RKooi Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I don't know where to put this so I guess it can go here. The current issue of Front Sight (July/August) features a review I wrote on the iSHOT bag line more specifically the larger TRB. I wrote this article in late 2003 and submitted it to Front Sight around the same time. My motivation was simply to let others know about a new product line that seemed to be an excellent value. At this same time as I got more info about his products, I spoke with Helmie Ashiblie the owner of iSHOT. As he wanted to grow his fledgling business, he wanted to get the word out to the USPSA crowd about his bags. He offered to send me samples to show around the various local matches that I attended and I agreed. He used the term 'brand champion' and since I liked and used his product that was fine with me. Fast forward to 2004 and the article gets published. I am being asked how I can write an objective review of a product line that I am affiliated with. All I can say is that I stand behind my personal opinion that I offered in the review. My affiliation is that I take a few bags to matches I attend, I have no financial stake in iSHOT. I certainly don't think that I misled the reader (as I have been accused) even in light of my subsequent relationship with Mr. Ashiblie and iSHOT. I bought the bag, I like the bag and I think the bag is a great value. Apparently others do as well as iSHOT has grown so much in the last year they utilize the services of a marketing firm to put the line in retail stores. I am also being accused of attacking another manufacturer's product in the review. This is unbelievable to me for 3 reasons. One, I only referred to other manufacturer's bags generically and not by name. Two, I didn't say anything negative about any of the bags I had used, I only cited my reasons that they didn't work for me. And three, I wasn't even referring to the manufacturer's bag who said I disparaged his line in the review. Anyway, maybe I should have vented elsewhere but I sure would appreciate any comments. This whole situation has really started to get under my skin as I really don't feel like I did anything wrong but it seems there is the appearance that I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Make like a duck and let it roll off. I thought your review was fine. I just re-read it to be sure, and I can't find one offensive thing in it. You didn't put down anybody's product, you just said that they didn't work for *you* and why. The only "problem" is that the bag you reviewed will kill everyone on price. One of the best parts of Front Sight is that people give their real opinions when reviewing products. Anything less, and it'll turn into Guns and Whammo - whose reviewers never saw a product they didn't like. It looks like a great bag, too. I like how the mag pouches are in the external pocket. I'd happily trade my Brownells mega-bag I just won for a couple of 'em. ================================================ Edit: I also wanted to add that anyone who thinks the competitive shooting community can have a review system with the independence of Consumer Reports isn't living in the real world. The community is just too small. If people question your independence, maybe a followup letter in the next issue explaining your relationship is in order. (Need to get it in soon if you do - like in the next couple days.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Clearly you need a cool new gunwriter nom-de-plume so nobody can come after you. May I suggest the 'Pimpify' thread? Seriously, I didn't see anything wrong with it either. You said what you liked and said so. I suppose you could have sent a note to the FS editors so they could add a blurb at the end that says something like "Since writing this article, Roger is now showing iSHOT gear at major matches, but has no financial interest in any of these companies" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidwiz Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 My only problem with some of the product reviews in Front Sight is that the author of the review doesn't disclose their affiliation, whatever it may be, before hand. There have been people in the past who have written reviews on firearms, that trashed that brand's competition, without disclosing the relationship, when it turns out that they get free product from that manufacture for personal use. All I'm asking for is a little transparency. If you're sponsored by the company, disclose it. If you're helping out that company with marketing, disclose it. If you have any stake in the product, disclose it. How difficult is it to include a one sentence disclosure? I've written to the editor of Front Sight before about this, and was blown off, being told it wasn't an issue. If there are ties between the reviewer and product that aren't disclosed, but later revealed, its going to make people question the objectivity of the person doing the reviewing and also the merits of the product. -David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I'll read it tonight and let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Consumer Reports gets attacked for every article in every issue they write, too. If what you wrote was wrong, shame on you. If not, write more! --Detlef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerT Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I would LOVE to coment on this, but I STILL haven't gotten the latest issue, and with the 5th being a holiday I wont have it until at least Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKooi Posted July 4, 2004 Author Share Posted July 4, 2004 Thanks for the input. I appreciate the comments. When I first wrote the article I wasn't in any way affiliated with the company. Between that time and the time it was published I began acting as 'brand champion' showing the line at various matches. Front Sight never let me know they even got the article (I emailed it to them at their submissions address) let alone give me a heads up that it was coming out in this issue of the magazine (I found that out when I thumbed through my copy.) If I would have had that knowledge I could have added that disclaimer. Since I didn't I will offer one for submission. I don't think I wrote anything other than an opinion that I stand by. If my review is perceived as bought and paid for with huge kickbacks by iSHOT then I guess a reality check is in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Roger, You're retiring to Florida from the i-Shot royalties next month, aren't you? I'm with Eric on this one --- the article was fine. I could care less that you endorse the line/show it off at major matches. You wrote a positive review --- so obviously you're biased in favor of the product. Not very shocking. Revolver shooters should take note: At the S&W IDPA Winter Championships I saw a prototype of the big bag specifically designed with revolver shooters in mind. The mag pouch panel in the front pocket is replaced by a velcroed in panel holding many pockets for moonclips/speedloaders. The panel can be removed and replaced by a velcro magpouch panel --- which might only be available as an extra cost option --- in case a luddite wants to shoot an auto-loader for a change.... Helmie seems to be very susceptible to the needs and desires of members of the shooting community and is designing his products with their concerns in mind. Now for the full disclosure: I own and use two i-Shot medium bags (I always forget what they're called) one for rifle gear, one for shotgun gear. I also use a Shooters Connection bag, a Bagmaster bag, and several Domke camera bags for my pistol gear. I have been known to endorse EricW's Tru-Grit grip for Glocks as the sweetest thing going in grip enhancements for the plastic fantastic ---- when Eric processed my original order he accidentally sent me one more grip than I paid for. I've since given that grip away as a sample. He and I have had a brief discussion about my becoming a dealer, but nothing more than that has transpired.