Monday, September 22, 2008

fargobama?!

Have you guys seen these weird bumper stickers?  I guess no one knows whos making them.

Not to be petty, but I think this article should have made it more clear that these ladies are blogging about places their PR firm represents.  Maybe not always, but it's a huge company so it's hard to tell.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw that on a t-shirt while parking bikes for SABA at Fremont Park on Friday.

From a distance, I was wondering why someone would go to the trouble of using Obama's logo and color scheme on a shirt that reads "F*ck Obama".

beckler said...

to all my single lady friends out there, check this link:
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mis/847147858.html

Anonymous said...

On a related note about full disclosure, shouldn't it be said that MM's wine writer works in the wine trade and may very well be recommending wines that will profit her company? That's not to take away from her wine writing, though, which is very informative.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous has a valid point, and I will use this opportunity to fully disclose that I have written about wines that I sell on 3 occasions. If it puts your mind at ease the articles did not result in any profits for my company, though I do hope they resulted in an increase in knowledge about those types of wines, which is the reason I chose to profile them.

The majority of the time I actively avoid writing about wines that I sell because of the obvious conflict of interest. This is difficult for me because I truly love the wines that I sell -- that's why I sell them. Luckily there are other importers and distributors putting great wine of the shelves of Sacramento, which allows me to write about the diverse world of wine and to increase the profits of my competitors.

Perhaps someday when I'm paid a full-time salary to write about wine I can afford the luxury of complete journalistic integrity. In the meantime, I am grateful that I get to do both jobs.

And thank you for the compliment about my writing being informative! I really appreciate it.

-Michele

Jeff M. said...

Aren't blogs awesome, though? Do you think kushman will ever respond to what amounts to heckasac requesting more information the way M. responded to annon? Even if kushman deemed a response important, it would not be possible for him to respond to everybody. Blogs make this kind of rapid response possible.

(Just a little blog boosting because I'm trying to keep myself from feeling like shit about the world. someone quite literally spit in my face today at work. That ever happen to you?)

beckler said...

yikes, spitting in your face? that's awful.

I knew that as soon as I posted that that I did sound petty. When I first saw that blog, I thought it was just outright a publication of their PR firm, I guess that is not necessarily the case, but it's not clear to me when it is the case and when not. That bugs me personally but there isn't anything wrong with it.

Anonymous said...

One thing I find interesting about blogs is that the form exacerbates a problem that already exists with email vs. other forms of interpersonal communication: people will say things anonymously that they would NEVER say in person or over the phone.

i'm not saying that anonymous shouldn't have brought the wine issue up, but it's weird that he/she then refused to identify him/herself.

This is why I hate the comments section on news sites like the Bee-- an actual letter to the editor has to be signed with a verifiable contact. Why is there any less accountability for a comment on their site?

Why? the answer is simple: because almost no one would post if they had to sign their name and stand behind what they say, and the only reason the comments section exists on sites like Sacbee.com is to drive traffic to the site.

in other traffic-driving news, don't forget to go see Red Heroine tomorrow at the Crest, details at the midmo blog.

spammily yours
omf

Anonymous said...

Full disclosure, I'm the secret love child of Mountain Girl & Jerry Garcia.

-miller

Snufkin said...

Having worked with Maria and the crew from Fleishman Hillard in the past, I would be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They do a lot of work, at cost, for Old Sacramento and groups like the Railroad Museum, because they know how important these organizations are to the greater community. So if they're mentioning places who are also clients, they may have these business relationships in part because they think this is a group who's adding something to the community.

Anonymous said...

Hans Shultz, the Director of Information for Mayor Heather Fargo's campaign says she kneeeww nooothiiiing and the she did not authorize a bumper sticker linking her to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The stickers feature floating heads of Fargo and Obama and their last names fused together to spell "FargObama." They just started arriving in the mailboxes of Sacramento voters.

The bumper stickers are upsetting campaign officials for Kevin Johnson, who is challenging Fargo for the mayor's job.

Johnson's campaign manager, Steve Magla---something...says the former NBA star has supported Obama since he entered the presidential race while Fargo supported Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary, even though Clinton had told Fargo...um...thanks...but no thanks.

While Obama hasn't "officially" taken sides in the Sacramento mayor's race, as Kevin Johnson so aptly stated, 'Are you f'n kidding me? Who do you think my brotha will support?'

When TSI caught up to Mayor Fargo and asked for a comment she replied, 'My dry cleaning is right there, please go easy on the starch,' After repeating our question to her a look of surprise came over her face, she said 'What? What are you all talking about? I never said I was running for a third term...did I? Well, to be honest sometimes I'm a bit foggy on these big picture things, but I'm very good on details though, but If its a campaign the People want then lets get on with it...I can't wait to debate Anne Rudin!' She further stated, 'I believe that my administration has built a model community for the entire country and an economic powerhouse. We have been very creative with our budget, and have dramatically reduced crime. I believe that the voters should just take a close look at my record, it speaks for itself.' She then added, 'However, no matter what happens in this election, I will continue serving the people of West Sacramento for the rest of my life.'

Anonymous said...

www.thesacramentoinsider.com

Liv Moe said...

hardee, har, har

wburg said...

jeff: been there, done that, wiped the spit off my face. Hasn't happened recently, though.

Speaking of journalistic integrity, the Sacramento Union wrote a glowing piece about how great Kevin Johnson is, by Katy Grimes. You can read her blog at http://katygrimes.blogtownhall.com/ . It seems like if Johnson is an Obama supporter, a lot of Johnson supporters don't seem to agree with him.

beckler said...

that woman is the WORST.

Anonymous said...

Kevin Johnson and Heather Fargo both came to our Hollywood Park Neighborhood Association meeting. Johnson was there on time, Fargo showed up more than an hour late. The difference between the two candidates was striking. Johnson had enthusiasm, energy and ideas. Fargo was listless and kept looking at her watch.

The reason she gave for being over an hour late? "Sacramento is a big city" WTF?

Classic Fargo. She's tired. She's old. She's in poor health...just like McCain.