Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 50
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    In a parallel universe
    Posts
    4,755

    Vail resorts, the evil empire of the Rockies?

    http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.co...-vail-resorts/

    Mountain Media Takes Nasty Spill After Confrontation with Vail Resorts
    By DAVID CARR

    Toni Axelrod for The New York Times
    Skiers on Vail Mountain
    Bob Berwyn, a longtime Colorado journalist who covers the ski industry, was fired last week after colliding with Vail Resorts over a column about, um, snow. The circumstances that led to his job loss are full of twists and turns, like a particularly brutal giant slalom course, but let’s just say it involves a large ski resort company, Twitter, secular changes in marketing, along with barometric and advertising pressure. More plainly, his firing suggests that vulnerable publishers, under pressure as the noose on advertising-supported print seems to tighten, are willing to groom away the moguls if that’s what they think the advertiser wants.

    On Nov. 19, Mr. Berwyn wrote a column for the Summit Daily News that included a long tutorial on weather dynamics and then took a turn into a discussion of how the ski industry played a role in hyping snowfall. To wit, snow in one area of the Rockies does not promise fresh chutes of powder in another.

    “All these factors are often forgotten when the ski industry hype machine switches into overdrive. During an upslope storm a few weeks ago, an industry P.R. person appeared on the Weather Channel in a short clip that was filmed near Genesee, where it was snowing heavily. During the segment, there was no mention of the fact that the weather was actually mild and dry just on the other side of the Continental Divide — were the ski areas are.

    About the same time, a top resort executive based in Broomfield posted a picture of the snow on his deck to Twitter, eliciting a response from a Breckenridge resident, who pointed out, correctly, that it was warm and sunny in the mountains. The industry leader later said that snow is snow, wherever it is, and that it helps get people excited for the season.”
    The “top resort executive” who tweeted the early bonanza was actually Rob Katz, who runs Vail Resorts, a company that owns five large ski areas. On Oct. 10, Mr. Katz was elated that it was already snowing and tweeted a picture of his deck in Boulder. Mr. Berwyn felt this constituted “hyping” snow because the snowfall and the picture was a long ways from the resorts that host skiing.


    Mr. Katz told Decoder he always gets excited when it snows and he was just sharing his elation, not suggesting that ski resorts, including the ones he runs, were already drowning in snow in October. He called Mr. Berwyn and in an off-the-record conversation said he was angry about the column. He also called Jim Morgan, publisher of the Summit Daily, to share his displeasure.

    At this point, Twitter comes schussing back down the hill. Mr. Berwyn tweeted: “Got reamed by ski co. but good feedback from skiers & community … a disconnect?”

    And then a Breckenridge town councilman, Dave Rossi, entered the Twitterdome and suggested: “vailresortsnews blowback (calls SDN publisher!?) over cheeky criticism (& tweets) 4 snow mktg shows thin skin.”

    Mr. Katz felt that his off-the-record chats had been made public and decided to pull his advertising from the Summit Daily News.

    “We did not pull our advertising because of a bad story,” said Mr. Katz in a phone call last week. “We advertise in many outlets that write stories we don’t like. We just felt that there needed to be a private channel of communication where we could express our concerns and that those private discussions had been made public. It goes to the issue of trust.”

    He also added that his company is pivoting away from traditional press in terms of advertising dollars and putting more time and money into social media because that’s where the skiers are. He speculated that publishers are having trouble with the new paradigm and are scrambling to make ends meet.

    Two weeks after the column ran, Mr. Berwyn, a longtime reporter for the Summit Daily News, was fired, prompting this blog post by Susan Greene in The Denver Post last week:

    “That decision is chilling not only for journalism in Colorado, but also for Summit County readers.

    “It’s unfortunate but, especially in this economy, some advertisers feel like they can flex their muscles when there’s commentary that they don’t like,” says Ed Otte of the Colorado Press Association. “Newspapers need to withstand these kinds of threats.”
    Mr. Morgan, the publisher of The Summit Daily News, then wrote a column saying that Mr. Berwyn’s firing was not the result of pressure from Vail.

    “The reason Berwyn was terminated — and I have to be careful here because it is a personnel issue involving an individual — was not because of the column or because of the resulting fallout from it,” adding, “As would be the case with any employee, if there are circumstances symptomatic of a pattern of behavior documented in reviews over the course of time, then changes result. That’s what occurred here.”
    Whatever Mr. Morgan is telling himself or his readers, it seems more likely that Mr. Berwyn was fired for writing a column about the weather, generally the least controversial (and often boring) topic a writer can get her or his hands on. His sacking over a meditation about snow is sort of Zen and horrifying at the same time.

