The FCKC War with ACI - Part Six: Getting Official Word from Mr. Barry Feil!

Monday Afternoon - 6/10/13:

I did a little bit of digging based on Mr. Fingaz having said that he had spoken with the Director of Celebrate Fairfax because I wanted to know if he had told the truth. Well, there are 3 Directors and they are all women so I assumed this male Director was imaginary. But, being the professional that I am… journalistic integrity, truth-seeker, etc. I called the main line and pressed whatever button connected me to Media and Communications. I got the voicemail of VP and Managing Director Meagan Butkus. I left Ms. Butkus a message regarding this incident and let her know I was fact checking for an article I was writing.

Tuesday Morning - 6/11/13:

I received a call back from none other than the CEO & President of Celebrate Fairfax, Mr. Barry Feil. This is the person with whom Fingaz spoke so it was actually appropriate he was the person to return my call. I essentially got the Final Word on this situation “straight from the horse’s mouth” as they say.

Feil basically told me the same thing, that they go by FCC guidelines and "If it's on the radio, it's Okay." I began to break down for him exactly what FCC guidelines are but the second he used the term "community standards" I knew he wasn't stupid and did already have some familiarity.

He also told me that he has a nine year old daughter who, at only seven years old, knew all the words to the song "Gives You Hell" by All American Rejects. He said he didn't like it but there was nothing he could really do about it... and he's right. I feel for Barry Feil and do not envy his position. He's basically caught between a rock and a hard place. He is in charge of putting on an event every year that has to be relevant knowing in essence it contributes to situations like kids learning songs packed with "light profanity" at young ages.

Like it or not folks, this is the day and age we live in. There are supreme court cases going on as we speak that can and will change what is allowed to be said on radio and TV. Thanks to Safe Harbor Laws and people like Howard Stern, there really isn't much you can't do on the air short of showing hardcore pornography or graphically depicting obscene sex acts on the radio. I don't envy parents with small children because no matter what those parents do it is frankly impossible to shield kids from this... and it's not like you can wash your kids' mouths out with soap anymore like our parents did when we cursed when we were kids (think A Christmas Story) without fear of Child Protective Services showing up at your door.

But, here is the gist... If "light profanity" is allowed to be sung in songs at Celebrate Fairfax  in the Fairfax County Karaoke Championship, then the Official Rules need to be updated to reflect that with the clarification that "If it's on the radio then it's Okay." As it stands, the Official Rules were not observed and the people who followed them, like me and the other "sore losers", did get shafted because we could have sang more relevant songs.

The good news is that Mr. Barry Feil understands that and has agreed to update the Official Rules next year for 2014 to reflect it. 

Well HOLY CRAP! Somebody in charge of something to do with this contest actually admitted some kind of fault and did not call me a sore loser for daring to broach this topic... AND is even going to take action that will make the contest a little more fair for the contestants going forward. While this was not exactly the resolution I had in mind, I am still happy with it.

I later found out during the conversation that he only returned my call because he thought I was a reporter. He thought he got duped for a second...

No Mr. Feil, while I did take several courses related to journalism at George Mason University and worked for the Times Community Newspapers for nearly 2 years, I am not now nor have I ever been a reporter. But, I also never claimed to be. All I said was “I’m writing an article and am attempting to do some fact checking." As you can see, that was true. For all you know it could’ve been an article for karaoke enthusiasts, which is also actually kind of true.

I did want to be a newspaper reporter several years ago. But, the specific courses for the concentration in Journalism conflicted with my full-time work schedule at the time and paying my rent in full on time was of higher priority to me than selecting this particular concentration. I decided to go with Public Relations instead because the courses were nearly identical and the potential income of PR executives is A LOT more than that of a reporter unless you are Brian Williams or Katie Couric.

However, I am a published author and current blog writer, which in its essence is tantamount to being a reporter. Blogs seem to be the beginning of all things newsworthy these days and reputable media sources circulate our posts through the PR newswires. If I put enough SEO’s in this post and somebody decides the content of any or all of it is “newsworthy” it is very likely this story could become the basis for other articles then published by what you would consider more reputable media outlets.

In the meantime, please note that our obscure little blog which has only existed for about 2 months, is read in, at last count, fifteen countries on four continents and gets anywhere from 100-200 clicks on an average day. However, my readership has quintupled since I began this FCKC War with ACI series of posts and continues to grow. The only people who know that are me and the watchdogs at Adsense who decided I have satisfied their readership requirements sufficiently enough to allow me to have paid advertising on my blog. 

Why am I telling you all this Mr. Feil? Because you gave me your word that you would update the rules for the FCKC next year to reflect what we discussed and I intend to hold you to that. I encourage my readers to do so as well. I would also suggest that you read The FCKC War with ACI Part 5: The Judges, The Judging, and the Outdated, Arbitrarily Non-Officially Changed Rules to see the other rules that should probably be updated while you are at.

Stay tuned for Part Seven - The Conclusion of the FCKC War with ACI....

And just in case you missed them:

• The FCKC War with ACI - Part One
• FCKC War Footnote - Miss Slik's Advice On Burning Bridges and BONUS THEME SONG!
• The FCKC War with ACI - Part Two: The Incident at The Fair Friday Night

• The FCKC War with ACI - Part Three: The Aftermath and Love to Glenn
• The FCKC War with ACI - Part 4: More Aftermath and F You to Some People
• The FCKC War with ACI Part 5: The Judges, The Judging, and the Outdated, Arbitrarily Non-Officially Changed Rules