Has anyone heard from that Fritz guy?

[peacefuljeffrey]

You know, the one who thinks that Delicas are terrorist knives...


Numerous people said they had emailed him or otherwise contacted him about his disgusting article in The Wall Street Journal.

Has he responded to anyone's letter of criticism?

Also, has The Wall Street Journal published any letters to the editor that were in response to the article's abhorrent bias and hysterical propaganda?


-Jeffrey

[SoCal Operator]

I haven't heard anything. This is no surprise, as I don't read the WSJ, but I also havent' heard anything on other knife sites. The WSJ might be keeping quiet because of the response. Or they just don't publish disagreeing points of view.

[peacefuljeffrey]

So, any of you all who wrote to Mr. Fritz: has he responded to you?

Some of you demonstrated that you had written, or planned to write, polite comments to him regarding the obvious inflammatory bias in his article. Has he emailed or contacted you regarding what you sent him?

I was very critical of him when the article came to light, and some here even criticized me for being too harsh. I am really interested in seeing what he had to say to those who politely corrected his misinformation.

Are you saying nothing because he wrote back nastily, and you don't want to confirm what I was alleging from the start?


-Jeffrey

[markg]

Writing for a large media outlet like the Wall Street Journal is going to generate lots of people who don't like what you say, not matter what you say, or even if you were right or wrong.

Keeping that in mind, you don't get paid to respond to e-mails, you get paid to write articles. It is my experience, that you are more than likely not going to get a response from the author.

Now, letters to the editor, you can expect responses from time to time.

[Saint-Just]

Just my $0.02:
I haven't read the WSJ (the days of Wood-stein are long gone) but have worked with the media long enough (read: TOO LONG )
1) Markg is totally correct. You will not get a response. Offensive letter will only reinforce the feeling that he was right all along and that we are just a bunch of ne'er dowell thugs.
However, if there are enough letters the editor might decide to publish one. It will not be the best letter for our cause, of course, and Fritz may add a comment...
2) Writing to the editor may or may not make any difference (imagine how many letters the guy receives. And if you think you know what working under tight deadlines and heavy pressure means, think again: No matter how fascinating, I wouldn't take the job for a million bucks)
3) The best way forward would be for someone like Sal, in his capacity, to write the letter to the Journal (Fritz + Editor). That one has good chances of going through (and a little lobbying from Spyderco and/or others to ask for a right to reply would help)

edit: slight confusion at the beginning of the post with the Washington Post sorry!

[peacefuljeffrey]

Folks, I never said I wrote an offensive letter, nor was I hoping for a response to an offensive letter.

I asked if anyone had (a) seen a letter to the editor regarding the article get published, and (b) had any reply from the author in response to a polite letter.

Anyone?

-Jeffrey

[markg]

Folks, I never said I wrote an offensive letter, nor was I hoping for a response to an offensive letter.

I asked if anyone had (a) seen a letter to the editor regarding the article get published, and (b) had any reply from the author in response to a polite letter.

Anyone?

-Jeffrey

I am not implying that you or anyone wrote and offensive letter. Most that I saw here or on other forums were not what I would consider "offensive" by a long shot.

I was just saying that the odds of having ANY letter sent to the author of a story in the WSJ, responded to, is slim to nill. It just won't happen. If you wrote letters to everyone (or even a few) who wrote in response to a publication that reaches millions everyday, well you see what would happen.

A letter to the editor might get published. That would be your best bet to see some response.

From what I read, from people who were approached by him for the article. He pretty much lied, and distorted interviews, and such. I have dealt with the media, in particular print, and this is very common. Why do you think that no one wants to talk to them? Anyway, I am assuming, given this fact, he must have been ready to hear some "flak" from people. And he will do what any person in his situation, in his capacity does... ignores it.

I have dealt with folks in both print and TV. For some reason, the folks who work for TV news seem to be a bit more balanced and fair than the newspaper people. Keep in mind, newspapers have a long tradition of (unashamed) political affliations. Everytime you talk to a reporter for a print media, they HAVE an agenda already for what they are writing. You will be surprised by what you read, given what you actually said to them.

They don't care if they make people mad, nor will they send much time defending themselves.

Now if you point out something that makes them liable... You might get a response.

The lesson in all of this, again...

Don't believe everything you read!

[yablanowitz]

I can pretty much promise that IF a letter to the editor refuting that article ever gets published, it will be the nastiest, most incoherent rant that comes in, there by validating the article by showing that the people who disagree are crazies. Articles like that don't make it to print unless the editor agrees with them. Personally, I would LOVE to see their circulation numbers drop through the floor over this. It is the only influence we have over the media. If I HAD been a WSJ reader, I wouldn't be any more.

[HoB]

Isn't this also rather OT for this subforum?....

I am a bit surprised. If this is indeed the FRITZ from this forum who was getting people annoyed with his hit-and-run posting of political topics, he never really seemed to be an anti-knife guy .

[peacefuljeffrey]

I can pretty much promise that IF a letter to the editor refuting that article ever gets published, it will be the nastiest, most incoherent rant that comes in, there by validating the article by showing that the people who disagree are crazies. Articles like that don't make it to print unless the editor agrees with them. Personally, I would LOVE to see their circulation numbers drop through the floor over this. It is the only influence we have over the media. If I HAD been a WSJ reader, I wouldn't be any more.

I agree with your position that a paper that publishes such garbage deserves to suffer repercussions.

I disagree with the characterization that only letters that make the editors' detractors look like fools or hotheads get published.

Before I moved to Florida from New York, I had several letters of mine published in Newsday. Since moving to Florida, I have had more than five letter published in each of the following: The Palm Beach Post, The Sun-Sentinel, and The Miami Herald. The letters were even-tempered and articulate, and since most of them were related to gun-rights issues, they were most definitely not in keeping with the papers' editorial leanings. I am living proof that your letter does not have to agree with the paper's biased, yellow-journalist editorial board in order to get published.

-Jeffrey

[yablanowitz]

Let me know when the WSJ publishes a mildly worded and well reasoned letter in rebuttal to that article, and I will stand corrected

[peacefuljeffrey]

I have no recollection of having EVER seen a wild, ranting letter published in the WSJ. Therefore I can't fathom why you so strongly suspect that any letter about the knife article will be of that description.

I fully expect that IF they publish one, it will be mild and well reasoned.

I'm not defending the WSJ. I honestly don't read ANY part of it except the letters and columns in the back. On occasion I read some stories about technology and stuff. The editiorials are often quite good.

-Jeffrey