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[primergray View Member Profile]

Forwarded from the SDORC Mailing List.
www.sdorc.org

Jack

Ocotillo Wells "hit" piece on KUSI CH 9 News

Last week, KUSI TV in San Diego ran a two-part program focusing on the law-breaking party element that has become a problem at the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (OWSVRA).

Unfortunately, what the program showed was factual. This sort of behavior does in fact take place in the park. More unfortunately, however, is that the station chose not to show the other side of the story. They failed to make clear that the vast majority of these law-breakers are NOT off-roaders, but rather young people who choose the park as a place to party. The did not show off-road recreation as the wholesome, healthy, law-abiding family activity that it is.

After protests from off-roaders and Kathy Dolinar, Superintendent of OWSVRA, KUSI has agreed to cover the annual desert clean-up in the park Saturday, Nov. 13. Historically, however, some TV and radio stations do not follow up on such promises. We need two things from you:

1. Call the station at 858.571.5151 or email them at news@kusi.com and let them know you are unhappy with their one-sided portrayal of off-road recreation and you want them to keep their date on the 13th.

2. Come out to OWSVRA on the 13th and lend a hand. We want to have as large a crowd there as possible, so that we make a strong statement on the KUSI follow-up report. And besides, helping to keep our desert clean is fun and the right thing to do! Be at the Ranger Station at 7:00 AM for breakfast. The clean-up will begin at about 7:30, and we'll be through before noon. A free lunch will follow.

Thanks for your help in setting the record straight about our sport!

[HozaykwAIRvo View Member Profile]

Sounds good, hopefully they follow through with the coverage. From what I hear, we nailed them pretty hard with concerns and complaints about the negative publicity

[Surf-n-Sand View Member Profile]

they got my e-mail.

wonder if they even read it. Important thing is that they're following up with a clean-up story. Hope they dont' try to put some harmfull spin to it.

[YAMAHASPORT View Member Profile]

Going out Friday night with for the cleanup. We're taking the Nephews for trash pickers they get in & out of the jeep easier

[NODNARB View Member Profile]

So....were the news people there?

[what hurts? View Member Profile]

I watched that report on tv. We were out at there that weekend and I didn't see much that bad stuff they reported going on, but I know it does and I choose to avoid it. The guy they showed who was being loaded up in the ambulance after dumping his cycle was from our camp (I didn't know him). What they didn't report on was the family events like the costume & pumpkin carving contests we had. The pinata the kids took swings @ and the tricker treating they partook in. The world isn't as bad as it seems, the good things in life just aren't as marketable.

[Chummin View Member Profile]

I just saw a report Sunday morning.
They issued no apology for showin the trash only - and then re-iterated (sp) that they SAID these were the few and the majority were familys just out to have some fun - they went so far as to show those statements -
They did however on this segment - concentrait about 90% of the segment on the clean up, why people go there, and how familys cope with the problems etc etc.. It was alot better then the horrible segments for sure - but still lacked the attention the other one got - I only saw this one once and the other one was shown multiple times.

[KUSI_Erickson View Member Profile]

I've read with great interest the statements many here have made concerning my reports aired on KUSI on the lawbreakers at Ocotillo Wells. What amazes me was how every person who has commented has completely missed the point of the story, so much so that I'm led to believe that you didn't even watch either of the first two-parts that we aired.

I specifically stated in both of the original reports AND in the live tag afterward, and in the followup I did after the "cleanup" that the majority of people who go to Ocotillo Wells are "honest, law abiding citizens out for a good time on their ATV's, but that a few bad apples can ruin the bunch and that's what the Sheriff's department is working hard to root out." That is a verbatim quote from the piece.

What you apparently don't seem to understand is that series of special reports was NOT about "off-roading" and we NEVER promoted it or introduced it as such. The reports were about the tough job that brave law enforcement agents do to rid Ocotilo Wells of troublemakers. This series was never intended to be about "off-roaders" and again, it wasn't presented that way. We never presented the troublemakers as "off-roaders." We presented them as what they are, "troublemakers."

You also apparently fail to realize that my reports did more for your cause, and more to rid the area of troublemakers than anything you've done on your own.
Thanks to my reports, Ocotillo Wells has instituted new rules that make it illegal to drink alcohol or light fires outside of the immediate camping area.

So rather than taking a defensive posture and continuing to "slam" my reports and my station, a simple "thank you" would be nice.