    When we contacted Mr. Berwyn about the snow country contretemps via e-mail, he didn’t have time to talk because Arapahoe Basin just got a nice little dump of about a foot of snow. Decoder commends his priorities. Later on Monday, fresh off the hills, Mr. Berwyn sounded pretty philosophical about his disenfranchisement. Apart from hitting the mountain when he wants to, he is using his newly emancipated status to start a news site, Summit County Citizens Voice, but that doesn’t mean he’s buying the version of events put forth by his former employer.

    “Rob Katz did not ask to have me fired,” he said. “He pulled his advertising and I think that my publisher failed to back me on a column that my editor signed off on.”

    “When it happened, my publisher said that I had a lot of groveling to do,” Mr. Berwyn said, adding, “He told me that we were X amount of dollars off budget and that Vail’s decision was going to make it even harder to reach our numbers.”

    One budget number they won’t have to reach is Mr. Berwyn’s salary now that he’s out of a job.

    “I’m sure that if you went through all of my performance reviews, you come up with this or that thing, but in general, I was reviewed as a stellar journalist who has covered a wide variety of challenging beats,” he said.

    If you are still with us at this point, you’ll be unsurprised to learn there is a plot thickener. Decoder wrote a post a few weeks ago describing how a blog post at Ski magazine about a fatal accident at Breckenridge had been pulled, suggesting that pressure from Vail Resorts, which owns Breckenridge, was behind the move.

    Megan Miller, the editor who made the move at Ski magazine, suggested in a note to the staff obtained by Decoder that advertising pressure played a role:

    “My understanding is that we’re not in a position to stand up for free speech at the expense of dough right now, so, with a queasy stomach, I unpublished it. I suppose it would be prudent for our editors to skip death stories unless there’s a really important reason, so we can avoid this kind of indignity.”
    Mr. Katz said that Vail was merely concerned about issues of taste if their ads appeared next to a story about a fatality and pointed out that the Breckenridge resort issued a press release about the tragic death. He added, “There is no pattern here. We don’t believe that advertising can buy good editorial.”

    Mr. Berwyn recalled that when he wrote a story for the New West Web site a few years ago that included some criticism of Vail Resorts, he was told by his bosses at The Summit Daily that he’d better take the post down even though it was written for another publication. He demurred.

    Decoder got the feeling from talking to Mr. Berwyn that he probably doesn’t manage up that well, but is a deadly serious, committed journalist. He certainly has an excellent reputation, in part because he has covered all manner of issues in the peaks and valleys of Summit County since 1996. As a longtime mountain man who keeps a notebook in his ski parka, he has a broader theory about the forces that are at work.

    “There has been a long tradition in ski towns, and here in Summit County, of cozy relationships between the ski industry and the press,” he said. “The thinking seems to be that we all depend on this one industry and one sport for our livelihood, so we should do everything we can to keep the ski industry happy.”

    “Beyond what happened to me, I’m concerned because this is a small community paper that is dependent on a narrow advertising base and who is to say the next advertiser won’t try the same thing?”

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    The Padded Room
    Posts
    5,299
    I fail to see how Vail is the bad guy. Maybe Summit Daily News needs to decide if they are journalists or an advertising arm of Vail resorts. I think you got their answer.
    .....Visit my website. .....

    "a yin without a yang"

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    boulder
    Posts
    614
    that first paragraph was painful to read

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    6,866
    This is last week's news.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    The Padded Room
    Posts
    5,299
    Quote Originally Posted by NPG View Post
    This is last week's news.
    nope, they fired that guy too...
    .....Visit my website. .....

    "a yin without a yang"

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    In a parallel universe
    Posts
    4,755
    Quote Originally Posted by NPG View Post
    This is last week's news.
    Perhaps, except that it was picked up by the NYT and appears to be making it's way around blogs, twitter, etc...

    Or, it's old news because, it's all bought and payed for and prepackaged anyway?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    The Padded Room
    Posts
    5,299
    but to answer the original question, Yes, Vail is the evil empire of the rockies.
    .....Visit my website. .....

