r_1227127204_r_1227125509_marleesucksgoats.jpg

…and then again she might not. But, hey, anything might be happening. The Center for Sex Positive Culture might be spending your tax dollars throwing sex parties. They probably aren’t but they might be and so long as “might be” is the standard KOMO and Ginter use to determine what news is fit for their 11 o’clock broadcast, we can use the same standard to determine what posts are fit for Slog. Personally? I don’t think Marlee Ginter is [a damn fine journalist]. But we can’t rule it out definitively. I mean, does anyone know where Marlee Ginter is right now?

But if someone out there does know where Marlee is right now, could you ask her to please read this? Because there’s something I want to say to Marlee:

Welcome to Seattle.

marleeginter.jpgAccording to your bio on KOMO’s website, you arrived in Seattle in August of 2007. Before getting a job at KOMO you worked as a reporter and an anchor at television stations in Gainesville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Judging from your age and your resume, you’ve moved from place to place, never staying in one city for very long, before you finally wound up here in Seattle a little more than a year ago. So you’re just another one of those rootless, itinerant teevee news reporters who comes and goes—and that’s not your fault. That’s how careers work in your business: a teevee news reporter starts out in a small market, moves on to slightly larger market, and gradually works her way up to a big market.

The downside—for you itinerant teevee news reporters, for us viewers in bigger markets—is that by the time one of you gets a job in a place like Seattle, a big liberal city, you’ve spent a great deal of time living and working in tiny towns, in churchy places, in markets where people don’t have liberal views about sex or sexuality or much of anything else. Before KOMO offered you a job, Marlee, you spent most of your professional life in much smaller and more conservative cities—all but one of them in the South.

Now sex sells, even in smaller markets, and sweeps are sweeps. So teevee news reporters in smaller markets are expected to find and report stories about sex, stories that allow them to show steamy, suggestive video. alittledance.jpg But a teevee news reporter working in a small market—where all teevee news reporters learn their craft—has to be careful to pitch her sex stories so that they play to the prejudices and hypocrisies of viewers in those smaller and more politically conservative markets. Oh, they want to watch sex stories for the same reason we all do—they’re titillating—but they don’t want to admit that they’re watching them to be titillated. So sex stories in smaller markets are presented to the viewers only after they’ve been carefully wrapped in condemnation and outrage: “Look at this disgusting sex club/sex shop/sex haver—isn’t this sex club/sex shop/sex-haver shocking and loathsome? Isn’t this an affront to our community’s values? Now let’s look at this shocking thing some more, shall we? My goodness, isn’t it indecent!”

In a small media market, teevee news reporters frequently file distorted, unfair, sloppily reported pieces about sex stores and sex clubs and people that get caught having sex. Why waste time with, oh, accuracy and fairness and ethics when the point of the piece isn’t the sex toys being sold or the guys getting it on in the rest stops or the tax-exempt status of a sex-related social club. The point is boosting the ratings with a little titillating video and then moving on to weather and the sports. And in small markets teevee news reporters can get away with this, they can shit all over sex stores and clubs and havers with impunity, they beat the fuck out of people who are doing dirty, dirty SECKS!—because in a place like Savannah, Georgia, or Indianapolis, Indiana, it’s extremely unlikely that someone, anyone, is going to come to that person’s or that group’s defense. Because, my goodness, they were doing the SECKS! And SECKS is dirty and shocking!

Welcome to Seattle, Marlee.

Seattle isn’t Georgia or South Carolina. Seattle isn’t just “the mountains and the water.” And it’s not just Starbucks and Microsoft and the Seahawks and the rain. Seattle is also Babeland and the Lusty Lady and “Savage Love” and amateur porn festivals and sex-positive community centers and nude bicyclists and one of the nation’s biggest burlesque scenes. indigoblue.jpg When the city of Seattle passed a law crafted to put local strip clubs out of business—and throw local strippers out of work—Seattle residents voted overwhelmingly to repeal it. babeland.jpg People around here fall into two categories: they’re either pretty progressive about sex, a.k.a. “sex-positive,” or they believe that people who aren’t bothering anyone else should be left the hell alone. If someone wants to open a non-profit club that offers sex education and hosts sex parties, no one around here really cares so long as the sex club is operating legally. humpimage.jpg And the Center, which is operating legally, got on just fine for nine years before you got to town. If there was going to be an outcry about what goes on behind its closed doors—and about its non-profit status—there would’ve been one long before KOMO hired you.

