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Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:13 am
by Rodin
You make some great points.
People are letting their love of Mr Cohen obscure real issues of press freedom. A friend of mine, Ian Tilton, led a similar boycott of photographers for the Stone Roses gigs in Manchester.
You are also right about the Bucharest ticket prices, tickets at 200 euros are way out of step with the local economy. I live in Bulgaria which has a similar, poor economy, an average salary for a e.g. teacher is €350 a month

Re: Journalist' "boycott ?" or boycott ?

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:16 am
by mirka
.
As I understand journalists in Germany (and England ?) boycotted the Berlin show for their own valid reasons.
Why was the subject changed from the original boycott as reported by Tina to "boycott" ?
Being from a country where this kind of language was often used I'm quite sensitive to such a manipulation.

Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:58 pm
by tomsakic
Vlad, ticket prices in Romania are the decision made by the local promoter only, according to their estimated costs of the show and will to make profit on it. Leonard's show is expensive, but even in Croatia the promoter had very expensive tickets for our standards, 400 kunas, which is actually 50 Euros for the first rows, so in the end they were cheap compared to other shows, except Belgrade.

From my experience, the photographers are not Cohen fans. It is just a bunch of professional photographers from various agencies and media let in for the first song, and then they leave. During his show, Nick Cave stopped after first song, waiting - his words - "for vultures to be led out". What press wants, at least in Croatia, is to get free tickets, not do anything, and then copy an article translated from foreign online press.

Re: Journalist' "boycott ?" or boycott ?

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:36 am
by Mabeanie1
mirka wrote:As I understand journalists in Germany (and England ?) boycotted the Berlin show for their own valid reasons
England?? There was certainly no shortage of press photographers at either of the London shows.

Wendy

Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:52 am
by vlad
You may be right, Tom. My points: 1- Press-contracts seem to have become onerous and imo too few people do anything about it. 2- This time, Leonard Cohen & team seem to have somewhat disconnected from local organisers. This saves energy but affects the vibe.

I'm not into reporters-, physicians-, politicians- etc.-bashing. They deserve respect. And free tickets. Unprofessional colleagues need to evolve, some won't. The world ain't perfect, less so every day. So not everybody deserves what they get, or get what they deserve. For instance, I thought my excessively long contribution deserved careful reading, it seems I was not entirely right.

However, not always getting what one really deserves also means getting some things one hasn't deserved; and that makes this imperfect world a bit prettier. Nick Cave is a case in point, if you ask me. A clumsy writer, an ancillary musician, an unpleasant public persona – not much to write home about. I'd started by having all reasons to like him, none withstood proof as far as I'm concerned. But he's an international star.

Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:26 am
by sandraa
I attended the Kilmainham show tonight(Wed) and was followed by a steward who told me my camera was too large and my lens (24-70mm) was too long. I pointed out that we were surrounded by people with cameras but she insisted mine was just too big.My 12year old was attending her first ever concert and i had just taken a photo of her at the stage 1 hour before the event so it caused confusion and annoyance. The ladies English is poor and she decides her supervisor needs to explain to me how unacceptable my camera is. A ludicrous converation ensues during which the supervisor tells me the tour management requested no cameras but it was agreed that little cameras were Ok. I ask her just what she expects me to do with the too large camera and she tells me i can keep it but she'll be watching me!

Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:37 am
by vlad
Sandraa, the nice supervisor was instructed to be tolerant, which made his job a bit more tolerable. At large venues, cameras were always a problem - small concerts are a different cup of tea. Besides, the realm of the bridge and system cameras hasn't yet been regulated – hence the technically inept “detachable lens” criterium. I fear they will end by having you depose your phone at the entrance if this goes on. If this has to do with ©, then the legal situation is ambiguous and organisers have their house-rights or whachamacallit. Or is the reason also safety? I always wodered and never got a clear answer.

Re: Journalist' "boycott" of the Berlin show

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:46 am
by sandraa
Foolishness and greed seem to be the key reasons behind these bizarre policies. It's very unfair on event staff to expect them to administer this nonsense. Any cameras with flashes pose a far greater issue than a bridge or dslr which doesn't require flash if you're using the correct lenses.