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 Post subject: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 12:33 am 
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Location: Butte, MT (almost Great Falls)
^By ANDREW KRAMER
^Associated Press Writer
VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) — For 19 months, Tre Arrow was one of the most wanted fugitives in America — accused of firebombing logging and cement trucks in Oregon and having links to a group of radical environmentalists viewed as terrorists by the FBI. ....
Arrow, 30, was born Michael Scarpitti but says the trees told him to change his name. He gained notoriety by scaling the offices of the U.S. Forest Service in Portland in 2000 and perching on a narrow ledge for 11 days to protest logging on Mount Hood. <p>Isn't it AP Style to refer to people by their real names? Especially in a case when the authority for the name-change is attributed to a bunch of larch? At least he didn't lower-case it.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 3:26 am 
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I don't have the stylebook in front of me, but the AP is a bit vague on its style for personal names. Essentially, the rule is that people may be called as they wish, as long as their identities are clear. I'm not bothered by this one.<p>I do, however, agree with what Bill Walsh calls the "Freakin' Weirdo Clause" -- see his site for more info on that.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:27 am 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JayByrd:
Arrow, 30, was born Michael Scarpitti but says the trees told him to change his name.<hr></blockquote>Goddam tree-hearing liberals.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 1:05 pm 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JayByrd:
Isn't it AP Style to refer to people by their real names?<hr></blockquote>He may have changed it legally. I once interviewed a kid who'd gone to court to become Nigel Earthworm III. The judge laughed, but granted the request.<p>D.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 3:58 pm 
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This whole conversation reminds me of a much earlier thread, that of the person named "Heywood Jablome" that spoke to a reporter at the Masters tournament last year, I believe. Great story.<p>Get the name right. If he's got a problem with the newspaper using his real name, he can talk to the trees again. (Although I bet they're all bark, no bite.)


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:44 pm 
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This brings up a point that's surfaced here a few times...using gang members' street names in crime stories.<p>I don't like doing it, but on the other hand perhaps it's informative for their buddies who might not know their real names. Just seems like reporting a street name sort of glorifies it all.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 11:46 pm 
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The most important thing is making sure the person's identity is clear. <p>For those who insist on "real names" in every situation: Would you refer to the composer of "Take the A Train" as Edward K. Ellington? I doubt that most readers would know who that is. He is widely known as Duke Ellington, even if he never filled out a tax return or held a driver's license with that name.<p>If a person is known by more than one name, I think the best practice is to include both names in the story.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:27 pm 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by majorbabs:
This whole conversation reminds me of a much earlier thread, that of the person named "Heywood Jablome" that spoke to a reporter at the Masters tournament last year, I believe. Great story.<p><hr></blockquote><p>Lileks passed along a coinage recently that's bound to gain currency:<p>Hugh G. Recshion


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:16 pm 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bumfketeer:
This brings up a point that's surfaced here a few times...using gang members' street names in crime stories.<p>I don't like doing it, but on the other hand perhaps it's informative for their buddies who might not know their real names. Just seems like reporting a street name sort of glorifies it all.<hr></blockquote>
Seems on the surface a bit like running photographs of tag graffiti


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:29 pm 
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Well, did he gain fame with his play name? I edited many stories about Ted Kazinski (don't hold me to the spelling, it's been a few years since he was topical) yet we would write "The Unabomber, Ted Kazinski" as often as "Ted Kazinski, the Unabomber" ...<p>I liked the lede on the Arrow story. It flowed, to use newsspeak.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:57 am 
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Originally posted by Dapper Dan:
For those who insist on "real names" in every situation: Would you refer to the composer of "Take the A Train" as Edward K. Ellington? <p>No, because the composer of "Take the 'A' Train" was Billy Strayhorn.


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 Post subject: Re: Me and my Arrow...
PostPosted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:50 am 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by JPSheehan:
Originally posted by Dapper Dan:
For those who insist on "real names" in every situation: Would you refer to the composer of "Take the A Train" as Edward K. Ellington? <p>No, because the composer of "Take the 'A' Train" was Billy Strayhorn.
<hr></blockquote><p>But still, Dapper Dan makes a good point. Sticklers for "real names" see plenty of stories about Paul Hewson. After all, he's trying to combat AIDS in Africa and is prone to cursing on live television.<p>Mr. Hewson is better known as Bono, lead singer of U2. So far as I can tell, nobody's employed the "Freakin' Weirdo" clause when editing copy about him, even though he hangs out with a guy who calls himself "The Edge."<p>As for Mr. Arrow, it's less about clarity and more about context. This isn't a feature, it's a crime story; it's common to list aliases (even gang names) in such stories. If Bono were booked for DUI, I'm pretty sure the name Paul Hewson would appear in the copy.


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