You’re not in a red state anymore, Marlee. You’re free to file sensationalistic stories about sex for KOMO. We certainly sensationalize sex here at the Stranger—but because we think sex is, or should be, sensational. What you can’t peddle here is sex-negative bullshit. And you can’t lie about sex-related businesses or sex-related non-profits with impunity here. You can’t beat up on sex clubs and sex shops the way teevee news reporters in small towns beat up on sex clubs and sex shops. And if you try that crap here, Marlee, you’re going to get some blowback. Because there are too many people here who aren’t embarrassed to be seen coming to the defense of sex clubs or sex shops or sex workers or sex havers. Make a note of it.

Finally, Marlee, I’ve heard through the media grapevine that you’re upset about all this [damn-fine-journalist] stuff on Slog. So let’s make a deal: KOMO has already yanked your story from its website—so why not officially retract the piece and issue an apology to the Center? On air would be great, but in writing would do. We’ll probably yank our obnoxious YouTube videos, and pull down or re-title these posts, whatever you do. Because, hey, we’ve more than made our point. But I still think you need to do the right thing and apologize.

And again, Marlee, welcome to Seattle.

153 replies on “KOMO’s Marlee Ginter Might Be [a Damn Fine Journalist]…”

  1. @97

    Nor did Ginter “act” with skill. By my critique her abilities as an actress are even worse than her abilities as an alleged journalist. She was unable to convince her audience that her self-righteous indignation as a sexophobic was genuine. While we might speculate on whatever else Marlee is and is not blowing, the consensus is that she blew this bit.

    Ironically her acting performance as a self-righteous sexophobic was so poor, it seems to have brought more attention to this particular minor piece than any of her other prior performances. It’s almost like a cult following only built on distain rather than admiration, her performance was trashy but it was in no way campy. I suspect because of all this in the unlikely event that she is given any future acting auditions; she may be forever doomed to be type-casted into this type of role.

    I’m sure there are plenty of narrow-minded small towns were soap operas dressed up as news play well, this town just isn’t one of them.

  2. Don’t kid yourself. This entire slog is nothing but a sick soap opera. It is a haven for small minded people. Just because you fringe group resides within a minor subculture of a big city does not lend you additional credibility.

    This entire discussion is an example of narrow minded hate. The group think here is epic. A classic example of simpletons lining up to follow an idiot. Dan may be the tallest midget, but he can’t play with the big boys.

    Don’t pretend that this site represents Seattle. This site represents a tiny fringe of the fringe.

  3. Common sense, since you aren’t answering my questions, I will take it that you are not a lawyer, let alone one who knows anything about libel. Please stop pretending that you understand the situation.

  4. @ 91, My name is Matt FROM Denver, not Matt IN Denver. When we ASSUME…

    I’ll take it, from the rest of your comment, that you aren’t a party to the “Seattle ought to be a Big City” crowd? Because if you are, then you’re going to have to listen to those of us that know a bit about Big Cities. (And no, I’m not talking about Denver…)

  5. When anticipated sick soap operas are awesome! I would like to thank the majority of the folks who have left comments here that have lived up to my high expectations for low vulgarity.

  6. #102 hits the nail on the head. Two great examples: (1) Dan’s recent whiny, bullying performance on CNN; (2) Dan’s worshippers parroting everything out of his mouth event down to his snarky, petty “SECKS” spelling.

    You’re being as ignorant, bullying, and narrow-minded as the most zealous of the far right. The Falwells, Limbaughs and Buchanans got nothin’ on you.

