Why We Fight the Culture Wars

It has occurred to me that with all of the recent talk about religion in government, gay marriage, abortion, etc, that there has to be some kind of underlying cause or enabler of the culture wars. Why do people feel threatened? I think the reasons fall at what I would call the nationalization of American Culture. What that means is the changes over the last 50 years, post WWII mostly, where regional differences in everything has been shrinking and doing it fast, relatively speaking for a country's culture.

What I mean by culture really falls into what we consume. The biggest influence there is obviously what media we consume and even how we do it. The media has followed suit with almost all other industries into national corporate entities whose market reaches the entire country.

The nationwide reach of industries is what makes life everywhere more the same every day. Back when I was a kid you could go on vacation just a few states away and things were different. Different TV stations, different restaurants, different foods in the grocery stores, different actual grocery stores. Instead we now have the same things and I think the conservatives, more specifically the evangelical religious conservatives feel they are in regions of the country where the power structure of those corporations does not live. Their motivation then is to cut out the middleman and go for government control of certain aspects of their desired culture. That is where the theocracy comes to fruition. What it reminds me of is the communist movement. The problem with the communists is that they want their system of government/economics imposed on everyone. That is exactly what theocracy seeks to do. That is why this is a culture ?war,? but also something getting to look more like a civil war.

Ok, I am starting to sound apocalyptic, but maybe I am just prophetic instead. Maybe a power struggle is starting. It is not like I am the only person saying such things. We hear chicken-littles all the time talk about the Patriot Act and police states and my eyes roll. I see the Patriot Act as an infringement of our rights, but not an extreme one that is out to create a police state. When I add the Patriot Act with the ?Army? forming to serve in the Culture wars, then I start to think otherwise. Springer is getting the boot all of the sudden from WLWT. Howard Stern, WEBN, and Bubba the Love Sponge all getting grief. Are we headed to something worse than just a war of words?

Artspike in Trouble

Arie Vandenberg at ArtSpike Magazine has issued an email talking about the magazine and issuing a response to a CityBeat article from Steve Ramos where some less than flattering comments were made regarding Arie. Ramos article publicized the news that ArtSpike has ceased publication. Vandenberg states on his site as well as in the email that he hopes Artspike will be back:

Dear ArtSpike readers & supporters,

As you may or may not know, ArtSpike Magazine is now looking for investment partners and an equity business partner who is strong in sales and marketing in order to continue publication of the magazine. If you're in the position to invest or partner with me to help continue the progress we've made, you can move on to the bullet points I've outlined about our background and business potential. I look forward to hearing from you.

And this week Steve Ramos of CityBeat, after hearing that we might be in trouble, decided to write a short article on us. But after reading it, one which he prepared by interviewing me two separate times for about 30 minutes a piece, as well as 1 more follow up call, I have to wonder what he was smoking besides American Spirit cigarettes when he wrote it. I do understand why he wrote it. Controversy moves papers, and CB knows that if people are talking about it then they are exactly where they want to be - in the public mind. But at what price to its subjects?

To friends who know me, Steve's assertions that I'm a "playboy publisher" don't even pass the laugh test. Comments like, "knows every young female waitress in town... but that doesn't stop him from being a player... Vandenberg's life as the playboy publisher... past glories of wine, women and a pocket of notoriety" are bizarre and cheap. It's like telling a guy who rents an efficiency apartment in Clifton that, "It must be nice living in Indian Hill." Fact is, I'm more likely to be at home programming till 3am than out partying at a local club.

This is certainly not the first time CB has written what amounts to an editorial slap-in-the-face about the local scene, where they inevitably pump their subject(s) for advertising dollars with one hand and sucker punch them with the other. This has been an unfortunate trend of CB but maybe that's what happens when you're the "only" big alt paper for too many years.

It's a shame that out of everything we discussed about the business, so many of the 685 words were wasted. So in the interest of our readers, supporters and detractors, I'm going outline some of the facts that Steve must have deemed unfit for print:

• First issue of ArtSpike came out in June of 2002. Until March of 2003, we haven't missed 1 issue since the paper started. 


• I published the first issue of ArtSpike within 6 weeks of its inception as an arts media entity. 


• As a founder will where many "hats" in a business, my main responsibility was as CFO, General Manager, Webmaster and computer tech. 


• Melissa Huelsman came on board as Editor in Chief in Sept. 2003, and has done a fantastic job assembling a great writing staff and managing stories.


• ArtSpike will *not* be receiving the Empowerment Zone loan. The amount slated for request was 60k, which was to be used to increase circulation and hire a full time sales associate to build our client base to where it needs to be. These two areas are critical to its success. 


• I have extremely detailed financial forecasts that point out where we've been and where we could go as a company if it's supported properly. 


• I've invested 40k+ of my own money to start up the company. Taking the aforementioned loan into account, my *personal* dept burden would have simply been too high to be manageable. 


• Since we started, we have never had a competent Marketing & Sales manger on board. This is unfortunate but resulted in poor sales and us being in the position we are in today. 


• Throughout the last year, we have trained several sales teams to sell advertising, but they were not effective because of lack of experience and expertise in the field. 


