ANST - (Fwd) from another lits .... re: bad press for Oregon SCA group :

j'lynn yeates jyeates at realtime.net
Mon Jul 19 07:47:15 PDT 1999


contains seeds for some interesting discussion topics on planning and 
operating large group events ....

'wolf

 
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
To:             	protonet at midrealm.org, ironrose at webmaster.com
Date sent:      	Fri, 16 Jul 1999 07:49:05 -0400
Subject:        	[ProtoNet] sorta OT - bad press for Oregon SCA group  : (
From:           	Krysta Sutterfield <krystas at juno.com>
Send reply to:  	protonet at midrealm.org


 Not a favorable impression, folks...   Posting the original
article, as well as a a response from the local group.

                  ~ Shandra

Only 26   days till Pennsic troll!  : )


--------- Begin forwarded message ----------

 Medieval battle reenactment alarms neighbors
 The Associated Press
 7/08/99 8:48 PM Eastern

     ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A staged medieval war, complete with
thousands of sword-clashing knights and damsels in distress, left
neighbors of a quiet park feeling more than a little pillaged.

    "It was totally overrun," complained Rod Nygren, a self-employed land
developer who owns 160 acres next to Lily Glen, a two-outhouse park near
Howard Prairie Lake about 18 miles east of here. "The traffic. The trash.
I've never seen anything like it."

      The epic battle was waged by the Society for Creative Anachronism
and was the coup de grace of the group's three-day jamboree. About 1,500
people, many wearing metal armor, were expected to take part in the
battle, but more than 3,500 showed up.

       Other than the participants, about the only people who knew about
the unheralded event were neighbors and a handful of employees of the
county Roads and Parks department. The event was news to the county board
of commissioners, which spent much of Wednesday night's meeting fielding
angry complaints from residents.

       "Nobody knew," said Commissioner Ric Holt, who had only heard
rumors
of  "some Braveheart group."  "I didn't see one flier or anything for it,"
Hold said. "Apparently this is a real underground network."

       The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international
association 
whose members steep themselves in the lore and legend of the Middle Ages.
Organized in regional groups called kingdoms, they dress up in period
costumes and meet periodically to erect medieval villages and re-enact
battles.

       The Lily Glen event reportedly was an annual mock war between the
kingdom of AnTir, representing the Pacific Northwest, and the kingdom of
West, representing Northern California and parts of Nevada. The event
alternates between kingdoms, and sites, every other year. 

        By underestimating the turnout of the event when applying for a
permit to reserve the park, the group sidestepped a 1971 state law called
the Mass Gathering Act. The law prohibits outdoor events of more than
3,000 people

without county approval, and allows local authorities to impose a number
of health and safety regulations.

        By approving the permit, the county imposed its own requirements,

particularly health codes. Employees visited the site several times over
the weekend and generally reported no glaring violations. "They had their
own

security, they had drinking water, they had sanitation," said Paul
Korbulic, 
program manager for the county parks and roads department. "They did
everything our permit required them to do."

        Although the Mass Gathering Act allows authorities to stop or
restrict an illegal event, it specifies no post-party penalties. "What can
you do?" said Commissioner Jack Walker. "I'm not going after anybody with
a sword and shield."

--------- End forwarded message ----------


To those gathered gentles who read the mailing lists of the several
realms of
the Knowne World comes upon this 15 day of July from Sveyn Egilsson,
Greetings!

Many of your Kingdom mailing lists were witness to a posted story from AP
relating local citizen concerns about the conduct of our organization in
the planning and execution of An Tir/West War. I have been unable to
locate an online source for the AP article copy, but can direct you to the
original article (and next day followup) at www.mailtribune.com  Please
follow the link to the archives, then look to July 8 and 9. The primary
difference between the AP version and that which initially ran in the
Trib, is that AP called to speak to someone in the SCA and then included
some of those quotes (the individual, Jeff Bailes, is Prince William
Geoffrey of Summits). Of course, local papers then editted the AP feed
(for space or whatever), so the articles that saw press in the Southwest
or Great Lakes are different from each other and from the original.

What follows is the response prepared on behalf of the shire (Glyn Dwfn)
which was geographic host to the event in question. It has been sent to
the originating newspaper, but has not yet seen print. I have posted this
to the West, An Tir, Midrealm, Outlands, and the East because I have seen
related postings come back to me from those lists or from individuals in
those realms. If you have seen the AP story on other lists, please let
those lists know this response exists and that if they wish to have access
to facts to rebutt any negative publicity that has resulted for them
locally, I (and several others here in southern Oregon ) would be glad to
prepare well-supported materials to counter the inaccuracies of the wire
story.