  13. I am surprised that for all the sexually liberal attitudes here, people still don’t seem to know basic anatomy – i.e., they don’t know their arses from a hole in the ground.

    You are blaming the wrong person. Ms. Ginter was instructed to do this story by the people who employ her. This was pitched and approved by others, including some people who have been in Seattle upwards of 20 years. Perhaps you should take this up with them.

    Do YOUR research first. This is pathetic. Find the truth of the situation, and the facts, then move forward. Your investigative techniques are as shoddy as those you criticize.

  18. This is unbelievable, do you know what this does to a single mother. Her child has been threatened and called goat sucker. Her life has been threatened. For a silly sex club piece.
    I would have agreed with you up to a point but please stop this, it is much more hateful then anything she or KOMO have ever done.
    You have undone anything you may have done to help your cause. Shame Shame Shame on you!

  19. maybe she’s single cos the goat ate her husband.

    goats have been known to eat all kinds of crazy sh*t.

    but if she’s teaching her kid to suck off goats, CPS should be called. that is not appropriate.

  20. well if she is so hurt… maybe it’s time for her to apologize for this shitty piece of trash she calls journalism? and apologize to alexander? and apologize to SCPSC?

    No? No apology yet?

    carry on….

  21. Is anyone from the stranger paying attention? Is it ok with you that people are attacking innocent children on your web site? Is that something that you approve of?

    How can you possibly argue that Mrs. Ginter’s children are fair game for your attacks?

    Dan, I hope you are proud. This is quite an accomplishment to add to your resume. Maybe you can make a trophy for your mantel commemorating the time you formed an angry mob to attack little kids.

    I don’t know if you are a parent Dan. I suppose not. I can’t imagine that any parent would ever lead this kind of attack against innocent children. I hope no one else (including you and your family, Dan) ever has to endure the type of harassment Mrs. Ginter and her children have at your hands.

    The damage that you have already caused can not be undone. Please end this now. You made your point. Don’t raise questions about the club where you like to have sex or you will attack in the most vulgar and damaging way possible, and children are fair game. We get it! It’s time to move on.

  23. A mob attack on little kids, Please? Can you provide a link to any report of that? Ms. Ginter and KOMO are being called out on what THEY did.

  25. If Ginter can’t stand the heat, she needs to apologize or get out of the kitchen. Baseless attacks need to stop. If not, you WILL get blowback. TV stations need to consider the pieces they run. They basically attacked this club, implying that they are using government $. She needs to say that the club is NOT using federal funds, it is a simple nonprofit, no different then the sportsman’s fishing/hunting club I belong to, and say she is sorry for a misleading piece. KOMO brought it on themselves. They could have nipped it in the bud and retracted right away, but refused. It’s the same as Fox going to the Castro to cover fundies egging on gayz right after the 8 vote and saying the gayz are unstable and violent. It’s hack journalism.

  26. Um, to all of you asking if Ginter has apologized… since when has Dan *ever* apologized for his own hack journalism? Like his personal attacks on Jamie Pedersen during his first run for state legislature? Or that stupid piece of Halloween “parody” that listed home addresses of people with Republican election signs in their yards, which caused a big Internet shitstorm, which the Stranger subsequently pulled from their site, and for which they issued a snarky non-pology?

    If Dan is willing to apologize, *then* he can demand one from Ginter. Until then, he should just STFU. Whatever point he was trying to make (that Ginter and her report were wrong and that she should publicly correct the record) got lost when he launched a personal attack on her. Dan is in his what, 40’s? And yet he still hasn’t learned that calling people names and bullying them probably isn’t the best way to get what you want. If anything, it makes you look like an immature, vindictive asshole. In the end, it makes it easier for Ginter and KOMO to write him off, because to apologize now just looks like they’re caving in to a lunatic. He would have been much better served by taking the high road and forcing the issue of journalistic integrity without the personal insults.

    In the end the whole think just looks self-defeating. Ginter and KOMO haven’t apologized (and probably never will), Savage looks like a jerk, and the story will probably never get corrected. Nice work!

