reporter writing about online poker

[kpf]

Hi all,

I am a journalist working on an article about online poker for a small literary/political journal (distribution approx 15,000) called The Baffler. I am interested in writing about players' experiences on line -- what kind of people play on line and what role playing poker has in the rest of your life. I would like to interview people at all levels of play. If you would like to do a phone interview, or if you know someone else who would, please send me a private message.

Thanks!


Sincerely, Kim Phillips-Fein

[Broken Glass Can]

We do get around to looking at the different forums here, posting your message in so many was overkill and is not good form. This forum, NV&G, is the correct one for this thread.

Good Luck, and be sure to share the results of your work here when you are done.

ps - reading the summary of the magazine's current issue makes me wonder... I hope you are not as wacko as some of the other authors appear to be. [ QUOTE ]
Many commentators have remarked that the United States is a nation of rank buffoons. Few, however, have carefully measured our nation's recent and steep tumble into idiocy, much less attempted a unified theory to explain it. In its sixteenth issue, "Nascar, How Proud a Sound," The Baffler reveals the shocking breadth of American ignorance, and argues that the nation's mental and moral decline-like that of the Roman Empire-is spreading from the better classes downward. In this highly readable issue, Tom Frank gets to the root of Ann Coulter's mental infirmity. Nick Cohen examines Britain's outbreak of millennial lunacy. Paul Maliszewski details the delusional narcissism of "the creative class" and its theorist, Richard Florida. Jamie Kalven chronicles Mayor Daley's Neronian cruelty to the poor of Chicago. Dubravka Ugresic fondly remembers the gentler days of Socialist Realism. Also included are clever and biting musings on an array of cultural products by the likes of Jim Arndorfer, Ana Marie Cox, Dan Kelly, and Dan Raeburn. Plus fiction by Laurie Weeks and the "Wal-Mart Epigrams" of poet Bernadette Mayer.

[/ QUOTE ]

[johnfromvirginia]

Agreed. I hope this magazine is better than the quote you posted. This sounds like the ridiculous ramblings of a self-aggrandizing jackass whose prose has exceeded the limits of his/her own understanding. While I'm sure this writer considers him/herself to be firmly entrenched in one of the "better classes," in trying to sound impressive, the
writer subtly misuses words and phrases like "mental decline."

Anyone contemplating an interview would do well to read an issue or two first. It wouldn't surprise me if they plan on bashing poker and those who play it--especially those who play it for a living.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
In its sixteenth issue, "Nascar, How Proud a Sound," The Baffler reveals the shocking breadth of American ignorance, and argues that the nation's mental and moral decline-like that of the Roman Empire-is spreading from the better classes downward.

[/ QUOTE ]

What a Hoot. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Sounds Baffling. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I think I'll apply for a job at The Baffler, the writing style appeals to my sense of buffoonery.

-Zeno

[DesertCat]

Isn't an examination of poker by a "progressive" magazine perfectly apt? Poker is all about raging unchecked capitalism, so let me guess the angle they will take. Hmm, could it be "poker distributes wealth unequally, players lucky enough to have skills take from the poor downtrodden fish, i.e. poker is bad, another symbol of decline in american civilization"? Ding, ding.

[MelK]

One of the biggest complaints by liberals and progressives against state lotteries is that it is the poor who play the game. They are the "least able to afford it" and a lottery is a "regressive tax on the poor".

[lehighguy]

I think the author could at least have been upfront about his magazine in the post. It is obvious he has an agenda. He WANTS to write a certain story. Rather then actually gathering facts and determining an opinion he will determine his opinion first and gather selective facts to back it up. Looks like The Baffler forgot the scientific method.

This is all quite sad because a good story about the same topic would be nice.

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
One of the biggest complaints by liberals and progressives against state lotteries is that it is the poor who play the game. They are the "least able to afford it" and a lottery is a "regressive tax on the poor".

[/ QUOTE ]

Well this criticism is valid. Lotteries have been one of the few legalized gambling opportunities for many people. Yet it's my understanding that the rake on lotteries can be anywere from 60-80%. Compare that to poker, where 10% is a typical max in B&M and 3% more typical online. It's ironic that "good gambling", i.e. government run and supported lotteries, takes much more from participants than casino games do.

[nothumb]

Read the Steve Albini article about the music industry from the current issue, it's awesome.

NT

[El Dukie]

[ QUOTE ]
a lottery is a "regressive tax on the poor".

[/ QUOTE ]

I always figured lotteries worked like a tax on people who were Bad At Math, whether they were rich or poor. That's why I'm all in favor of lotteries. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif