Raquelita_eAug 24, 2023
Sarah Brown

Discussing the British Press, and I'm reminded of the time when I had a moderate amount of celebrity in the UK LGBT community, and the press tried to do a hit piece on me.

Now here's the thing. There's a cheat code, and I'm going to explain what it is:

They will contact you for comment.

If you say nothing, they will publish the piece and say you were offered the chance to comment.

If you tell them to fuck off, they will publish the price and say your response was foul and unprintable.

I did neither of these things. I told them that this piece wasn't journalism. It was ridiculous tittle tattle and represented everything that was wrong with a failing and dying industry more obsessed with clickbait than proper reporting. I asked them if they didn't have proper news to report, and said that they should be ashamed of themselves.

They're basically screwed at that point. "We contacted Ms Brown for comment and she said that this was ridiculous tittle tattle and that the reporter should be ashamed of herself."

They're not gonna say that.

I'm struck by something one of my history teachers once said about medieval castles. They weren't meant to be impregnable. They were meant to be annoying enough that an invading army would decide to investigate other priorities instead.

The piece never ran.

If you're a trans person in the crosshairs of the British press, make yourself an annoying target. They're on a deadline, and if you make them conclude that life is too short, they will leave you the fuck alone.

Aug 22, 2023 at 11:20pmWeb
Show threadDon_RubielAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah Good strategy!
Show threadThe BoobookAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah
My dad once told me that politicians, when stuck on a question, or accidentally saying the wrong thing would just start say fuck fuck fuck...This made the comment un-reportable on the nightly news. Gave them a retake and time to think.
@VickiWoodward
Show threadSusi ArnottAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah Thanks, fantastically useful - filing under #journalism
Show threadJohn Caveney woke is me🛠️Aug 23, 2023
@goatsarah excellent. 👏👏👏✊💪
Show threadAngela Glansbury 🚽Aug 23, 2023
@goatsarah
That's a great hack 🎷🐛
Show threadSune AukenAug 23, 2023

@goatsarah

This is some fine #genre analysis, I salute you.

Show threadscattershotAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah that’s awesome advice. Just be annoying enough. Thanks for sharing.
Show threadsagebielAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah @charles_ex @stefanieschulte
Show threadJohn HobbsAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah Brilliant strategy! Well done.
Show threadPia Herself Aug 23, 2023
@goatsarah Back when I was studying, I was approached for an interview. The original title was 'up and coming women in tech', but the real angle was just apparently make fun of 'angry feminist girls'. Originally excited, I tapped out of the interview midway, as I saw it as nothing but fishing for a 'crazy' anecdotes and proving their stereotypes. It was still released as a web article, but at least they left my name out. It was just practically taking my every answer and framing it as edgy as possible.
Show threadWarmasterPalakAug 23, 2023

@goatsarah

The goal of a castle was indeed to make any siege cost more in time and manpower than it would take to break the castle. Holding out until allies could arrive, winter could set in, or food stocks in the surrounding area could be exhausted was the point. But it was a gamble because, if the invaders broke through, the retribution for forcing the siege would be terrible indeed.

The press doesn't have nearly that kind of power behind them. I love the idea of using their own impotence against them.

Show threadAnother Angry WomanAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah similar tip from doing press office stuff for the Vagina Museum: we get the occasional fucking awful requests for comment on what's clearly going to be a hit piece about a post using gender neutral language. Always reply with something steering away, e.g. if it was sparked by ovarian cancer they'd get a reply to the effect of "ovarian cancer is very serious. Here's the symptoms, it's important to be aware" and they'd never print it because they never wanted to talk about the real
Show threadAnother Angry WomanAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah personal favourite was when they decided go after a Polish activist doing a takeover on the abortion ban. Ignored the first couple, hit pieces were published. For all latter ones, just responded with "they're banning abortion in Poland, stop derailing" and those ones never went up lmao
Show threadAdvanced Persistent TeapotAug 23, 2023
@stavvers @goatsarah are there any good guides on "here are the red flags that an article is going to be a hit piece"?
Show threadAnother Angry WomanAug 23, 2023
@http_error_418 @goatsarah honestly, if a journalist ever requests comment on something controversial, assume it's in terrible faith because it definitely will be
Show threadAdvanced Persistent TeapotAug 23, 2023
@stavvers @goatsarah ah, a -super- simple guide, the best kind.
Show threadPatsy (she/her)Aug 23, 2023
@http_error_418 @stavvers @goatsarah and if they are asking in good faith, something like "ovarian cancer is very serious, here are the symptoms" will actually be helpful
So it's a win-win strategy
Show threadM.S. Bellows, Jr.Aug 23, 2023
@http_error_418 @stavvers @goatsarah Also, you can check the reporter's and publication's histories. E.g., I have heartburn with the NYT's editorial choices, but their serious reporting remains superb, so I'd be willing to trust a serious-minded reporter like Jim Tankersley (or I'd call Jim and ask him for his confidential thoughts on the reporter/editor who had reached out). Ditto The Atlantic and Matt Seaton.
Show threadrodluxAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah I wonder if it is also worth suffering that you will refer th to the regulator if they refuse to publish verbatim what you said. As without doing so it would mean they are being biased.
Show threadSeriousMoonlightAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah LOL! High five! Great advice!
Show threadSeth should be writingAug 23, 2023

@goatsarah I LOVE this. It's so much better and more effective than the normal strategy people suggest for bullies which is "ignore it and they'll go away". No they won't.

Become and annoying target! Make them rethink their priorities if they're not going to get what they want out of you without a ton of effort.

Show threadvolkrisAug 23, 2023

@goatsarah

Seems to me they’re not screwed at all, as they can either flat out lie or hedge with, “did not reply to our question by press time.”

Which is technically true: even if you replied to their email, if your response didn’t answer their question, then they can simply say you didn’t answer their question.

Sadly, the only real solution to this problem is for the general public to move to better press outfits, which is an issue coming and going, the lack of better press outfits PLUS a public that kind of likes the rubbish.

Show threadlafnlabAug 23, 2023
@goatsarah There should be an AI bot that churns out dense but meaningless text, sort of like lorem ipsum with actual words. If they get pages of it in response to questions maybe they'll look elsewhere or reconsider the topic. ​ 🤖​
Show threadStrypeyAug 28, 2023

@goatsarah
> [the British press] They're on a deadline, and if you make them conclude that life is too short, they will leave you the fuck alone.

That's fucking gold, thanks for sharing it.

Show threadThe Animal and the MachineAug 29, 2023

@goatsarah
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excellent advice!