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Richard Botto, Editor in Chief / CEO of RAZOR Magazine, has created the definitive men's magazine which features the best in men's fashion, travel, sports, autos, celebrities, technology, humor, fiction, fitness and more.
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 WRITINGS:
RICHARD BOTTO
Back to Writings Main Menu
June 2005
Did You Hear?
About a year and a half ago, I was caught "canoodling" with
Kristin Davis at a downtown Manhattan lounge. As the story goes, she
was "beautiful and thin" and I was "well built and tan."
We made a "lovely couple" and "couldn't take our hands
off one another." In fact, we seemed "quite in love."
I was a very, very lucky man.
A few days later, I was spotted in Amsterdam with a few peers from the
magazine industry. For what it was worth, it seemed like I was having
a rollicking time sampling the local "culture," leaving the
purified air for those less fortunate.
Nice life I had carved out for myself, no?
The reality is, I've never met Kristin Davis and, although I had been
out and about in New York mere days before we were "spotted,"
at the time of our date, I was actually 3000 miles away in West Hollywood.
In fact, at the time, I knew little about her - and had it not been
for the fact that I had been held hostage at stare-down point by an
ex-girlfriend during a time of the month where no sane man would argue
with anything, I would have been proud to say that I've never seen an
episode of Sex and the City.
As far as my Amsterdam trip, well, I wasn't there either. I was on the
other side of the world playing in a golf tournament outside of San
Diego, where the only wacky weed I experienced was restricted to searching
for my Titleist after some errant drives.
So where did these stories come from? Where did they originate? The
Internet of course. The land where reporting knows no boundaries - the
new frontier, the new store front, if you will, of beauty shop gossip.
It would be easy to target those who write for the web - those who report
first, fact check later (if at all). But, they are not to blame - that
falls squarely on the tastes of the American public.
Think about why reality TV has blown up. Why tabloid journalism has
never been more in demand. Why we're more infatuated by celebrity than
ever before. Why the biggest obsession of the American public has to
do with the mundane (and inane) happenings of a hotel heiress. It's
escapism pure and simple. Going to the movies and attending sporting
events used to be referred to as escapist entertainment - a place to
temporarily forget your woes. But the new way to flee the unfortunate
twists life has to offer is to revel in the misfortunes of others. And
you can do it right in the comfort of your own home, bathed in the glow
of your television or computer screen, or in the most ordinary of situations,
like the checkout line of your local supermarket. Misery no longer loves
company, it loves The Simple Life and the National Enquirer.
The news media is no less guilty. Feeling the pressure from renegade
bloggers and unauthorized sites with no guidelines, they've upped the
ante, stirring the pot with hyperbole and candid imagery. I submit the
Terri Schiavo "reporting" as evidence. We were so overwhelmed,
so blunted by the still photos and film of the incapacitated woman,
and the story surrounding her - the very important political, moral
and ethical battle that was playing out - that we became numb. After
a while, her plight became less about right, left and theological beliefs
and was reduced to the fact that life is more fragile than a wingless
bird facing a headwind. The focus was lost and so, unfortunately, was
the importance, scoring another point for news as entertainment.
The trend is likely to get worse before it gets better. With the public
clamoring for dirt wherever they can find it and with standards at an
all-time low, those in the public eye can expect to be like an ant under
a magnifying glass for some time to come. There is simply no liability,
no consequence to those who author their own interpretations of the
truth. The burden of proof in libel and slander cases is more difficult
for the prosecution than in any other - there's no DNA evidence, just
tainted and smeared bloody fingerprints. And those who blog, those who
report, know that if they open a gaping wound, they can use a retraction
as a suture.
Like all things unregulated, it will take something revolutionary to
change the rules and I don't see it happening anytime soon. So in the
meantime, Kristin, call me. Let's give them something to really talk
about.
RICHARD J. BOTTO
Editor in Chief, CEO
www.razormagazine.com
As always, we welcome your comments via e-mail to
letters@razormagazine.com
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