Talking to the Press Considered Harmful

[Tim May]

On Tuesday, October 9, 2001, at 06:31 PM, David Honig wrote:

> At 02:29 PM 10/9/01 -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>> On Tue, Oct 09, 2001 at 10:09:25AM -0700, Tim May wrote:
>>> I've had a couple of reporters try to reach me for "quotes." When I
>>> turned them down, they replied along the lines of "But it'll only 
>>> take a
>>> minute of your time." All the worse, but they miss this point.
>>
>> There is a tiny bit of room for negotiations. You could agree to do the
>> interview on condition that they read you back the quotes (or email you
>> back the quotes) that they're going to use in the article.
>
> This agreement isn't enforcable, is it?  Even if it were, by the time
> you've sued them for
> damage to your rep for misquoting, its too late.

You can always tell them that if they willfully and substantively 
misquote you, you will visit their home, wait until they are are away, 
kill their wife and children, wait until they return home, force them to 
the floor at gunpoint, put tape around their mouth and nylon tie wraps 
around their hands, let them see what has been done to their family, let 
them think about it for 10 minutes, then put tape over their nose and 
wait for them to suffocate.

The danger is in telling them. It may be best to not tell them, but then 
to carry out punishment some appropriate time later.

>
--Tim May, Corralitos, California
Quote of the Month: "It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes; 
perhaps there are no true libertarians in times of terrorist attacks." 
--Cathy Young, "Reason Magazine," both enemies of liberty.