    "a yin without a yang"

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Greater Drictor Wydaho
    Posts
    5,380
    No, its old news cuz everyone who has lost their baby teeth knows vailCORP sucks ass.....
    Last edited by neckdeep; 12-15-2009 at 05:27 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Fort Collins, Co
    Posts
    313
    Not that I think VMR is a great non-evil company or anything, but I don't see how they are in the wrong. The CEO was upset he wasn't at least called for comment on a pretty negative article, so he called the newspaper to complain. The Summit news paper decided to fire the reporter. The paper is at fault for being the douches in this case, not Vail.
    "No avy training but I've watched K2 so many times I think I know what to look for." -JoeStrummer

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Hood
    Posts
    1,076
    having worked for vail resorts at one point, They have plenty of Corprate BS that happens. However, for the most part they were a good company that treated me well and were genuinley concerned with customer satisfaction. I have some respect for Katz, who chose to forego his CEO compensation when he announced that they would not be giving raisies. anyway, IMO there is are much worse companies in the ski industry.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    In a parallel universe
    Posts
    4,755
    Quote Originally Posted by Spyplane View Post
    Not that I think VMR is a great non-evil company or anything, but I don't see how they are in the wrong. The CEO was upset he wasn't at least called for comment on a pretty negative article, so he called the newspaper to complain. The Summit news paper decided to fire the reporter. The paper is at fault for being the douches in this case, not Vail.
    Pretty negative article?
    Who cares? Is there a journalistic requirement that states all stories should be warm and fuzzy? Or, are you saying that ski resorts don't over hype (or over report) snow conditions?

    Mr. Katz may have not intended what Bob suggested, however he is the CEO of VMR and he broadcast on Twitter for everyone to see. Did he qualify the post? Yes, no? Once he clicked send, it's out there for anyone to interpret how they see fit, because he is a high power exc, shouldn't afford him special privilege to threaten or take away another's position or living (outside of VMR of course). If this was a politician pulling this, people would go ape shit.

    I'm inclined to agree with you, that the paper did Bob and their readership a disservice. Their journalistic integrity (OK, that may well be an oxymoron), or lack there of, seems to be what led to Bob being let go. The idea that it is potentially related to pressure from a key revenue source due to an article that was published should bother anyone who cares about freedom of the press.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    6,866
    Quote Originally Posted by AlpenChronicHabitual View Post
    Perhaps, except that it was picked up by the NYT and appears to be making it's way around blogs, twitter, etc...

    Or, it's old news because, it's all bought and payed for and prepackaged anyway?
    Fair enough, but I have a hard time reading about relatively local news in the NYT, a week old, and by some journalist that never got past the 6th grade. Fuck, that first paragraph gave me a seizure.
    Last edited by NPG; 12-15-2009 at 07:53 PM.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Front Range
    Posts
    350
    I don't think the guy should have tweeted about Katz talking to him. If I was Katz I would be pissed about that too.

    also IMO, Vail Resorts should be trying to keep negative press to a minimum-- its called business. As long as its not slimy and illegal. . . . I think its ok.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Tahoe
    Posts
    16,124

    Actually, Vail Resorts is the Evil Empire of the Sierra

    Quote Originally Posted by article paraphrasing Rob Katz
    He also added that his company is pivoting away from traditional press in terms of advertising dollars and putting more time and money into social media because that’s where the skiers are.
    that's also where the ski instructors are
    Four arrested at Heavenly for teaching skiers and snowboarders
    taking customer service to a new level.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    Somebody please please please explain to me the value of Twitter. What the fuck is going on in those two, aw shit, I gotta say it, uh, tweets? Are people reading that shit? Other than, I guess, other, um tweeters? It's like reading shorthand. That's journalism? I fear for our future if that's the way people will communicate over serious issues.

    And, wow, I'll bet the guy was barely making more than a WalMart associate before he got canned. BFD.

    edit: and Katz lives in Boulder?? He commutes every day? Or sits on his fat ass doing Exel fantasies and talking on the phone and calling meetings instead of skiing, which I suspect he can barely accomplish without killing himself.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    150

    edit: and Katz lives in Boulder?? He commutes every day? Or sits on his fat ass doing Exel fantasies and talking on the phone and calling meetings instead of skiing, which I suspect he can barely accomplish without killing himself.
    VR headquarters is in broomfield, so yeah he commutes about 20 minutes probably. they moved down there from vail a few years ago.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Madison Park, Seattle
    Posts
    1,226
    VMR sucks, but not as bad as the summit daily news. that paper was nothing more than a newspaper style of "homes & land for sale" mixed in with a bar guide.

