#1301: From Editor-in-chief of Trips magazine

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

Dear Mr. Corbett:
 
I have been told that you are the moderator of a Haiti listserv where a 
participant posted passages from an article about
Haiti that ran in the October issue of trips. Because we have already 
received more than two dozen messages, with
more arriving every day, I thought it would be fastest and easiest to 
send a single, open response to the entire group. 
 
Please post the following response. If you are not the correct contact, I 
apologize, and any help you can provide
contacting the correct person would be appreciated. 
   
 
To members of the Haitian community:
 
During the past three weeks, we have been deluged with e-mails 
criticizing the article about Haiti that appeared in the
October issue of trips magazine. While the messages have varied in length 
and passion, there have been some
constants, most notably that no one has argued with any facts or specific 
passages in the story. The criticism can be
summarized as follows:
 
    - How dare you say something negative about Haiti;
    - If Haiti does have problems ...  
        - so does everywhere, including the US. 
        - it's America's fault. 
        - why mention the bad when you can talk about the good? 
 
These are all relevant points. However, trips is not a PR tool for any 
destination. We do not hype the good while
ignoring the bad. Yes, most places have both good and bad areas, and it's 
up to the author to address what he feels is
important. Our writer spent extensive time in Haiti, and his article was 
reviewed prior to publication by other Haitian
travelers and people currently living there. 
 
Perhaps most frustratingly, almost everyone who has written has not read 
the article. I find it incomprehensible that
people would write the kind of damning letters that we have been 
receiving without even reading the object of their
derision. For example, most people seem to think that the article's title 
was "Who Goes There?" It was not; the article
was entitled "What is the Color of Hope?" The article was 4,700 words, 
with 6 photos and an "If You're Going"
section, filling 11 pages in that issue. To comment on a few sentences 
does a grave injustice to the author and to trips. 
 
To allow people read what they're criticizing, we're willing to send free 
sample copies to anyone who requests one (US
addresses only). Simply send an address to office@tripsmag.com and 
request the "Haiti issue."
 
Sincerely, 
Tony Stucker
President/Editor-in-Chief 
trips magazine