Mitch Kapor's Blog

This is an actual piece of postal mail I received.
Mr. Kapor:

My name is Keith Yaskin. I am a reporter at the Fox Television Station in Phoenix, AZ. My producer assigned me to air a story about Second Life. I routinely contact members of the board of directors as potential sources. They usually have more independence than owners or managers. Although board members are paid for their service and therefore presumably will exhibit loyalty to the company, my understanding is they also assume legal and morale (sic) responsibilities on behalf of the public. If there is any trouble with Second Life, I am hoping you might share insight (sic) with me. My experience is members on the board have strong views. Please let me know if you have any information which might be helpful for my story. Thank you in advance for your time.

Keith Yaskin
Reporter Fox10 News
Phoenix, AZ

keith.yaskin@foxtv.com

Here’s what I thought about sending (but did not):

Dear Mr. Yaskin:

My name is Mitch Kapor. I am an independent blogger in San Francisco, CA. I’ve assigned myself a story about local television news. I routinely contact reporters as potential sources. They usually have more independence than producers or station managers. Although reporters are paid for the service and will presumably therefore exhibit loyalty to the station, my understanding is they also have a responsibility on behalf of the public. If there is any trouble with Fox10 News, I am hoping you might share your insights with me. My experience is that reporters have strong views. Please let me know if you have any information which might be helpful for my story. Thank you in advance for your time.

Mitch Kapor