Trip Report: Lost the girl, won at craps

[redietz]

Not number of articles, but content?

Isn't the number of articles relevant to the question of content?

It depends. Lengths of articles would matter. Inches of advertising matter. Other things matter.

My initial supposition is that content today is not terribly different from 20 years ago. Having more articles, but on overlapping and similar topics, in the issues 20 years ago could be matched pretty closely content-wise by fewer but more concise articles today. For example, speaking on topics I actually can evaluate, the sports articles 20 years ago may have been more in number, but they covered the same sports with the same kinds of analyses, just by more people with more opinions. Similarly, the poker articles (more popular 12-15 years ago) could rotate the same kinds of topics and analyses among more authors, whereas the same content is basically covered by fewer authors today.

Another way to look at it is that having more articles 20 years ago meant that the content of, say, two issues would pretty much match the content of three issues today. Former issues from 20 years ago may have more going on in any given issue, but the overall Gaming Today content on an annual basis would be quite similar.

Also, since GT is a tourist tabloid for non-experts, it tends to run repetitive columns throughout the year on the same topics with similar, almost identical, information. Twenty years ago, it might have had three or four slot and vp articles for tourists in an issue; now it has two. The content of those articles will be repeated closely by other articles a month or six weeks out. The same stuff will be revisited. So really, the overall content isn't much changed by running the same or similar content less repetitively, which is what happens with a slimmed-down version.

As some readers have mentioned, Rob's columns fit the repetitive profile. They were anecdotal opinion columns with a great deal of overlap from column to column. If you took one of his columns from May of one year and compared it to a column from September of the next year, often you'd see an enormous amount of repeat information. That's to be expected; it's a tabloid for tourists.

So yes, reducing an issue by 50% or more wouldn't necessarily change content of topics covered and how they are covered. You'd just get fewer opinions on the same stuff, and instead of recycling info every six weeks, the same things would be repeated on a longer cycle today.

[Alan Mendelson]

Print publications cut pages for only one reason: there aren't enough ads to pay for additional pages.

If there were more ads, there would be more pages. That's how the print business works.

It has nothing to do with content.

If the paper is smaller now (and frankly I haven't seen a copy in several years) it's because the ad count is down.

[redietz]

Print publications cut pages for only one reason: there aren't enough ads to pay for additional pages.

If there were more ads, there would be more pages. That's how the print business works.

It has nothing to do with content.

If the paper is smaller now (and frankly I haven't seen a copy in several years) it's because the ad count is down.

Rob was arguing that the lack of his column chased off advertisers. I have a tough time swallowing that.

[Alan Mendelson]

Rob was arguing that the lack of his column chased off advertisers. I have a tough time swallowing that.

That is NOT inconceivable. He might have had a close relationship with one or more advertisers and when his column was dropped they might have stopped advertising.

Years ago -- when I was doing radio while in high school -- I had a one-hour talk show on a local station. My show was sponsored by a local dairy. The owner of the dairy was a friend of my parents. When the station dropped my radio show, the dairy stopped advertising.

There is also the possibility that the advertisers liked what Rob was writing, and that's why they advertised on his page.

There are many radio personalities and even TV personalities who have "loyal advertisers" who follow them from station to station.

[Dan Druff]

I find it very unlikely that advertisers jumped ship because Rob left Gaming Today.

This is likely an obvious case of "Correlation is not causation."

[redietz]

Rob said it would be nice if I visited Eileen (the Gaming Today publisher) "when I could afford to go to Las Vegas again." I figured I'd give him a heads up. I checked my piggy bank, and it says I can go late next week. Rob, would you like to get together for a meet-and-greet? As I've said previously, I'll do anywhere but the Plaza parking garage. I've gotta have some measure of couth.

More importantly, any questions or comments you'd like me to submit to Eileen? Could you verify who the advertisers were who stopped because of a "lack of Rob?"

All readers are invited to list some questions, and I'll endeavor to pass them along to GT.

[coach belly]

All readers are invited to list some questions, and I'll endeavor to pass them along to GT.

How will you verify...that you visited LV, that you visited Eileen, which questions you asked her, and that the answers you quote are accurate?

[redietz]

All readers are invited to list some questions, and I'll endeavor to pass them along to GT.

How will you verify...that you visited LV, that you visited Eileen, which questions you asked her, and that the answers you quote are accurate?