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I read the review and found it very informative and not the least bit negitive to anyone, real or imagined. If you are worried about it, don't be. You wrote a solid review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmshtr Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 It was a fine article Roger. I completely agree. I've been using I-shot since Helmie starting things up. Oh yeah...I sell them in my store, and it's the ONLY bag I carry for a reason. Mine even have the beautiful, sexy, attractive, addictive, flashy "Shooters Paradise" logo on them....a must have! Did I make my affiliation clear? I can never tell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasag93 Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Saw nothing wrong with the article...no competitor's bags mentioned by name. I do believe that any publication that takes money for advertising will never have a bad review of a product seen in their publication. Not good to slam a product that is bringing in revenue. If you have no affiliation with the product then I don't see a problem. If you are being sponsored by them in any way then the review will seem slanted no matter what. Just remember, you can't please everyone all the time. TXAG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Maybe Front Sight could start including the date an article was submitted when they publish it to avoid such problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Roger, I wouldn't care if you lived in one those bags...I liked the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Pinto Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Roger, Don't let the bastards get you down. There will always be somebody who is going to bitch and moan, even if you included a disclaimer. Remember, critics are generally people who've never actually produced anything like the thing they're criticising. And thanks for taking the time to write your article. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Hi Roger, I read the article last night too and it is just fine. For the rest, others have said what I could repeat here, but that's unnecessary. Keep up the good work, as a former editor of several club magazines I know how hard it is to get people to write something at all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short_round Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Sounds to me like someone has bag-envy. If they are feeling guilty about an inferior product they should fix it rather than taking it out on you. It's really funny that the people giving you crap weren't even one of the three you were non-specifically referring to. Some sort of disclosure would be good, but if the Front Sight editors really don't think it is important then it's not the author's fault the information wasn't asked for, verified, and passed along. Great Article! Please keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Sounds like much ado about nothing to me. RKooi, you liked the product enough to write a positive review. Do you have a moral responsibility, months after the article was written, to update it to say, "I like this product so much I've started showing it off to people at matches"? Please, let's get real. Reminds me of something Michael Bane once told me: "You can write anything....ANYTHING, and someone's going to hate it. And some people are going to think it's great. And most people just won't care one way or the other. So write what you want." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I do believe that any publication that takes money for advertising will never have a bad review of a product seen in their publication. Boy, wait until you read my upcoming review of the Ruger P345 in Gun World. Having said that, it's true that advertising does drive some magazines. There are notable exceptions. Obviously Gun Tests has made its reputation on not even having advertisers. Denny Hansen, editor at SWAT, doesn't give a damn about advertisers. Well, that sounds too meanspirited to be an accurate reflection of his attitude, but the bottom line is that he looks at the magazine as being a service for serious people, and if an advertiser doesn't like something that's published in the magazine, oh well. Frankly, I believe the perception of the major magazines as whores has two main roots: (1) If a gun just turns to total crap in the writer's hand, most magazines' attitude is, "We don't waste our time and space reviewing garbage." Therefore most reviews are positive. (2) A lot of writers are unwilling - or maybe unable - to be brutally honest. Or don't understand just how honest you can be - they think the magazines are much more restrictive than is actually the case. In all the years I've been writing, I've only had an editor tell me once, "You can't say that." That was when, in a review of American-made Walther PPKs, I referred to the basic Walther PP design as "the most overrated handgun on Earth." But I told the editor, "Why not? Everything I said is supported with facts in the article." And eventually that piece was published exactly as I wrote it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Merricks Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Hey Roger you want me to kick somebody in the teeth for ya. Someone of such good character does not need to defend himself to such crap. So don't let it bother you in the least. See ya this weekend. I like the article too, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 hi roger, i read the article and found nothing wrong with it. if anyone has a problem with the article, tell them to write the editor. i know your a road warrior when it come to shooting, so you'd pick the best product from your experience. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RKooi Posted July 6, 2004 Author Share Posted July 6, 2004 I really appreciate the comments, guys. I was starting get a little down about the whole deal. I about busted a gut when I read Flex's post . I will fire off an email addendum to the editors anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 Roger, I've been through the same thing. It REALLY bugged the hell out of me for a while. But in the end, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, there's gonna be some worthless SOB with nothing better to do than bitch about you and your work. There's absolutely NOTHING you can do to change it. I can only imagine the trash talk over Michaelangelo while he was doing the Sistine Chapel. Look at it as a sign that you actually did something right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 Roger, Don't let the bastards get you down. The article was fine and informative and thanks for writing it. Now spend the energy for GA State this weekend and good luck Mig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 Roger, Just read the article last night; Well done, keep up the good work! See you on Friday. Regards, Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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