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Guy Wire; a pseudonym
By Paul Thurst, on December 18th, 2012
How much value should we place on commentary of someone who will not associate their name with their words? One wonders more about the reason for anonymity than the opinions expressed by the author, or at least I do. I have been expressing and publishing my views fully and without reservations. Being outspoken has almost certainly hurt my career and salary potential as a broadcast engineer. I am okay with that, as every morning when I am shaving, I can look myself in the eye and be thankful for the person who I am.
For myself, until “Guy Wire” tells us who he or she is, there is no absolutely no credibility in those words. It is a shame that Radio World chooses to publish this commentary.
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~Benjamin Franklin
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~Alan Weiner
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I think the use of pseudonyms vary from publication to publication. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that the late Tom Knietel authored columns in Popular Communications magazine under the pen name Alice Brannigan, the anagram being “nice gal in a barn.” Of course the occasional photo that accompanied the author byline would have never clued the reader in that “Alice” wasn’t a real person.
The use of pseudonyms in online forums are usually the worse. I’ve seen my share of chest thumpers claiming to be the expert of this or that but hiding behind some silly or stupid sounding pseudonym. To me, that leads to credibility problems. Whether I agree with a poster’s viewpoint or not, I have more respect for somebody using their real name and not hiding behind an alleged identity.
Funny enough, I never read the column you reference for pretty much the reasons mentioned. Does s/he really need a fictitious nom de plume?
Why not send an e-mail or write a letter to Paul McLane, the editor of RW, expressing your thoughts? Perhaps the use of that name is just meant to be cute (it IS radio-related) but I agree it is somewhat outdated.
I’m curious as to what provoked such a visceral response on your part? I just went and read the column on the website (my print edition hasn’t yet arrived), and he/she/whomever it is seems to be presenting a clearly stated view with good support for that view (I taught speech once upon a time, so I’m judging based strictly on content and presentation and not based on my own personal opinions as an engineer). The column has been running for quite a while, and it’s quite possible that the author is in fact authors or one in a series of authors. That said, it’s a secondary editorial platform for RW, and I’m guessing it’s there as much as a way to stimulate discussion as it is to promulgate a particular broadcasting worldview.
So, beyond the actual fact that someone/someone(s) is/are writing under a pseudonym, what is it that prompted you to make a post about it?
Visceral, well I don’t know about that. I am simply, albeit emphatically asking a question. I understand that people sometime use pen names to preserve privacy or to create a more memorable persona. Those cases are seldom used where expert opinion, as in “A veteran Broadcast Engineer” are concerned. Obfuscation makes me suspicious. Common Guy, tell us who you are.
BTW, I am going to email Paul McLane, but I doubt he will tell.
Forgot about that “guy”. I stopped reading anything from him long ago when he was cheer-leading and making ridiculous statements for Ibiquity.
Here is one instance of Guy Wire lashing out against Bob Savage:
http://www.radioworld.com/article/a-critic-lashes-out-at-hd-radio-again/1413
Big kudos to Bob Savage for taking a stand against IBOC. Also, I emailed the links about Brazil to Paul McLane as soon as the story broke. It will be interesting how the trades spin this story in favor of iBiquity, or there may be no response at all. Who cares, because the Brazilian test results should help to break iBiquity’s back.
Did you ever get any reply from Paul McLane, or did he just ignore your request? Inquiring minds want to know.
@Bob, Doh! I forgot to send it, shot one off this morning, thanks for reminding me. I will let you know what the response is.
Response from Paul Mclane:
He’s the International Man of Mystery!