  27. Although this paper is primarily RE: Seattle, Savage Love is a nationally syndicated column, & there are folks reading SLOG/the Stranger from all around the country (upstate NY here). Yes, it’s primarily Seattle issues, but some topics are bigger. Although Ms. Ginter may not have written the story, she’s the one who read it on TV; her expression of mock horror is what people are gonna remember; & that’s why she’s the one catching the flack. I feel sorry for her, a little, but you should be able to stand behind the story you present. That is part of your duty as a public figure.

    Dan IS a parent, actually. He had to fight to become one. I don’t recall him mentioning anyone’s kids. Leave them out of it. This is an adult issue.

    This is a bigger problem because the news has been fudged slightly, here & there, for years now, & we all just take it. There’s celebrity talkin’ heads, blingy graphics, only 6 independent feeds for most major news stories & countless uses of “unnamed sources”, sensationalism & smoke & mirrors. (Does anyone else want to bitch-slap Nancy Grace?) I remember there being a magazine called Brill’s Content where the media was called to task for its various inaccuracies. It is *long* defunct.

    Like we need people casting an evil eye on a sex club, which is one fo the few places people can get there kinky groove on, fairly safely? AND like we need people getting deliberately misquoted, with their own words?

    The bells & whistles have to go. I’d like to see someone talking on the news & not have to sift their opinion, or some producer’s opinion, from the facts. The day the OJ verdict was read, I canceled the cable TV subscription to my home, no shit. There’s no difference between news & entertainment. It’s fucked. There has been no TV connected in my home since. It’s a box for playing DVD’s & the Wii.

    I’m glad the story was pulled. There should be some form of apology to the author & to the club, even if it’s just something unofficial. Something.

  28. #126 – Why would Dan apologize for articles he didn’t write? Certainly not because he’s the “editor” (term used very loosely here) or anything.

    Dan isn’t going after the editors or superiors of the reporter because this is his very personal, self-admitted “obsessive” issue.

    I’m not surprised the Cult Of Dan faithful have all jumped on his coattails here, even knowing how absurd and inconsequential the entire matter is.

    High-larious.

  31. I haven’t seen anywhere on the interned where Ms. Ginter has asked for an apology. I haven’t seen any place where she has ever addressed this matter.

    This is a pretty one sided fight. In fact this is not a fight at all. It is a public harassment. Dan just keeps attacking and she goes on with her work. I’ve been watching her on the news, and I think she is doing a nice job. Seattle news need more reporters like her.

    Dan keeps demanding an apology. I suspect he is just looking for some way to justify the harm which he has caused. He wants to claim that Ms. Ginter started this. She did not, nor has she participated in it. She simply filed a news report that Dan Savage did not like, and then moved on to her next assignment. Ms. Ginter is obviously a classy professional. It is admirable that she has not bowed to the depths of Dan Savage. It is obvious who’s the journalist and who’s the immature bully screaming for attention.

  34. Ginter wrote the story, she even wrote the intro Dan Lewis read, at least that is how it usually goes in TV news land. She is the one who presented it to the public and thus gets the glory (or the shame of the story)

    Geri22 @113 I’d like to know how you did YOUR research? Do you perhaps work at KOMO? How could you know who decided the story should be done otherwise?

    Besides, my “favorite” Ginter story is when she went around to local convenience stores and accused them of selling “crack pipes” “close to local schools”, when they were obviously bongs/pipes for pot use.

    She wants to be a hard hitting journalist, asking tough questions, but really she just interrupts people a lot and isn’t willing to do the research which is the root of the issue here. She didn’t do her job as a journalist.

    And also those terrible fake contacts make her look like some horror movie zombie.

  36. Good note Dan, but understand this as a person who does work in the media. I do not think she has a choice on airing an apology. And I heard through the “media grapevine” that she was not the one to pitch this story. I even heard she did not even want to do it from the start.

