Comments on: Catfight, blogger ethics battle – what? between posts on Kucinich and Palmer

By: Jill Miller Zimon

Jill Miller Zimon — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:53:57 +0000

Believe me- having just been part of a major implosion where people who should have known better didn’t set up the rules properly and I got burned (not to mentioned blamed by some), I understand how things can look and still not be as they seem.

In the Ohio sphere, no question – we hold each other’s feet to the fire and that’s how we all learn what the rules and boundaries are, if we want to be credible and transparent etc.

I’ve known Anthony for a while, I’ve followed Blue Ohioan since it started, I have had email exchanges with Susan. But I wasn’t going to do more than prod here because I can see why you might see what you say you saw.

Other than Susan and Anthony sharing sentiments about issues etc., I don’t know for sure, of course – but it never occurred to me at all that the blog is in any way a bona fide, planned tool. Not that any of our blogs, when we are being partisan, couldn’t be seen that way. And Anthony can speak for himself and you for yourself – of course.

I’m actually guessing, with all due respect to the passion that Susan in particular puts into Blue Ohioan, that the traffic may not even be that high and I know, for myself, with my numbers as low as they are, I don’t even imagine people thinking I’m shilling or anything.

Feet to fire – good. Checking things out to see if they are as they seem, also good. Zealous support for whomever you back, also good.

Thanks. Sorry if I made anyone feel awkward – just glad for the communication.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:37:13 +0000

Thanks Jill

I see an obvious connection. Rosemary pays Anthony, Anthony pays for the site that Susan (Rosemarys top volunteer) blogs from. If we looked at this on a larger scale and say, as an example, it was Hillary’s campaign manager who paid for a blog where Hillarys chosen volunteers spewed anti-Edwards crap, we would not be discussing the nuances of the ethics .

I do hope this situation was not as contrived as that but in the very least it is an amatuer campaign move – this all should have been stated up front on BlueOhioan. If Rosemary did not want to be associated as closely as she is with BlueOhioan, her campaign manager should not be listed as the site’s owner. It just seems pretty simple to me.

Thanks for your time.

And Eric, I did not get reeled into anything, I sat on this for days before I published, even casually talked to a lawyer about what he thought. So, nice try.

You do know something about looking foolish though – as there aren’t too many bloggers that relish in the fat joke like you (at least not of your stature). And the boxing match – hah! Pure Foolishness. Don’t you have some important work to do?

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:14:41 +0000

Cindy got caught up in Susan’s “attack” and failed to reel it in a bit. Ends up looking foolish in her intimation that the Palmer campaign endorses the view.

By: Jill Miller Zimon

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:28:43 +0000

Nothing like a little zeal. It’s what we love about blogging. But knowing all the parties involved, so to speak, well – I just felt that there was probably a good chance to make the situation more transparent.

Thanks.

By: Anthony Fossaceca

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:26:18 +0000

So, as my post above states, I’m not blogging there while under contract (which I am), but Susan is. That’s her call. Susan isn’t a spokesperson for the campaign BUT she’s a darn good volunteer. I’m not shy about saying that. She doesn’t take orders from me, not that she would anyway. She’s got a son overseas and this race means a lot to her. She does volunteer with our campaign, and she has given money to the campaign – but she most definitely does not post anything to the blogs about this race from this office. That’s our policy. Only four people speak for the campaign – Rosemary, her husband Paul, Mike Gillis, and me. Period. We’ve got a blog on the campaign website and that’s the vehicle we use (along with email and traditional sources). We don’t need to get caught up in the middle of a blogfight, and we’re not going to.

This race is about Dennis Kucinich, Rosemary Palmer and the voters of Ohio’s Tenth Congressional District. It’s not about Susan and Cindy.

By: Anthony Fossaceca

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:09:28 +0000

Jill,
These are all good, valid questions. Here’s the response I left on As Ohio Goes about an hour ago (I’ll have more after the comment)…

Cindy,
I own the domain BlueOhioan.com and have owned it from fall of 2004. When I am not under contract with a campaign, I blog there. Two other people have accounts to blog there – Veronica Johnson and Susan Meara. Susan is the person who posted the entry you are referring to – not me. It says so right on the entry. If you have an issue with her, please take it up with her. I haven’t blogged there since June or July. It’s been pretty much all Susan. She’s not employed by the campaign, my company or BlueOhioan. She’s just a mom and an activist like you. I think your beef with with her.

A simple phone call could have cleared this up, you know.

Anthony