For the record, I wholeheartedly embrace all forms of off-road recreation, having been an avid motocross racer when I was younger. What I don't embrace are the drunken fools who ruin it for others...and thanks to me and my reports, there will be fewer drunken fools in Ocotillo Wells ruining everyone's good time.

Best Regards...

Dave Erickson
KUSI-TV
San Diego, CA

[FNG View Member Profile]

Dave,

As owner of GlamisDunes.com, I would like to thank you for your efforts to bring attention to the "tough job" law enforcement has in all areas, including not just Ocotillo, but Glamis and Gordons as well.

I also believe that the people here (a very close knit community), did in fact "get your point". The problem is that most people who visit GlamisDunes.com are NOT the "problem children" and both respect and obey the rules, laws and LEO's that regulate both Ocotillo and Glamis.

In light of that, what happens is that "The Bad" seems to always be published before "The Good". After all, the news business is all about ratings. I'm sure KUSI viewers would not be totally interested in a "Cleanup" as opposed to the "lawlessness and lack of order" that your original story introduced (just my oppinion of course).

Speaking for myself, and what I've witnessed over the years is that we the law abiding community, have an extremely hard time proving to the powers to be (including the BLM, CBD, and other groups) is that we are just that. Law abiding, Family fun, and a consciencious group of off-road enthusiasts.

When can we expect to see a story on how the closures of Glamis are reducing the riding areas, causing more and more people to be crammed into limited space resulting in more accidents and fatalities? I'm sure that would get someone's attention.

Also, "tooting your own horn" about how your piece has done more for our cause than anything we have done is not only arrogant, but untrue. Our members have attended state, local, and regional meetings, with congressmen, representatives and even legislators in Sacramento. They have pushed for legislation to reopen the closures, and have more man hours invested than you could imagine. And unlike you, these people do it without asking for a "thanks", because they do it for the love of off-road, Ocotillo, and Glamis. They have no desire to make journalistic history, or for recognition. Again, a huge difference between them and you, and why they do it, verses why you are doing it. Again. Just my oppinion.

Patrick Glass
Owner - GlamisDunes.com

[Screamin Ian View Member Profile]

[Slappy View Member Profile]

[Wish I Could Dun... Wish I Could Dune View Member Profile]

Wicked responses Patrick and Slap, I tip my hat to both of you.

[WildBill View Member Profile]

Well stated FNG and Slappy.

Dave - You and your box you stand on don't work around here! Keep with your microphone and you know what to do with it!

[primergray View Member Profile]

Dave,

I fail to see how your piece of “News” got the rules changed as you stated above when this was posted on www.jeepaholics.com on the 6th of October 2004.

http://www.jeepaholics.com/support/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32858

and here:

http://www.broncoholics.com/support/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=989


It is also posted on San Diego’s Offroad Coalition’s Web Page at the following:

www.sdorc.org

Oh, by the way Dave, I know those were posted long before your "piece of news" because I was the one who posted it.

Are you taking credit for Rule changes that were already in affect a month and a half before your “Hit Piece”? It sounds to me that I hear your “credibility” starting to sink ever so slowly!

Jack

This post has been edited by primergray: Nov 21 2004, 12:14 AM

[KUSI_Erickson View Member Profile]

My goodness...

More ignorance, I can only hope that you two ignorant fools don't speak for the rest of the off-road community, because the off-roaders I've met at Ocotillo Wells are smart, well-spoken, and very nice people.

Again, Slappy, you've proven my point...how can you comment on something you never even watched?

Once again, my reports were NEVER about OFF-ROADERS...not in any way, shape, or form... the reports were about the lawbreakers that try to wreck the good time that honest, law-abiding off-roaders are trying to have, and deserve to have, at Ocotillo Wells. Our intent was to bring attention to the lawlessness, not just to the public, but to the "higher ups" in the Parks Dept. that have the power to change things to make it better for everyone who wants to enjoy themselves without the threat of drunken idiots.


As for the other comment criticizing me for taking credit for the rule changes, you also have shown your ignorance regarding the rule changes at the park. The new rules go into effect November 24th. And if you bothered to watch our story or any other station for that matter on Monday, November 15th, you 'd have seen the report, which was based on a press release sent out by Kathy Doliner, the District Superintendent of Ocotillo Wells. She personally told me on November 13th about the rule changes, and we reported them on that day as well.

Its ignorant people like the last two posters, along with those drunken fools who cause problems, that really hurt the fine people of the off-roading community.

Do yourselves and the off-roaders a favor, stop speaking for them, read a book, a newspaper, and try to do something productive with your lives.

Dave

[socaldmax View Member Profile]

My My.