    newspapers are going the way of the horse drawn carriage. nice to see every once in a while, but not worth the long term commitment.
    Top of the Food Chain for White Trash America

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Looking down
    Posts
    50,491
    Quote Originally Posted by catfishjon View Post
    VR headquarters is in broomfield, so yeah he commutes about 20 minutes probably. they moved down there from vail a few years ago.
    No, I meant to the mountains. But, yeah, silly question. He probably spends less time skiing than me these days, if he skis at all.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Salida, CO
    Posts
    1,976
    Any resort that won't support Colo Ski Country, has traffic lights and puts sirens on their snowcats can only be known as Vile!

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    9,421
    Tweeting is dumb and so is that article (not that I read the whole thing).

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
    Posts
    21,938
    Berwyn was about the best reporter we had in the mountains. Take that for what it's worth.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Bozeangeles/Lonetree
    Posts
    283
    We use to always make fun of how vail would inflate snow totals so one night after an erroneous snow report I decided to have some fun with the snow boys. Their snow stick is right at midvail and they usesome camera thing to measure so I decided to make some of my ownsnow and placed where the measurement took place. I placed close to 6" of snow on it but when the snow report came out later that morning vail only reported 2". Not a cloud in the sky the whole night

  23. #23
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    1,206
    I dislike Vail's philosophy just as much as the next guy, but I can't see how they're in the wrong here. Berwyn was wrong to discuss his conversation with Katz publicly. I'd have fired him too.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Tahoe
    Posts
    16,124
    Quote Originally Posted by jmf View Post
    I dislike Vail's philosophy just as much as the next guy, but I can't see how they're in the wrong here. Berwyn was wrong to discuss his conversation with Katz publicly. I'd have fired him too.
    i don't think saying "ski co. reamed me" equals discussing the conversation with Katz publicly.
    For a corporation to attempt to influence free press is every bit as wrong and damaging as it is for the government to do it. But yes, it is up to the paper to deflect that influence and the Summit Daily News failed to do that, or even make it look like they tried.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    3

    Vail Resorts Responds

    Hi all,
    I wanted to post a response with a little more background on what occurred. After all, the first rule of journalism is get all of the facts and verify those facts.

    We in no way threatened or asked for Bob Berwyn to be dismissed. We simply expressed disappointment when very serious allegations about us were made and we had not been contacted beforehand for comment. Since Rob and all of us have worked with Bob many times and thought we had a relationship whereby we could call one another when there was an issue, we thought there was nothing wrong to call him and Jim Morgan to express our disappointment. Bob knows full well that happens every day at every newspaper across the country. We expect the media to hold us accountable, and they do, but that also means that anyone should be able to hold the media accountable, especially when balance and fairness are at issue. We work with journalists every day across Colorado, the country and the globe. There have been many stories written or broadcasted about us that we may not have liked or agreed with, but never have we threatened someone's position because of our disappointment.

    Second, we do not exaggerate snowfall totals. We adhere to the guidelines of measuring and reporting snowfall totals that Colorado Ski Country put together for all of the resorts and we are completely transparent with our reporting - after all, our web cams do not lie. We are unaware of any credible allegations of us misrepresenting snowfall. Furthermore, our guests and employees share real-time, accurate information about snow conditions through social media. Several of our employees did tweet from their personal accounts (which are completely transparent in their profiles about where they live) that our corporate offices were closing early during the big mid-October storm which shut down most of the Front Range for two days - when our ski resorts were not open for the winter. We, like many others in Colorado, enjoy celebrating snow. There's absolutely nothing inappropriate or disingenuine about that.

    Third, our company advertises in numerous local, national and international publications and websites that often say things we don’t like, but that in no way affects our advertising policy with them. What is of serious concern to us is not being treated fairly by misrepresenting facts (and not inclined to correct mistakes) or, even worse, not contacting us at all for comment on stories about us - and especially when this becomes a regular pattern of behavior over time, as was the case with Bob’s reporting on stories about us. We hold the media accountable in the same way that we expect to be held accountable.

    Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz blogged about what happened, as did the publisher of the Summit Daily News in the paper.
    http://news.vailresorts.com/article_...rticle_id=1070

    Thanks for listening!
    Kelly Ladyga
    Vail Resorts

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •