From the Floor

A few weeks ago I decided to go all mainstream, so I requested press credentials for next month's Armory Show. I even mentally checked off several of the requirements as I was completing the form: art press, international audience, an assignment from my editor (moi). I even had the application in way before the deadline.

So I was surprised, sort of, to get notification yesterday that I could not be "accommodated." Thinking that this was an opportunity to educate another PR flack about this blogosphere thingie, I fired back a note, listed some of my bona fides, dropped the number of unique visitors the site receives annually, mentioned who these readers (you) are, and implied how it would be to the fair's benefit to have me attend.

Here's the response I received in return:

No, it's not about blogs. Every request is reviewed on a case by case basis.

We reviewed your coverage of last year's show and we do not find that it meets our criteria for a press pass.

Warm Regards,

Pamela Doan
Communications Director
The Armory Show, Inc.

So it's not that they don't understand the blogosphere. It's that they don't understand me!

As I didn't attend last year's fair on a press pass and as the silly piece I wrote wasn't really even about the fair, I figure that the folks at the Armory Show just don't have a sense of humor. Or that they're total control freaks who carry grudges. Or maybe both.

Update: I don't feel quite so all alone now.