I am currently echoing J. Eric Smith’s sentiment about this bobblehead beg-a-thon that’s permeated the Capital Region media. Okay, this was fun for about the first couple of weeks.
But now it’s gotten stale.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen what appears to be every media representative talking about how they want to have their body represented on a Tri-City ValleyCats bobblehead doll. I turn on the radio and Brian Sinkoff is kvetching that he hasn’t gotten enough votes to advance. I watch Fox 23 and there’s Rich Becker and John Gray as bobbleheads, asking for your vote. And don’t EVEN get me started on the TU bloggers who use every other post as a “vote for me and not for Benita Zahn” mantra. And it’s getting bowling shoe ugly.
Now before anybody accuses me of being so cold-hearted as to denigrate this whole bobblehead voting program, I realize that the winning bobblehead representative will get a donation made to his or her favorite charity. And the Tri-City ValleyCats will get OODLES of free advertising throughout the Capital District’s media outlets.
Don’t believe me? Try this.
Can you name the four ValleyCats from last season with the best batting average?
Can you name four of the eight people still in the running for bobblehead immortality?
Yeah, most people went one-for-two in that quiz.
And it’s not like I’m claiming any sort of “sour grapes” because there isn’t a Chuck Miller bobblehead available. Good Lord, if I wanted a bobblehead that badly, there’s a hundred online companies that will make bobbleheads based on three photos of your face. Or if I wanted a Bobblehead night at the stadium, I’m sure there’s some sponsorship deals available with the ValleyCats. Spend $$$$$$, get a bobblehead night.
You know what? Let me make a proposal to all of you. You want to vote for your favorite Capital District personality to be a bobblehead? Go right ahead, I won’t stop you. But if you’re as sick of this unbridled pandering for votes as I am – God, at times it looks like American Idol contestants holding fingers in the air, begging for votes – then may I suggest you do – as I did – click on one of the charity links listed below, and make your own charitable donation, of whatever amount you feel you can afford, directly to that organization. Because if any of the media representatives who were part of this little beg-a-thon didn’t make it to at least the final four entrants, these charities won’t receive a penny from this promotion. So give what you can to any of the charities listed below; their names are hyperlinks to each respective charity’s homepage.
Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
St. Margaret’s Center in Albany
American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund
National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York
Kelly’s Angels (no website yet; donations can be mailed to Kelly’s Angels at 10 Sepia Lane in Wilton, NY 12831)
March of Dimes, Northeastern New York Chapter
The Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center
Capital District YMCA “Reach Out For Youth” Scholarship Program
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Addictions Care Center of Albany
Columbia-Greene Humane Society
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region
‘Kay?
Chuck The Writer 
This bobblehead ego-fest is embarrassing and pathetic. It makes a mockery of journalism. Kristi Gustafson’s “blog” (typically regurgitated material and links with her own low quality editorial) is the worst offender. She is begging her readers to vote on mulitiple computers per day. Sad. The actual charity connection is a low priority to these egomaniacs who use it to justify their craving for attention…if it is a priority at all.
LikeLike
I second that. Kristi’s not-stop self-aggrandizing is getting a tad revolting.
No humility, no shame, and ultimately, no clue.
LikeLike
I sent this comment to J. Eric Smith, who linked to your blog. If you feel it is appropriate to post, I’ve included it below. But one correction to your post: your hyperlink to Kelly’s Angels is not the organization I am donating to. The correct information was in my blog last week as linked below.
Are journalists competitive? You betcha. Are the Valleycats rolling in Yankees-type dough? I don’t think so. Put the two together, and you have our bobblehead contest.
I think you overlook the importance of advertising to the non-profits. I have chosen to pony up some of my own dough, whether I win or not, and while blogging about that choice made sure to include links to the charities I’m raising funds for, and other ways people can contribute to the organizations. http://blog.timesunion.com/kulbida/2010/03/15/vote-vote-vote/ As someone who also runs a non-profit, and is looking under every rock for money, I’d appreciate the word of mouth, and have heard from those organizations who do. (No one’s said leave me out of this yet.)
Everyone I know in this contest has already donated their time volunteering and their own money to the charities at hand in previous fundraisers. I’m sure the people I don’t know have done the same. I don’t think you’re a party pooper, I just think the work you’re looking for is already being done … even if it’s not as loud as the exhortations to vote.
LikeLike
Lydia –
I changed the hyperlink for Kelly’s Angels, and added the mailing address.