    But I do not work as a journalist because of stories like the one she produced. I work in it for the better. All stations have done a lot of great things for the community and also a lot of controversial and even slanted stories. But I have come to learn over my many years that you cannot satisfy everyone. Voice your concerns, protest, write letters if you feel a story is not represented well. And never stop until you hear back. But to degrade, humiliate, or demonize a person you do not even know is just as wrong as the story Marlee produced.

    Her rude interruptions during a story do bother me and her aggressive style is a bit over the top. But I hear she is a nice person and a great coworker to work with.

  37. @ 130, (and also @ joykiller), you better make sure all the other “native Seattlites” [drop the silent e] feel like you do before you speak for them, because there are no shortage of them who talk about making this place “world class.”

  38. It’s funny, in the days before the internet, public blowback, or gathering support for defense against unfair treatment, wasn’t so easy. Ok so this Ginter thing is much more trivial, but think about these: the Right didn’t know what to do about all the viral emails and fact-checking during the election, and the anti-gays have been bewildered with the scope of the negative response (mobilized via internet) to Prop 8.

    It’s great – one of the things that the internet does is it makes it really easy to call people out on bullshit. Before internet, only KOMO had the power to broadcast its crap to the thousands. WITH internet, Dan can “broadcast” via a simple itty bitty blog, a response to the bullshit. And he can get a ton of regular people to help out. And we can do it for FREE.

    People still aren’t used to this, but it is totally rad.

  40. I see all you fresh-faced kidlets, sitting there in your neat little rows, and you’re all just pods. Pods, waiting for your instructions. Now, some of you are gonna get zapped right away and be 15-year-old prodigies, little midget Olympic gymnasts with their pictures on cereal boxes. Some of you will go on to college, and you’ll find your rhythm there, then go chase down the titans of industry, or maybe straighten out our problems at the UN. But some of you, and this is the group that no one ever comes into Career Day and addresses, and it’s criminal. Some of you are just gonna float along, eating spicy foods, humming black people’s music into your 30s. Well into your 30s, languishing. This group of pods is gonna do a lot of languishing. And you’re gonna take some heat for it. Sadly, you will. Europe’s a little easier. They seem to understand a little better. So does South America. I went to Argentina one time, and everyone seemed to be sitting around. It was beautiful. But, that’s okay. You stay loose. Stay liquid. Laugh a lot. But be ready. That’s what Dupree’s doing with his life’s little pod. Staying nimble, till I get the call from the mother ship. My raison d’etat. Then I fight. Then you’ll see Dupree coming in here throwing seven different kinds of smoke!

  41. Way out west there was this fella I wanna tell ya about. Goes by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. See, this Lebowski, he called himself “The Dude”. Now, “Dude” – there’s a name no man would self-apply where I come from. But then there was a lot about the Dude that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that’s why I found the place so darned interestin’. See, they call Los Angeles the “City Of Angels”; but I didn’t find it to be that, exactly. But I’ll allow it as there are some nice folks there. ‘Course I ain’t never been to London, and I ain’t never seen France. And I ain’t never seen no queen in her damned undies, so the feller says. But I’ll tell you what – after seeing Los Angeles, and this here story I’m about to unfold, well, I guess I seen somethin’ every bit as stupefyin’ as you’d seen in any of them other places. And in English, too. So I can die with a smile on my face, without feelin’ like the good Lord gypped me. Now this here story I’m about to unfold took place in the early ’90s – just about the time of our conflict with Sad’m and the I-raqis. I only mention it because sometimes there’s a man… I won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero? Sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about the Dude here – the Dude from Los Angeles. Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude. The Dude, from Los Angeles. And even if he’s a lazy man – and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in all of Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin’ for laziest worldwide. Sometimes there’s a man, sometimes, there’s a man. Well, I lost my train of thought here. But… aw, hell. I’ve done introduced it enough.

