15 May, 2007
Why I deleted my JPG Magazine Account
I had heard some buzz over the weekend that Heather Champ and Derek Powazek had left JPG Magazine, which seemed really quite bizarre because they founded it and, from everything I've ever seen and heard, this was their "baby". I read Heather's brief post about leaving and was quite upset to see that. Usually, I get up a good head of righteous indignation and will click right over and delete my account, but I decided to wait and see what "the other side" had to say.
The Other Side (a.k.a. Paul Cloutier, the CEO at 8020 Publishing) had removed any reference to Heather and Derek's role in creating JPG Magazine (though I see it has now been reinstated on the "About" page) and they removed the first six issues from the site. I was not exactly impressed by that sort of statement. Then, after I read Derek's story this morning, I immediately deleted my account.
So let's back up a moment. Why did I JOIN JPG Magazine? Put simply, because of Heather and Derek. They share a love of photography and of documenting the ordinary in extraordinary ways that really resonates with me. They are friendly, forthright, professional people, both online and in person. It was the feeling of community and the respect they gave to the members of their community that made JPG Magazine a success. And, when they couldn't make the relationship work with the Corporate Leadership at 8020 anymore, they had enough integrity and respect to say they had left and why without resorting to cheap shots and character attacks.
That's why I joined and why, despite never having any of my photos appear in the pages of the magazine, :-( I stayed.
Thus far, Paul Cloutier has demonstrated contempt for the JPG Mag community, first by attempting to revise the history of the publication (removing Heather and Derek from the frame and removing the first six issues from the site), then with the old Corporate chestnut about Derek (no mention of Heather!) leaving to "pursue other projects," and then this rather limp protestation from him in the Unofficial JPG Magazine group on Flickr that they (he) never intended to rewrite the history of JPG Magazine (so, what, deleting Heather and Derek and the first six issues--basically, erasing the efforts of all the people who made the magazine and the community into the success that YOU are now enjoying was an accident? That someone just happened to open up these html documents, delete specific information, save the files and upload them and then republish and clear the caches? That was all One Big Oopsie? Riiiiight...).
So, the reason I deleted my JPG Magazine account is because I believe in Derek and Heather and I have no faith in the current leadership at 8020 Publishing, therefore I choose to not associate myself (or my photography) with them (despite the fact that Derek remains a shareholder in 8020).
I grieve the loss of the JPG Magazine I came to love, but I cannot wait to see what wonderful new thing the Powazek/Champs dream up next! I just hope that, whatever it is, I'll get to be a part of it!
Labels: Why it is
~~ victoria on 9:56 PM ~~ 0 comments
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