Sveyn Egilsson
MiC, An Tir/West War
Voice of the Gryphon


July 12, 1999

To the Editors of the Medford Mail Tribune and Commissioners of Jackson
County:

    The local membership of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
would like to address several concerns about the articles ‘Even Fake War
Can be Messy’ (appearing on page one of the Mail Tribune on July 8, 1999)
and ‘Medieval Folk Apologize for Larger than Planned War’ (appearing on
page four of the Tribune on July 9, 1999). The first article has also
propagated nationwide, via the AP wire, causing complications for SCA
chapters far removed from the events of this past July 4 weekend.

    The first article begins by asking the question, "Is it possible to
stage a war without the proper permits?" It then answers the question,
"Yes," before implying a good deal more with the statement that the SCA
had "pulled off one of the greatest capers in recent memory."
Unsubstantiated reports of an attendance of over 4000 caused justifiable
concern for the County’s Board of Commissioners at Wednesday's meeting,
but the truth paints a very different picture than that detailed in Chris
Bristol’s article.

    During the past winter, the SCA, in the persons of Renae Snow and
Laura Buening, applied for permits to make use of Lily Glen Park for the
annual An Tir/West War event, held somewhere near the Oregon/California
border every July 4th weekend for over a decade. Local organizers received
the permits in March. Using attendance numbers from the previous year’s
event, an estimate of 2000 people was given to the Parks Commission when
applying (the past ‘war,’ near Crescent City, drew very close to 1200).
Actual attendance, supported by sign-in logs and gate receipts, at this
year’s event approached 1900. This is safely within the estimate given to
the Parks Commission and comfortably below the mass gathering target of
3000. In calling for SCA reaction, it must be noted that while the
reporter tried to reach Ms. Snow, no-one has ever contacted Ms. Buening.

    In regards to these details, the second article is much more accurate
in tone and content, though the headline alone continues the implication
of wrongdoing, and the article still contains items that are glaring in
their inaccuracy. An actual attendance of 1900 is not  ‘larger’ than the
‘planned’ 2000+ by any definition or calculation. Apologies were offered
concerning miscommunication with neighbors, not for the size of the event
exceeding expectations.

   To understand our reaction to the articles, one must understand what
the SCA exists to promote. Founded in California in 1966, the organization
brings together people with a love of history, art, and, more importantly
than anything else, Chivalric Ideals including Honor, Honesty, Charity,
and Courtesy. We are not a ‘role-playing’ organization. Our primary
function is historical research. To wrongfully accuse such an organization
of "...intentionally underestimating attendance to avoid red tape," is an
insult of staggering magnitude. To be blithely accused of dishonesty is of
great concern. For 34 years, we have cultivated an international
reputation for good faith and cooperation in all dealings with local
officials. As was established repeatedly in the public comments of Parks
Commissioner Paul Korbulic (both in the Wednesday and Thursday meetings,
and in comments made to the press) and supported by the records and
actions of the event organizers, the event was conducted in compliance
with all necessary permits.

    A hallmark of good reporting is accuracy. In the articles in
question, items
are reported as fact without accuracy being checked. If such checking had
occurred, these ‘facts’ would not have been reported. Confirmation of
information would have brought far greater clarity of the actual
situation. For example, the county insists the 4000 number is accurate,
despite being based upon unscientific observation and opinion. The SCA, a
501c3 non-profit organization with an imperative need for accurate record
keeping, is called to question for an attendance number based on these
meticulous records. The articles also explore the accuracy and make great
implications about the intent of projections based upon past years’
events, then go on to provide ‘rationale’ as to why those projections may
have been in error. I-5 proximity may well not have been taken into
account, as the article notes, but a little checking would reveal that the
event is always held on July 4th weekend, so that is not a variable that
had any impact on this year’s attendance nor on previous years’. This is a
frustrating situation. Information about the weekend is there for the
asking, but that is not being done, nor are the answers, when given, being
reported.

    Our final complaint on the ‘accuracy in reporting’ issue addresses the
incongruity between article content and headlines. Responsible journalism
would dictate a headline that provides an accurate summary of an article
in a single phrase or two. In the case of the second article,
particularly, the headline was not a reflection of the story. It is our
hope that the content and tone of the articles of July 8 & 9, 1999, will
be addressed by the Medford Mail Tribune. In nearly every substantive way,
the writing is erroneous, and the conclusions drawn, particularly those
addressing the SCA’s motives, are without basis and damaging to the spirit
and deeds of our organization. That such a story was written and published
locally is damaging enough on its own. That its inaccuracies have seen
print nationwide is an injustice to members of the Society everywhere. A
worthwhile organization comprised entirely of volunteers will be repairing
harm done by the Mail Tribune ’s mis-reported piece for some time to
come... in Corvallis, Denver, Durham, and Schenectady, not just in Jackson
County.



John Doty
12 year participant
Society for Creative Anachronism
Medford, OR
----------------------------------------------




___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to majordomo at midrealm.org
with the body 'unsubscribe protonet'


... truth is the sword of us all (lords of the new church)
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.



More information about the Ansteorra mailing list