• Despite this hurtle, we were starting to pickup advertising at a steady pace throughout 2003 until our part time sales associate left. Ad retention took a downward slope from there and unfortunately never recovered. 


• We have developed a great following and readership, and it's a disappointment to everyone involved that ArtSpike may have seen its last issue. 


• Of the many arts based institutions in Cincinnati, there are a few that stand out as supporting ArtSpike with their advertising dollar. The Playhouse in the Park, The Cincinnati Ballet, The Cincinnati Opera. It's sad I can't mention more that that, but there you have it for "major" arts institutions supporting alternative arts media. 


• We also had a growing roster of commercial ad clients which were pleased with our ads and level of service. To all of our advertising clients: Thank you for supporting alternative arts media! 


• It's no secret that we did have a relatively low circulation rate. We printed between 8000-9000 papers per run, which in newspaper "circulation" terms works out to be about 25,000. For a small paper, that's still pretty impressive. 


• If ArtSpike is to survive, we are going to need a board of investors who 1) believe in the paper as a potent forum for arts and culture and 2) its potential as a sound business investment. 


• Another thing ArtSpike needs is a professional sales manager to do nothing but sell for
  ArtSpike. 


• We have a great foundation to build upon, including the whole staff who worked to produce the paper.

You know that old saying: It's better to try and fail than to not try at all. I had a vision that Cincinnati could have a great arts based newspaper and I went for it! In many ways, I don't believe I failed. I, along with a many people involved in ArtSpike, did our best to build a great magazine literally from scratch. I hope that even if ArtSpike becomes history, that someone will learn from what we did right and what we did wrong, and launch an arts magazine that has long term success.

If you are an investor or arts patron and would like to discuss being either an equity business partner or an investor, please contact me at arie@artspike.org, 513-751-9729 (office) or 513-***-**** (home). I would love to discuss the possibilities of taking ArtSpike to the next level.

The future of the website is unknown. Since costs are much lower to maintain the site, it is likely it will continue.

CityBeat has written before on Arie and ArtSpike: 2002 and 2000.

XRay Magazine also provides coverage.

Freedom To Be Like Me

Maggie Downs must have drugged all of the editors to get this story on the front page of the Enquirer about a local lesbian couple who went to San Francisco and became one of the last homosexuals couples to be married before the California Supreme Court ordered a stop to such marriage while they hear the case pending on Gay Marriage.

The Enquirer is not known to push "Gay issues," especially on the front page, so this is a bit of a coup. I am pleased to see that the Enquirer is starting up a panel of local homosexuals. In an email sent I got a copy of what the Enquirer is asking for:

The Enquirer is putting together a panel of local people who are gay or lesbian. We have several goals:

1. We want to hear from local gays and lesbians about issues affecting them here in Cincinnati, and how we might better cover those issues, and be sensitive in our stories, headlines, etc.

2. We hope that such a gathering would help gays and lesbians better understand the newspaper, and how its editors make decisions.

3. Ultimately, we would like to produce a story about what it's like to be gay and live in Cincinnati in 2004.

We're hoping to hear from "everyday" people, gays and lesbians who have jobs and families and go to church and movies and sporting events and dine out with friends just like anybody else in the city.

We hope to meet the first time at the Enquirer building downtown sometime the week of March 22. It likely would be an evening meeting, on a day that works best for those who participate. The meeting will last 90 minutes to two hours and we likely would convene again in April, but that will be decided later.

Members of the group must be willing to speak on the record, and have their photos taken. We hope to use this group as both a source of ideas, and as a sounding board for our coverage of issues affecting gays and lesbians.

This is a big change in approach for this old gray paper, especially in the face of increased anti-homosexual attitudes locally and through out the country. With the CCV, and the Enquirer’s own Peter Bronson, making a push against all things relating to liberal freedoms, I actually salute the efforts of the Enquirer. I will hate to see the fallout. I also fear the couple will be threatened. I hope if they are that incident also makes the front page of the paper.

Opps

The person who claimed that a 17-year-old robbed was "lying." The teenager then took shots a police and hit a bystander while handcuffed in police custody. The person claiming to have been robbed actually was alleged trying to buy drugs for the teenager, but got "fake" drugs, thus she claimed to have been robbed. She is now being charged.

What an idiot. What kind of moron calls the police when they get ripped off making an ILLEGAL purchase?

This is the same situation that caused City Beat reporter Stephanie Dunlap to be barred from a police briefing.

ClevelandCincinnati Rocks!

Number Seven!

Update: More from the Enqurier.

Stephen Hill Fired From WCPO

But you have to read about it on WLWT's website. All you get from WCPO is this statement.

If Bush Goes First

The GOP is demanding an apology from John Kerry for his offhand remarks that his Republican opponents are "...most crooked....lying group of people I've ever seen."

Ok, that is way over the top. When Bush apologizes for manipulating the country on the reason for war, or just apologize for claiming that WMD stock piles were in Iraq, then I might worry about what Kerry said that happened to be picked up on a live mic. Did Bush apologize for referring to a reporter as a "major league asshole?" I don't think he did, so this is just a political gambit the media is seizing on. Yes, the liberal media; CNN is pumping up a non-issue on Kerry. I am just shocked!!!!! Oh, wait, I am not. That happened all the time with Gore, so why should CNN change now.