One of my favorite bloggers, Perez Hilton, posted yesterday about Maxim magazine needing a Band-Aid to cover up this boo-boo.
In March’s issue, a review writer wrote a negative review for the Black Crowes’ new album “War Paint” without having heard it. To make things worse, band manager Pete Angelus said it was impossible for the review to be valid because advance copies of the album hadn’t been released yet. The magazine explained that the review was an “educated guess.”
In a review, the writer’s opinion matters to many people especially since consumers are being more picky about their CD purchases. An “educated guess” is not acceptable and the magazine should have waited until next month when the writer heard the album. Or at least make sure it was on the writer’s to-do list.
The band out-ed the magazine on its Web site stating the faux pas. If you’re not familiar with the band, don’t be ashamed. To jog your memory, the lead singer, Chris Robinson, is Kate Hudson’s ex.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t plagarism something we learn in the first few journalism classes?
The magazine made a mistake, and they’re apologizing for it. James Kaminsky, Maxim ’s editorial director, released a statement on Tuesday (as quoted from Yahoo! News): “It is Maxim’s editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers.”
In the world of entertainment, mistakes are commonplace. What the public remembers is what the response was. The best thing you can do is admit the fault and explain how you plan to fix it. Also, a tip is to make sure the mistake isn’t repeated. Even though many crises are monumental, the fall out can go pretty quickly if the organization doesn’t put up a fight, especially when it knows the fault lies on its door step.
Unfortunately for Maxim, some people, especially the band’s manager, aren’t accepting its apology as posted on StereoGum blog. I can understand why, in light of the fact that the apology was directed towards readers and not the band.
The blog pointed out another offense by Maxim magazine. They pulled the same stunt with Nas’ album “N****r.” Why can’t magazines use their power for good?
My advice is to make sure the reviewers pop in the CD before they start writing. People take reviews very seriously, so reviewers should step up to the plate.
War Paint image courtesy of mywearandtear.com
March issue of Maxim image courtesy of maxim.com