Geez, coach, that's a little bit precise there. I'm assuming, if I'm there on a weekend, that Eileen won't be there, so I'll try to just chat with anyone in the office and ask if they have a PR person. My plan, subject to change, is to leave a list of questions with Eileen or the PR person along with my email address and phone. I'm not sure there will be any response, although last time I contacted GT, when Rob was claiming his article was going to be published a couple of years ago, they were pretty straightforward. Frankly, until Rob said Eileen was still in charge, I had no idea if she was or not.

Posting fake answers from a real company or real person is against the law as far as I know. You gotta watch that stuff. Unless you're anonymous.

[coach belly]

Geez, coach, that's a little bit precise there.

You didn't answer a single one of my questions directly.

How will you verify any of the activities you plan actually take place?

Why not call GT in advance and set up a meeting with Eileen?

Send her your resume...once interviewed by the Pottsville daily, etc...that ought to impress her.

[redietz]

Well, coach, my plans this trip are somewhat fluid, plus I don't really post my exact schedule online.

But I'll be more than happy to provide some corroborating evidence.

Coach, you know what would impress me? Your real name.

[coach belly]

Coach, you know what would impress me? Your real name.

What's the point?

I haven't been able to find a single trace of Robert Earl Dietz online that connects to you,
someone so accomplished should show up somewhere using a google search.

That's why your resume is dubious at best.

No need to post your itinerary online, just explain how you will verify the GT stuff.

[redietz]

Coach, you know what would impress me? Your real name.

What's the point?

I haven't been able to find a single trace of Robert Earl Dietz online that connects to you,
someone so accomplished should show up somewhere using a google search.

That's why your resume is dubious at best.

No need to post your itinerary online, just explain how you will verify the GT stuff.

My brother-in-law owned a chain of PI offices. Privacy is an underrated commodity.

A google search, by the way, does not qualify as research. I can, however, heartily recommend Dietz Lanterns.

[coach belly]

My brother-in-law owned a chain of PI offices.

Does that make you Angel Martin?...send Rockford my regards.

A google search, by the way, does not qualify as research.

Sez you...but a published "sportswriter" would be easily found on google.

No biggie, ditz...if you want to know my name, then come and face me in person.

I will be in LV from May 23-31, and on the AC Boardwalk the entire summer from June 30 - Sept 5.

Look me up in AC...I owe you a body-surfing lesson.

[Rob.Singer]

"I'm able to hide my name from any google search because of a bunch of PI's I know". "But trust me, my resume' is real, I'm real, and I'm well-known in the gaming industry!" ROTFLMFAO!!

By now everyone should easily see what a fake redietz is. The coach just undressed him, took him out to the woodshed, then fed him his lunch.

[redietz]

"I'm able to hide my name from any google search because of a bunch of PI's I know". "But trust me, my resume' is real, I'm real, and I'm well-known in the gaming industry!" ROTFLMFAO!!

By now everyone should easily see what a fake redietz is. The coach just undressed him, took him out to the woodshed, then fed him his lunch.

Rob, I'll give you a little English and legal lesson here. When you put something in quotation marks, it means the person said it or wrote it verbatim. Feel free to paraphrase and opine all that you want, but do not quote me on things I never said or never wrote.

I know you have vast experience at Gaming Today, but perhaps you never learned that quoting people means you write in quotation marks what they actually said.

Meanwhile, are there any questions you'd like to submit to Gaming Today regarding your stringer days there?

And by the way, in case you were unaware, people wash themselves off of the internet every day. There are services that do it on request for a fee. I have not done so, but you seem to think it can't be done. It's done all the time. I'm surprised a worldly CIA dude such as yourself didn't know that.

I'll even sweeten the deal so you can remember what words in quotation marks are about. If you can find my saying "I'm well-known in the gaming industry" anywhere in my 3100 posts, I'll cut you a check for 1K. If you cannot, you send me $10 for coffee and a danish. Bet?

In fact, let's try this, if you find my saying, "I'm well known" about anything in these posts, I'll ship a hundred bucks your way. If you don't, you send me $10 for coffee and a danish? Deal?

[Alan Mendelson]

No, you cannot remove yourself from the Internet. All you can do is bury yourself on the Internet. The Internet does not "lose" or "delete" anything.

What these services can do -- and the only thing they can do -- is post new content on the Internet that will push old, damaging or unwanted content lower on search results.