Now here's a fine example of "winning friends and influencing people."

I'm in shock and awe that someone who owns or manages a TV station can really be this way - do you normally come across this defensive and offensive? Calling two very popular people on this board "ignorant" is tantamount to showing up for a taping of an Oprah show and calling her a big fat .......... (insert your favorite racist comment here.)

Enough of your intro. Let's talk about the almighty peice. Here's the bottom line. The general public is not all that bright or detail oriented. Hell, you know that already, have you watched any of the commercials that you air that pays the bills? Probably once, a long time ago, then it gave you a headache and switched to something else.

Look at the drivel that passes for prime time entertainment. Then tell me, with a totally straight face, that there's a single soulless suit in your entire industry that honestly thinks that this stuff is truly entertainment. Come on, really.

So the content and advertising are geared toward the 5th grade level. Now here's the important point.

If you did a poll of viewers to tell you, today - what that peice was all about, here's about how it would break down.

10% would be avid off-roaders who thought it unfairly portrayed all of those who offroad in Ocotillo Wells as lawless drunken idiots who need increased law enforcement and more rules in order to not get the entire area shutdown.

80% would be the general population who basically didn't understand much of it, but did catch something about lawless offroaders and now they feel that most offroading areas should be shut down, epsecially Ocotillo Wells, although they don't have a faint clue why that name sticks out. They're also going to buy Tide, Midol, fly United, eat at Olive Garden and Hometown buffet. Why? They have no clue, but it seems like the thing to do.

10% would be environmentalists, religious zealots or law enforcement (and wannabes) who would see this as the beginning of Armageddon and want it shut down immediately, if not sooner. It fits into their little view of the world, ie. everyone is teither an environmental disaster on the loose, the spawn of the devil, or a depraved, drunken, lawless idiot who needs to be locked up, after the law enforcement budget gets increased by 300% and appropriate Marshall Law has been imposed.

See Dave, despite what your intentions might have been, it's not what you said that really matters, it's how it was perceived that becomes everything. How the general population gets a small peice of the picture but doesn't catch the subtle little nuances, like the difference between OFF-ROADERS and LAW-BREAKERS.

[primergray View Member Profile]

"As for the other comment criticizing me for taking credit for the rule changes, you also have shown your ignorance regarding the rule changes at the park. The new rules go into effect November 24th. And if you bothered to watch our story or any other station for that matter on Monday, November 15th, you 'd have seen the report, which was based on a press release sent out by Kathy Doliner, the District Superintendent of Ocotillo Wells. She personally told me on November 13th about the rule changes, and we reported them on that day as well."


Wow Dave,

Did you bother to read the link that I posted? Here, I will post a part of it for you:

"Public Safety

* Due to the high number of incidents on Blow Sand Hill last season, park officials will begin focused patrols in the area from October 31 through January 1, 2005 aimed at curbing illegal activity in that area. Depending on the data that is received and the results of the focused patrols, the area could be closed on holiday weekend nights between January 14 and May 31.


* Under the California Code of Regulations section on camping, the curfew for juveniles under age 18 is 10 p.m. After 10 p.m. juveniles may be in the park only if they are camped in legally designated areas with a parent, guardian or have a permission slip.

Clean Up

* Glass containers will no longer be allowed on trails. However, visitors may continue to use glass bottles in camping areas. All visitors are encouraged to pack out what you carry in or place empty glass and cans in recycling bins located in the main camping areas and at the dump station."

You may have been told on November 13th about the changes at Ocotillo but that does not change the fact that in your original post you took "credit" for getting those changes implemented.
As far as being called ignorant, you need to do your homework before resorting to childish name calling.

http://www.jeepaholics.com/staff/jack.asp

http://www.jeepaholics.com/support/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=37

Jack

[FNG View Member Profile]

Fellow GD.com'ers... Fear not. It appears that Mr. Erickson has a way of making news. This is an excerpt from the recent minutes of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Board Meeting on Sept. 30th, 2004.

[Slappy View Member Profile]

LOL...Dave, with your response, Slap shall officially put you on the top of Slappy's McPenis Page...You sir, fit the bill. Ignorance? Well Dave, Slap did say that he didn't see your piece, but was he wrong on his percentage stats???? Are you agreeing on the little of what Slap mentioned about it? YOU Dave, are the one taking the defensive posture. Yet, you have still not said yes or no about taking up Slap's challenge???

