News media
October 2007
A freelance journalist working mainly for one particular British newspaper interviewed me with a view to publishing an article about my Amazon reviews, but that newspaper decided not to use the story. The article later appeared in various guises in four other newspapers, but I wasn't impressed by the results in most cases. Some people think they're OK but they can't convince me. Much better was my interview on BBC Radio Leicester, which I did live in the studio and which you can listen to, if your computer is set up correctly. Even if you can't, most of what I said has been repeated on the web page itself. The only good newspaper article appeared in the Times, although it's not specifically about me. I have removed the link to the article because it is no longer free to view online; only Times subscribers can see it,
The lies and half-truths
I've long suspected that newspapers only tell the truth when it suits them, but it was still a revelation to me to see just how much they twist things to suit their own agenda. Here are some of the lies and half-truths written about me.
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I'll admit to being an introvert and to spending a lot of my time on my own, but I'm definitely not a recluse. If I were, I wouldn't have agreed to be interviewed about my Amazon reviews. I also doubt that a recluse would use his or her real name on the internet, or post so much personal stuff for all the world to see. Unemployed people have to choose between many desirable options in life. I'll socialise more when I have money to pay for such activities.
The original journalist, who is definitely not to blame for the use of this word (he wanted to present me in a positive light to help me in my job quest), suggested that one of the other journalists jumped to the wrong conclusion because I hadn't wanted to conduct the interview at home (we did it in the city centre). In fact, I'd chosen not to do the interview at home because I was only given a couple of days notice and I didn't feel that I could make an unexpected visitor welcome at such short notice. Having seen the way I've been reported, I can't imagine ever inviting a journalist into my home, even if I am given plenty of notice.
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A figure obtained by adding my Amazon UK reviews to my Amazon USA reviews. At the time I had about 2,500 on each site, but since my policy is to post my reviews on both sites where possible, the true figure was probably around 2,600 different reviews at the time, because some reviews could not be posted on both sites. That figure might confuse people, so it's best to stick to the total for one site. Of course, when it comes to votes, it is perfectly valid to add the votes together, but then if you want to be accurate, you have to add in France, Germany and Canada (and Italy since 2011) although I haven't put anything like the same effort into these sites as Britain and America.
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Flattering but I mostly review music. My book reviews are limited and at the time of the interview were confined to non-fiction material. I've since reviewed two novels and will review more eventually. I've never reviewed any films, nor will I because they don't interest me sufficiently. I'm a firm believer that people should stick to reviewing what they know about. You probably know more about films than I do. The nearest I get is books or music related to films, which means I know a bit about actors and actresses who have also recorded some music.
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More flattery. In reality, a former computer programmer. These days computer programmers are normally called software developers, but they do the same basic job although the technology is somewhat different. This same phrase was later used in another article, but I can live with it especially as I don't expect to get paid employment again.
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No I didn't. Actually, I started reviewing seriously about six months before that. Even after my redundancy, I never worked full time on my reviews. I have bursts of activity when I am very productive but I have plenty of times when I don't write much.
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What I actually said was that I generally prefer older recordings anyway. I don't know much about contemporary music but since that music tends to be more expensive, I don't see any need to find out about it. I therefore stick to the older music. Yes, I may have used the quoted phrase, but let's get the context right. I never buy music purely on price alone.
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No they don't. I did some of that for a while in the sixties as I explained in my blog about Trains, but those days are long gone.
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I did for a while but my floppy drive broke down. Later, Leicester public library upgraded its computers and no longer has any facilities for them. Note In March 2008, four months after the media fuss, I bought a new computer (which I'd been saving up money to buy for a couple of years) and went online from home again. I still have my old computer but haven't connected it to the internet.
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I'd given up both these hobbies long before Amazon existed although the stamp collecting lasted well into the eighties.
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In May 2010, I learned that my average then was 327 although I've written reviews exceeding 1,200 words. 200 to 300 would be more typical at the time of the interview. As my reviews these days tend to be longer on average than my early reviews, I expect my average in October 2007 was around 300.
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When asked what was the highest number of reviews I'd written in one single day, I said 20 but that would be for CD's that I was already very familiar with. So I once wrote 20 in a day and I may have come close a few times, but it's unlikely ever to happen again. Posting reviews is a different matter, because while I didn't have an internet connection at home, I wrote about 300 reviews on my old computer with no way to transmit them except by re-typing them all, which I did eventually. I posted them at the rate of around ten per day.
Christmas 2008
In the run-up to Christmas 2008, my local newspaper asked me to recommend a Christmas gift as part of a feature they were doing. It turned out to be a two-page spread featuring recommendations by some genuine local celebrities such as author Sue Townsend and various sportsmen, together with people who had previously been featured in their newspaper for whatever reason, including myself. It was amusing to see that another of the contributors was somebody who has was in South America walking the Amazon. Actually, he started on the Pacific coast and the first month was occupied in reaching the source.
April 2010
Amazon again contacted me asking permission to pass on my e-mail address to a couple of UK publications. Although less than enthusiastic, I gave the required permission but heard nothing for a while. Eventually, somebody on the Amazon UK Vine forum mentioned an article in Private Eye. It was full of lies and distortions, but I'm glad they didn't contact me. Anyway, it seems that they only post the current issue online, so I can't link to it. Seeing what they wrote, I doubt that I could have changed their mind. Soon after that, the Sunday Times contacted me, but it seems that although I was able to provide them with material of the type they were looking for, it didn't involve anybody famous enough to sustain their interest. I bought the next edition of the newspaper, but there was no article.
July 2010
Amazon USA opened on July 16th, 1995. I contributed my thoughts to an article celebrating the 15th anniversary that appeared in The National, which is an English language newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. Although they got my name wrong as well as calling me a former IT executive, I thought this was an excellent article, especially compared to what other newspapers have done. I sensed that it would be, because the journalist appreciated my intital e-mail response and we later had a telephone conversation.
July 2011 to February 2012
The Times asked Amazon for permission to contact me about an article they were planning on unsung heroes. I gave Amazon permission to pass on my e-mail address and blog link, which they did. I heard nothing from the Times until September, by which time I had assumed that they had abandoned the idea. At the end of September, the Times interviewed me and said that they would at some point arrange a photo session in my home, which I agreed to although I don't like the idea. The photo session finally took place one Monday in February 2012 and there was a piece in the Times on Friday the same week - the 17th. It was better than I expected, but it was not part of a series on unsung heroes. The Times had apparently reported a scandal involving Trip Advisor a week or two before, and the article using my interview was part of a follow-up to that scandal report, for which a Trip Advisor reviewer was also interviewed. I am not linking to the article because only Times subscribers can see it online, at a price.
May 2012
Having lost my UK #1 ranking on the current system in November 2011, and having lost my UK #1 ranking altogether in December 2011 with the abolition of Amazon's second ranking system, I assumed my media days were over unless The Times published a piece about me, which they belatedly did (see above). I was therefore surprised to receive an urgent e-mail from the BBC inviting me to take part in a World Service programme about the value of professional versus lay book reviewers. I would like to have taken part, but I saw the e-mail too late. Still, maybe my media career is not over yet.