  42. Hi. Welcome to the future. San Dimas, California, 2688. And I’m telling you, it’s great here. The air is clean. The water’s clean. Even the dirt… is clean. Bowling averages are way up. Mini-golf scores are way down. And we have more excellent waterslides than any other planet we communicate with. I’m telling you, this place is great. But it almost wasn’t. You see, 700 years ago the Two Great Ones ran into a few problems. So now I have to travel back in time to help them out. If I should fail to keep these two on the correct path, the basis of our society will be in danger. Don’t worry. It’ll all make sense. I’m a professional.

  43. The Facts about the Story from me, the person Interviewed.

    According to Ms. Ginter she is the one who pitched the story. Someone from KOMO was reading America Unzipped and mentioned us in the newsroom and Marlee told me she thought it would be an interesting story. She told me she was going to focus on our non profit status. I really had no issues with that (and still don’t). However she did lie to me (said she interviewed Brian Alexander for the piece) and she did lie by omission(Never mentioned this was for Problem Solvers….I’m still curious what the problem is).

    She totally manipulated Brian and my quotes and garbled most of the facts. (such as our members being able to deduct dues…wrong….me being the “owner” ….wrong). I am not surprised she didn’t apologize to Brian Alexander. When I wrote her and told her that I was unhappy with story she replied that she was “stunned” that I didn’t like it. She actually thought I’d appreciate the story. sigh

    And KOMO pulled the piece in less than 11 hours. Makes you wonder.

    As for all this brouhaha…well it got me an hour long radio interview with Schram and Carlson (very fun and positive) and it got us a lot of attention, new members and some donations. All in all, not bad.

    Oh, and honestly, I’m not crazy about the “sucking goats” blog…but I do appreciate all the other blogs.

    Thanks to all of you who support us and the sex positive community (oh, and an fyi, we don’t take taxpayers money we are just exempt from paying federal income tax on our tiny profit.)

    Allena Gabosch
    Executive Director

  44. Ah come on, Adrian, it’s true. I was nobody. But that don’t matter either, you know? ‘Cause I was thinkin’, it really don’t matter if I lose this fight. It really don’t matter if this guy opens my head, either. ‘Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody’s ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.

  45. You don’t understand. Johnny Fontane never gets that movie. That part is perfect for him, it’ll make him a big star, and I’m gonna run him out of the business – and let me tell you why: Johnny Fontane ruined one of Woltz International’s most valuable proteges. For three years we had her under contract – singing lessons, dancing lessons, acting lessons. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was gonna make her a big star. And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I’m not a hard-hearted man, and that it’s not all dollars and cents: She was beautiful; she was innocent. She was the greatest piece of ass I’ve ever had, and I’ve had it all over the world. And then Johnny Fontane comes along with his olive oil voice and guinea charm, and she runs off. She threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous! And a man in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous! No you get the hell out of here. And you tell that gumba that if he wants to try any rough stuff that I ain’t no band leader. Yeah, I heard that story.

  46. The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

  47. See, this is the point, for me, where it started to look like a problem. You know, I wanted to sacrifice the procentral vein in order to get some exposure, but because of this guy’s normal variation, I got excited, and all of a sudden I didn’t know whether I was looking at the procentral vein, or one of the internal cerebral veins, or the vein of Galen, or the vasular vein of Rosenthal. So, on my own, to me, at this point, I was ready to say that’s it, let’s get out.

  48. @126 – I do believe Dan HAS apologized for all his Iraq War is goodGoodGOOD bullshit back in the beginning. So now that THAT question is settled, has Ginter gotten the goat dick out of her mouth long enough to apologize?

  49. The part of the story I don’t like is that the little boy gave up looking for Happy after an hour. He didn’t put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy’s gotta think ‘You got a pet. You got a responsibility.’ If your dog is lost you don’t look for an hour then call it quits. You get your ass out there and you find that fucking dog.

  50. It breaks down like this: it’s legal to buy it, it’s legal to own it, and, if you’re the proprietor of a hash bar, it’s legal to sell it. It’s legal to carry it, but that doesn’t really matter ’cause – get a load of this – if you get stopped by the cops in Amsterdam, it’s illegal for them to search you. I mean, that’s a right the cops in Amsterdam don’t have.

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