Basejumper.com - archive

Its a new weekly mag for MEN. Yes, its the same concept as Nuts, which has also just be launched, but this ones done by the company i work for (nothing to do with me, i work in a completely different devision)

Why am i posting this you may ask, well, the first issue that came out yesterday is free.. and if we turn to page 8+9 theres an item on BASE jumping the Pertonas towers in Malasia.

Not much text, just a big two page picture. Nothing damning, just calls them a fruit cake. I think its a good peice, all be it short.

Why not point your editor to the team crank guys, and show em the real UK story.

Obviously ask them first....

I've spoken to the editor (we work for the same company, differnt parts) and told him it was good to see the feature.

I offered him stories and pictures, but only if they were shown in a non 'i nearly died' manner. He said i'd worked him out and that was the kind of story he was after, but if i could think of any good positive stories or pictures he'd be well up for printing them.

Who are the team crank guys? I'd love to see more canopy sports in the public eye, for the right reasons.

To see the article i've posted it here..

http://www.dropzone.com/...;;page=unread#unread

let me know what you think.

From that article :

You really expect your editor friend to come up with better than that? His target market is yobs wearing white trainers, Ben Sherman clothes and a single gold earring, not a handful of BASE jumpers. There is no need for stories, don't want any stories. The less attention the easier it is for us to quietly get on with what we do (for ourselves).

Here is the Team Crank web-site, you can contact them via that (good luck).

If you want to see more canopy sports in the public eye then write about strictly legal canopy sports. BASE is not in the public eye in the UK and that is a good thing (IMHO).

We just don't need it so why do it?

Will

how can you promise shit like that??? as far as i know you never jumped,nor do you know to keep your mouth shut. i have said it to you before(on pm)now its time that you stop your silly trip.

I think that coverage in the UK is not needed. Especially in a magazine for Burberry wearing lager drinking arm chair Xtreme atheletes.......... let them do articles on Vauxhall Novas and how to add Knight Rider type lights to it!

Just outta interest "Zeemax" - what makes you the voice of BASE in the UK? What exactly can you offer this magazine in way of pics or stories? what exactly is your connection to UK BASE?

Do the community a favour and dont talk to these wankers........... especially about something you know shit about!!

Go back to the DZ and stay there............

Later...............

Ok, flameproof underwear on.


The editor sits four offices down from me. (i dont work in print, i work in radio, but we are in the same company)

He knows i skydive and had asked if there were any more bits of information i had. I told him i didn't as i'm NOT a BASE jumper.

I didn't out right offer further information. I'm not that stupid. My comment was in reply to his as i know how the media works.


I never promised anything. I was just trying ensure if he wants to print anything again, its for the right reasons.

This was EXACTLY what i was trying to do. I was trying to push SKYDIVING to him. The only reason i've posted in this forum was because the origional article was about BASE. I'm sorry i didn't make it any clearer from the offstart. If i can find it, i'll post the e-mail i sent him so you can understand.


Again, nothing, nothing at all. I've never jumped, and sadly know very little about the sport. My comments to him were regarding SKYDIVING.

Right, to try and clear it up, heres a copy and paste of the e-mail i sent him. I cant find the first e-mail, but i flamed him for glorification.

My reply to his e-mail is first, his e-mail to me is second. Just the way round i copied and pasted.



Sorry for all that, i thought i'd get it all out the way. Its the reason most skydivers aren't big fans of the media. Its all about golorification and making us sound insane.

I understand your point, you're like every other editor in the world. Drama sells. It would just be nice every once in a while to see a positive article about skydiving.

Theres many things not known about the sport. For example, the current world champion RW team (RW = relative work, the type of skydiving most people think of, where we fly on out bellies and make points) are English, that never made it to the papers.

There are a number of disciplines, RW, freeflying, skysurfing, wingsuit flying etc. Each one creates some amazing pictures. i've attached a picture of a wingsuit flyer with another jumper riding piggy back style. Excuse the quality, its just to give you an idea.

We do so many different things which is why its such a good sport. You will never do the same jump twice.

Why not send one of your desk monkeys down to my local DZ for a tandem? Could make a good feature, i'll help with all the details and stuff.




Macca




-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Dinning
Sent: 21 January 2004 15:58
To: James Macdonald (Radio)
Subject: RE: Zoo feature

whoa, there! no, fair enough.

i'll be perfectly honest with you though: seems like i'm after precisely what you're not! basically i need exciting 1st person 'i just escaped death' pieces. or, in your words, "the media who see it as an easy way to come up with a dramatic feature." busted.

that said, if you've got any really exciting pics, etc, that could spin off in another direction, i'd be all ears?

talk soon,

mark

Features Editor, Zoo Weekly
0207-2083312
mark.dinning@emap.com





I am VERY sorry for any confusion thats been caused here and to anyone i have pissed off. Please understand this wasn't my intention. I forgot i was posting in the BASE forum. All my references were to LEGAL skydiving. Sorry again.

Macca

No worries dude, from those emails it is obvious this was a mix-up of forums and you didn't even mention BASE to the editor. No harm done (just some flame proof underwear tested).

yes i see as you made the exact same post in talk back just a few mins between the 2 post...

http://dropzone.com/...;;page=unread#unread

the only dif. is that you in the talk back section made a print of the artickle whith pics but not in the BASE section

http://www.dropzone.com/...;;page=unread#unread

only thing i see from that,is that the writer tell how stupied we are jumping off an object.. thats what i see..

I didn't want to post the pics twice, my net connection home is REALLY slow, so i thought it would be quicker to just post up a link to them.


The target market for this magazine is ABC1 Males aged 18-27. meaning despite the tits and bad jokes, its targeting the more mature male, with a bit of money, not the 'nova' boys. I guess it was just the way i read it, taking it in context with reading the whole magazine. To me it wasn't an agressive attack at you guys, more just a friendly 'we certainly dont have the bollocks for that!'.

Thats the thing, its completey open to interpretation, and that was just my take on it.

Again, i'm sorry for any offence i've caused.

Ok, guys, let's try and ease off on the flame throwing.

As far as I can see, the most important thing in this thread is Zeemax's reprint of the editor's words:


How's that for "Beware of the Press"?

I have now seen both these new lads mags and what a pile of shit they are!

With one reporting the top 10 "most deadly base jumps" just taken from the fatality list on where most people have died (although does have a nice pic of my jumping partner 621 and Gil jumping in KL!) and the other bascially as reported here..............

to be honest its kind of good that its a mag that will be read and as soon as you put it down its forgotten............. well for me anyway............ i cant beleive people read these mags seriously!

There was a discussion on BLiNC about not making the fatality list public - and this is one argument for it! Public Domain information that has been manipulated for sensationalisation................ apparently an Italian E, 2 Norway E's, and the big waterfall where gods slaves drop are the most deadly BASE jumps in the world..............

How fucking stupid is that? Completely disregarding the large number of jumps that get made at those objects. That is the equivalent of saying that the M1 is one of the most dangerous roads in Britain because of the number of fatalities, never mind the traffic volume.