I also appreciate your opinion regarding this. My feeling has been that while the bobblehead contest started out as a fun little diversion, it has turned into an annoying and grating beg-a-thon. And for those charities whose celebrities aren’t going to make the final four selected, they won’t get a cent from this promotion. That’s what bothers me. Yes, I do understand that you’re contributing your own money to this competition, which is very admirable. I just don’t know if anyone else is doing the same.
And it isn’t like I haven’t worked with non-profits myself. I know how tough it is to work as part of a charitable organization. How the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa. stays afloat all these years is nothing short of a miracle.
As we have suggested before, maybe next time the ValleyCats do this project, the media outlets involved could start with a charitable donation, right off the bat, for their media members to be included in the outlet.
Or, just scrap the contest entirely and create a bobblehead in honor of Dan DiNicola, God rest his soul.
LikeLike
$900 is a shamefully low amount, IMO. As someone who would (and has) given my last dollar to charity or those in need, in addition to doing things like Relay for Life and volunteering my time for a variety of organizations and causes, I can’t even begin to state how embarrassing the dollar amount alone is. In my opinion, they should be donating 100% of the profits from ticket sales that night, at a minimum. Shame on the Valley Cats for using such tactics and then not delivering a good contribution to the charities involved. $600 for a charity probably wouldn’t cover the cost of paper for a year for most typical organizations.
And if I may suggest a couple of my own favorite charities…
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
http://www.childsplaycharity.org/
LikeLike
Also, in response to Lydia, I do think it’s great that you are chipping in some of your own money. You are the only one doing this, that I am aware of, and I think the fact that you are doing that says quite a bit about your character (and explains why people like you so much!)
LikeLike
Kristi Gustafson is the cancer killing blog journalism.
No Chuck Miller bobblehead would be complete without it clutching a little miniature Trivia Bowl. Of course I’d probably get fired because I’d be sitting in my office booing at it all day.
LikeLike
Woo Hoo, I think Kristi’s blog is different from any other blog on the TU, but I think it has its place here. Fashion and relationships, some of the major topics of her blog, are things (some) people enjoy talking about- no, it’s not for everyone, but it does have its niche, and I don’t think she’s any less suitable for the TU blog than anyone else. The TU has done, in my opinion, a nice job of having enough bloggers to cover a wide variety of topics, and have something for everyone.
LikeLike
So Big Bertha and Sasha and Woo Hoo, please enlighten all of the TU blog readers, of all of your stellar journalism skills. Then, if you don’t mind, tell us all of your endeavours with regards to being charitable. You must all donate time or monies to some charitable cause. You have to or you three wouldn’t be up on your soapboxes bashing Kristi Gustafson. Your hypocrisy is embarassing.
LikeLike
@DaveToo,
Our self-righteous seat a top our proverbial high-horse is still an inadequate testament to our continued pwnage of the local trivia scene.
LikeLike
Oh Christ, another Kristi fanboy. Your time would be better spent defending something worthwhile. She’s a balloon with a pretty face.
Legitimate journalism implies a few important concepts: searching for facts (the proverbial “five Ws and an H,” i.e. who, what, where, when, why, how), presenting them in an impartial manner, and reserving opinions to oneself. Witness folks like Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com or, to keep it local, folks like Rick Karlin, Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, and Jim Odato. Heck, even Chuck here could make a credible claim as a journalist, his “me-search” about team trivia & his recently departed Pontiac 6000 notwithstanding.
I’m not a journalist, nor do I pretend to be one. But I know one when I see one, and she is not. Showing up at bars & prom parties with a camera does not make you a journalist, nor does posting a link to somebody else’s journalism (or what passes for it when it’s something she’s linking) and going “OMG! What do you think?” Kristi, Jimmy Vielkind, and their like are the cancer killing this concept: openly opinionated, shameless self-promotion, and name-dropping. They are third-rate tabloids, more in the league of Howard Stern, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olbermann, and Oprah, but the critical difference is that the latter four have bigger budgets and are actually interesting and entertaining.
As for whatever “charitable cause” the proceeds of these bobbleheads are meant to go to, there was a guy a while back who got nailed to a tree a short while after he explained the real hypocrisy: it’s not charity if you’re calling attention to yourself while doing it.
LikeLike
For the life of me, I can not understand how grown men, Like DaveToo, think Kristi’s blog is the height of fun and frolic.
Well, maybe I can.
As a gal, I appreciate that a little giggly girl talk brightens the day. Maybe there are some men who want to get in on the action. Different strokes for different folks. If my man spent that kind of time commenting on a chick blog, I’d start to worry…
LikeLike