And as for calling us fools? Please show what Slap, FNG, primergray, or socaldmax has posted that would merit such a title? And no, FNG, primergray, or socaldmax does not speak for the off-road community...However, we do feel quite confident that our approach, morals, and judgement are far better than yours. Now, your only attack is, "You didn't see my piece, so you are a fool." That defense is weak, and in the eyes of Slap, and probably quite a few that have read this thread, you are losing credibility.

If you want to call names and really bring it down to the personal level, please let Slap know, because that is just Slappy's game , and he would loooooove to play ... But are we fools? That again sir, we here at GD.com are not.

Will you be there on the 15th with Camera crew in hand? Slap sure would like to see you there.

[TheWrenchWench View Member Profile]

To all who put this pompous arse in his place.

[SailAway View Member Profile]

This is the very same tactic that the Imperial Valley Press tried... and failed with. Controversy breeds readership/viewership. But what our community has learned is that while we may not be able to put a halt to the ignorance that is aired or printed, we certainly do not have to contribute. At the IV Press the hook remains unswallowed and so the vicious circle ends. Hopefully the lesson will carry on with KUSI too.

Those that know the facts and watched those pieces were disgusted. Those that don't know the facts and watched those pieces were titillated for a moment in time and have long since moved blissfully on.

Patrick is right. For those of us on the front line of fighting for the dunes, it comes from our hearts, our minds. It pounds in our veins and fills out thoughts. It is what completes our circles.

For KUSI, it was a ratings war. Were we casualties of that war? No, not really. Read above. Did they win the war? No, not really. They lost a great deal of credibility in the eyes of people who know the difference and the eyes of those who don't, well, they don't care any more this minute than they did before they viewed the pieces.

In short, this person is simply not worth the ink he generates, or the angst he has created here.

We all know that now, he's known it all along.

Vicki

[JET View Member Profile]

Wow, Dave.

Ocotillo Wells is an off-road recreation area. Do you really think that people won't associate the lawlessness with off-roaders?

Then you come on to defend yourself and call people who are my friends ignorant fools. Then in a backhanded way you again impune their intelligence. And all the while you think we owe you some gratitude?

Many people here, as Slappy and Primergray pointed out, are more aware of the issues surrounding the desert than you. You are obviously unaware of that. But you and most of the other media people think you can just say what you want and all us unwashed masses will take it as gospel. Doesn't work here, though.

Thank you? PLEASE! Get over yourself.

This post has been edited by JET: Nov 21 2004, 09:22 PM

[Surf-n-Sand View Member Profile]

I love it how he say's that Slappy and FNG try to speak for "all of the offroad community" .....yet Mr. Erickson you yourself by doing this piece have taken it into your own hands to show "your" rendition of the offroad community. Ironic i'd say.

We here at Glamisdunes.com have a love for the offroad community that you could not believe, a dedication to the sport. We don't need a man with a microphone and a BA telling us that we're ignorant, and that we should be thankfull for your "tireless" efforts of ridding the world of evil. I would feel more comfortable if you would stay behind the desk, or atleast make an attempt to research and develop your story in a positive way to the off-road community that you're "saving".

Cody Fletcher

ASA member
Duners member
Lifelong duner.

This post has been edited by Surf-n-Sand: Nov 22 2004, 02:55 PM

[Sandwizard View Member Profile]

Dave, it should be clear to you that the topic of the "Off-Road Enthusiast Image" strikes the cord of the "very fiber" of most of us in the Off Road community.

This community has over the past two decades seen the land they cherish taken away by misguide information and greed. Sensationalistic broadcast that could be misinterpreted by the general public at hand, are extremely sensitive to us. Even well intentioned, but misleading portrayals could damage years of intensive work done by this community to educate the general public of who we are, and what we stand for.

However, to your defense I will stand, if in fact you are trying to shed light to the plight of the off-road family community. Many of the off-road community see this activity as a way of life, more than a "Sport". Teaching their children respect for there land and respect for others in the "group". The term "it takes a village to raise a child" is probably the lesson most learned by both young and old.

Dave, if "we" have truly misinterpreted your true intentions, please accepts my apologies. And respond by inviting you to come camp with one of our "Groups' so that you can get first hand knowledge of what the vast majority of off-roader’s are all about. I can almost guarantee that should you take this olive branch, you will have Invitations and opportunities to experience the desert in a very special way.

But be warred, you may find it hard to keep focused on work every time October comes around.

All we ask is that you portray us correctly.

Osman Castillo, AKA Sandwizard

CEO O&D Development
CEO CSI Construction
VP, Castle Electric
Member, ASA
Dedicated Dunner