When we awarded people “morons of the show” it was declared petty. If we keep it to ourselves, then it winds up being “bending over and taking it” as someone described above. We’re trying something new.

The separate but equal analogy is not pompous, the case I cited is the most salient correlation in American history, and if the online media is subjected to the same standard, the consequences could be just as devestating. Bloggers going to jail because they reported on a topic that NBC could declare freedom of the press over.

If you think that’s an exaggeration, ask how close Jason O’Grady came to being sent to jail, because he was “just a little blogger.”

The Framers made clear that if we start parsing who is the press, it will tear apart the freedoms of this nation. The civil rights movement was just as important, and again, I fully stand by the analogy. If we don’t hold to our values on either, then the nation is at great peril. Businesses, like Sprint’s PR firm, need to be held to the same account as our government… and the analogy can then repeat itself again.

You are correct to be offended – Sprint and their PR firm did not treat you fairly. However, your comparison of a journalist’s amendment rights to the struggles of African Americans is way off-base and devalues your message.. You reached big time with that comparison and it came off as pompous, melodramatic, and ignorant (as did your justification of the original statement). It’s okay to admit that you went overboard while maintaining that you are justified in your anger towards Sprint and Sprint’s PR firm, pointing out they were wrong in how they treated phonenews.com and other online journalists, and exposing them for it.

One thing I don’t understand, Christopher, is how an apology from Sprint and/or their PR firm will matter? I think exposing Sprint and their PR firm is good. But does asking for a formal apology accomplish anything, other than further devalue your position and portray yourself as petty?

Sincerely,
Spiro

But that is not the point here. The point is one of Sprint’s PR firms extended to us an invitation. We spent a full 60-70 minutes venturing out to cover their event. We RSVPed twice, and proved to them at the door that we did RSVP. The fact that Sprint’s PR firm mismanaged the event is not even up for debate.

All we are asking for is that the PR firm that Sprint hired, issue a simple formal apology. This has nothing to do with one site versus another, nor should our integrity as journalists be questioned here… that should not have any relevance when you are invited to cover something.

If said PR firm didn’t want us there, they did not need to invite us, and had months to cancel on us before the event. We will not stand for abuse because we are not owned by AOL or Time Warner, and we will name names.

It’s upsetting that there are people out there like Mr. Price that are defending YOUR rights, fighting for YOUR benefits and giving YOU information to help YOU but instead people like you turn around and attack him and what he represents. Mr. Price is significantly more than just a blogger. Look into it. You’ll find he’s done a lot more than simply write a weblog. In case you can’t find anything, read through PhoneNews .com and maybe you’ll get a glimpse of how much more he is than just a blogger. Now, I don’t know Mr Price personally but you definitely owe him an apology for your misinformed and insolent comment. Perhaps you can even post it in a blog you can start up.

@Mr Price

I just can’t fathom why these situations keep coming up, especially with Sprint. They’re dropping the ball in so many corners but are they even remotely giving any sort of reasoning behind any of their actions. Ever since the New Year, most of their smartphones have opted to make text messages show up as if it was 2016. They’ve been doing nothing but telling people to wait for a fix and that they’ll eventually have an answer for it. “Eventually” gives us consumers plenty of time to lose the trust we placed in them. Their behavior towards “online media” does the same. I’ve been with Sprint for over 5 years now but frankly, how can I trust a company that’s done EVERYTHING we’ve all complained about recently without remotely and honestly fixing things?

Thanks for always keeping us up to date, Mr Price – Not everyone may appreciate it, but a lot of us do. I know my friends and I definitely follow all your sites. You’ve helped a lot of us throughout the years and in our minds, you are significantly more than an online blogger. An online Hero is more like it. Sprint may be failing us but we know you won’t.

I totally agree. I stopped reading after that point.

And we stand by it completely.