Search deep enough and you will find everything.

[redietz]

No, you cannot remove yourself from the Internet. All you can do is bury yourself on the Internet. The Internet does not "lose" or "delete" anything.

What these services can do -- and the only thing they can do -- is post new content on the Internet that will push old, damaging or unwanted content lower on search results.

Search deep enough and you will find everything.

So, Alan, I guess Rob's not searching for me deep enough, eh? I'm in there, somewhere.

Tick, tick, tick. I'm still waiting for Rob to dig up the quotes he attributed to me. I'm gonna have to put a deadline on this. It should only take so much time to wade through 3100 posts.

Alan, what is your response when someone directly attributes quotes to you that you've never said? And what usually happens to writers who make up quotes for which there is no source? I mean, if I get inventive and start directly quoting you about this and that on these pages, are you good with that?

[Biloxi Bill]

"I'm able to hide my name from any google search because of a bunch of PI's I know". "But trust me, my resume' is real, I'm real, and I'm well-known in the gaming industry!" ROTFLMFAO!!

By now everyone should easily see what a fake redietz is. The coach just undressed him, took him out to the woodshed, then fed him his lunch.

The Coach seems to have a problem undressing other men...he`s done it to you quite a number of times in his mind...perhaps in person too

[Rob.Singer]

No, you cannot remove yourself from the Internet. All you can do is bury yourself on the Internet. The Internet does not "lose" or "delete" anything.

What these services can do -- and the only thing they can do -- is post new content on the Internet that will push old, damaging or unwanted content lower on search results.

Search deep enough and you will find everything.

So, Alan, I guess Rob's not searching for me deep enough, eh? I'm in there, somewhere.

Tick, tick, tick. I'm still waiting for Rob to dig up the quotes he attributed to me. I'm gonna have to put a deadline on this. It should only take so much time to wade through 3100 posts.

Alan, what is your response when someone directly attributes quotes to you that you've never said? And what usually happens to writers who make up quotes for which there is no source? I mean, if I get inventive and start directly quoting you about this and that on these pages, are you good with that?

Deflecting the issue is getting you nowhere. Every time you post something you're inserting obvious lies and you confirm that by pretending the first and foremost issue is me looking for where you've continuously claimed to be "well known in the gaming industry". Then you divert to nonsense about Gaming Today. Then you get caught wrongly asserting that you can "make yourself disappear on Google searches". What a clown.

You're an imposter redietz, and you can take comfort in that fact by knowing you have an idiot like BiloxiBill pushing for you not to be embarrassing yourself this much.

[redietz]

No, you cannot remove yourself from the Internet. All you can do is bury yourself on the Internet. The Internet does not "lose" or "delete" anything.

What these services can do -- and the only thing they can do -- is post new content on the Internet that will push old, damaging or unwanted content lower on search results.

Search deep enough and you will find everything.

So, Alan, I guess Rob's not searching for me deep enough, eh? I'm in there, somewhere.

Tick, tick, tick. I'm still waiting for Rob to dig up the quotes he attributed to me. I'm gonna have to put a deadline on this. It should only take so much time to wade through 3100 posts.

Alan, what is your response when someone directly attributes quotes to you that you've never said? And what usually happens to writers who make up quotes for which there is no source? I mean, if I get inventive and start directly quoting you about this and that on these pages, are you good with that?

Deflecting the issue is getting you nowhere. Every time you post something you're inserting obvious lies and you confirm that by pretending the first and foremost issue is me looking for where you've continuously claimed to be "well known in the gaming industry". Then you divert to nonsense about Gaming Today. Then you get caught wrongly asserting that you can "make yourself disappear on Google searches". What a clown.

You're an imposter redietz, and you can take comfort in that fact by knowing you have an idiot like BiloxiBill pushing for you not to be embarrassing yourself this much.

Hey, Rob, you having trouble finding me writing the quote you attributed to me? Offer still stands. One thousand dollars on my end; a coffee and danish on yours. Let me know if you want the action. I'll put a 24-hour deadline on your answer.

Also, I didn't say, "You can make yourself disappear on Google searches." Keep trying, Rob. You realize each and every quoted attribution is a legal lie.

For those who want to find out about scrubbing the internet, I suggest "scrubbing the internet" as a google search. You can decide for yourself how well you can hide yourself. As I said, I have not done so.

So, Rob, any questions regarding yourself I should ask Gaming Today?