. Some of you come here specifically for that feature every week. (You know who you are…) His work helps support the site because many of you buy DVDs on his recommendation and the blog gets a little percentage from the sale. His lists of “best of” are very popular and often result in quite a nice little piece of change from Amazon.

For the past two years, Dennis has also covered unusual, independent films at the Seattle International Film festival, sometimes spotting a movie that later gets wider recognition. We’ve had some excellent feedback from some of the filmmakers and Seattle locals. It’s a nice way to support independent and foreign film making and give our readers a sense of some of the more offbeat fare that’s being produced out there.

For many years Dennis was credentialed for the festival because of his day job as a manager of a radio station that help sponsor the event. This year, the station is tightening its belt like a lot of businesses and wasn’t able to do that. So Dennis applied for credentials as a blogger critic, citing this blog’s national exposure, traffic, and influence as well as his past participation on behalf of the radio station. They turned him down. Apparently, bloggers are personas non grata at the festival. This was despite my offer (and their excited acceptance) of a blog ad for free for the run of the festival. Not that it’s worth a ton of money, but it’s not chump change either.

I would hate to think they turned him down because of my political views, but that’s certainly a possibility. (Dennis did send them the profile that was done of me in the LA Times last year…) But they gave no reason.

Anyway, I think this is a shame. Dennis has covered the festival wonderfully for them the last couple of years and loyally attended it for years before that. It’s not inexpensive and he can’t possibly justify covering it on his own dime the way he would normally do it, nor should he. Blogs are legitimate media now, and after featuring the weekly column for more than two years, a national, well trafficked blog like this one is a legitimate media outlet. They should credential him.

So, if you feel like supporting Dennis’ efforts, and want to make the point that well trafficked blogs should be considered media for these purposes, you could help out by sending a (very polite) note to the Managing Director, telling her you value the coverage of the festival on Hullabaloo and asking her to reconsider. If blogs and their readers don’t ask for respect, they won’t get it.

Deborah Person Managing Director Nancy Kennedy Director of Development Sue Guthrie Corporate Sponsorship Manager Holden Payne Director of Operations Catherine Muth Financial Administrator Randy Allmon SIFF Cinema ManagerVirginia McFadin Events Manager

Carl Spence Artistic Director Jessica Toon Director of Marketing and Communications Cal Ledbetter SIFF Cinema PublicistBeth Barrett Programming Manager Anita Monga Senior Programmer Dustin Kaspar Educational Programs Coordinator Renee O’Donnell Individual Giving Officer

Update: Thanks everyone for helping get out the word. The people at SIFF have kindly reconsidered and Dennis will be credentialled:

Dear Digby,

Thanks so very much for bringing this to our attention. After reading all
of the letters we received over the weekend from your readers, we can
certainly ascertain that Mr. Hartley¹s reviews are read around the country,
by a loyal and passionate following. Based on this additional information
and further research, we have decided to reverse our initial decision and
will be extending press credentials to Mr. Hartley for SIFF 2009. We have
reached out to Mr. Hartley this morning to inform him personally.

I do want to assure you and your readers that we recognize the importance of
blogs and have many bloggers on our press list. We do our best in
researching all those who approach us, accrediting those with legitimate
blogs and healthy readerships. Of course, as a film festival, we are paying
most attention to those blogs that focus on film, entertainment, and pop
culture. We did not understand the impact of Mr. Hartley¹s Saturday film
reviews on what is first and foremost a political blog.

We¹re delighted to learn that so many of your readers take great interest in
independent and international film. It¹s heartening to know that, through
Mr. Hartley¹s work, readers around the world can learn a little about SIFF
and a lot about the excellent filmmakers we work so hard to showcase.

Thanks again,

Deborah

I urge you all to attend the festival if you are in the area. And Dennis will, obviously, keep the rest of us up to date on all the latest offerings.