USCF Issues Forum: "New York Times"

Joe Lux 10101433



Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 131


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:42 am Post subject: New York Times
Reply with quote
Last night I had a conversation with Dylan McClain of the New York
Times. He is preparing an article on the state of chess and the
Federation, particularly in relationship to the election.

Not many questions from him. I discussed what I understand of the
finances of the Federation, the difficulty of getting information, my
concept of the Federation and position on the US Championship.

He asked about personal attacks being bandied around, and if I was a
target. I said I do not know about any personal attacks on me
directly, just disagreements on particular issues, which I respect.

He did ask me about the other candidates in general. I said I would
not comment on the other candidates. He asked if any candidates really
stand out from the others. I said no. Some have chess titles, some
have titles outside of chess, but they all have past relationships
with the Federation which really demonstrate their interests.

I did say that all I would ask from my fellow candidates is to state
any past financial relationship with the Federation. He asked why that
was important. I said to clear any conflict of interest. Openess is
clearly a problem in the Federation.

We talked about an hour or a little more. I asked if he had talked
with other candidates yet. He mentioned Polgar, Schultz, Berry,
Korenman, I think Jones. He said that he hadn't reached Sloan yet. I
said that with be interesting.

He mentioned that we had played each other years back at the Manhattan
Chess Club. I didn't remember. His position at the Times is really in
the Business section, but also reports to another editor concerning
chess.

I told him about the financial report is due around Feb 10 to cover
until the end of Jan. He said he will hold back his report until he
can get a financial statement. He would notify me by email when the
story is printed. Probably not for a few weeks at least.

Chessically yours, Joe Lux
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jacklemoine 10509327



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 247
Location: Atlanta, GA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:00 pm Post subject: New York
Times Reply with quote
Thanks for the heads up, Joe. My, aren't you quite the politician!

Joe Lux wrote:
He asked if any candidates really stand out from the others. I said
no. Some have chess titles, some have titles outside of chess, but
they all have past relationships with the Federation which really
demonstrate their interests.

I did say that all I would ask from my fellow candidates is to state
any past financial relationship with the Federation. He asked why that
was important. I said to clear any conflict of interest. Openess is
clearly a problem in the Federation.


Conflict of Interest? That's all you want? That's it?

So a Greg Shahade must resign, while a Sam Sloan gets to stay?
Honesty? Morals? Couldn't you ask that from your fellow candidates,
too?

Apart from the above, I do sincerely thank you for your report.
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JerryLMacDonald 12939491



Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 66


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:19 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
This is going to be cool.
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Joe Lux 10101433



Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 131


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:53 pm Post subject: New York
Times Reply with quote
jacklemoine wrote:
Thanks for the heads up, Joe. My, aren't you quite the politician!

Joe Lux wrote:
He asked if any candidates really stand out from the others. I said
no. Some have chess titles, some have titles outside of chess, but
they all have past relationships with the Federation which really
demonstrate their interests.

I did say that all I would ask from my fellow candidates is to state
any past financial relationship with the Federation. He asked why that
was important. I said to clear any conflict of interest. Openess is
clearly a problem in the Federation.


Conflict of Interest? That's all you want? That's it?

So a Greg Shahade must resign, while a Sam Sloan gets to stay?
Honesty? Morals? Couldn't you ask that from your fellow candidates,
too?

Apart from the above, I do sincerely thank you for your report.


I am not part of a slate. I was not going to get into personalities in
any way. It is up to others, not candidates, to point out the
weaknesses and strengths of the candidates.

On Greg Shahade...that is a great lost for the Federation; I hope he
eventually comes back. He had to decide whether a paying position for
his sister was more important than being on the board. He knows he can
do good things in chess without being on the board, and does it!
Jennifer is growing very well in her position--an asset for the
Federation! I voted for Greg without any hesitation.

On Sam Sloan...I have reservations on Sam, of course! I have
reservations on all of the candidates, not necessarily to the same
extreme. It must be the role of the membership not just to vote, but
to question each and every candidate on any issue they feel important.
That is the role of the forum in my eyes. Anyone who posted questions
directly to me or to all candidates, I have tried to answer honestly.
I cannot say that for every candidate. They have to decide where to
put their effort.

Chessically yours, Joe Lux
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snits 12652674



Joined: 03 Mar 2004
Posts: 126
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:12 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
I sure hope he does fact checking, in all cases, before submitting his
story. Should be an interesting read.
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nolan 10339324



Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 4399


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:12 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
The total number of people registered for access to the USCF Issues
Forum is less than 350

That may be less than 10% of the number of people who vote, and it is
less than 1% of the total number of eligible voters.

BTW, as chair of the Election Committee, I would be happy to talk to
the NY Times reporter to answer questions about the election process.
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fpawn 12595730



Joined: 20 Apr 2004
Posts: 144
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:15 pm Post subject: New York
Times Reply with quote
Joe Lux wrote:
Anyone who posted questions directly to me or to all candidates, I
have tried to answer honestly. I cannot say that for every candidate.
They have to decide where to put their effort.


Mr. Lux, what is more important: that a candidate answers in this
forum, or that a candidate answers honestly (and intelligently and
fairly)? It is my judgement that we have some candidates who do not
post at all and other candidates who do not answer questions honestly.
Both are disappointing. Which is worse and which should we try to
resolve first?

Michael Aigner
_________________
USCF life master aspiring to the FM title. I am an active tournament
player, scholastic coach, and TD in California and Nevada.
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nolan 10339324



Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 4399


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:27 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
BTW, for those wondering why the count of users is around 350 when the
note at the bottom of the page says that there are over 1000
registered users, it's because there are many inactive users.

Some are spammers or hackers that didn't get deleted, most of them are
users who were deactivated because their profiles no longer meet the
requirements for access as set by the Board last August, namely being
current USCF members, having their USCF ID in their profile and using
an email address for the Forums that matches the one in their USCF
membership record.

We hope to have a new set of Forums in the next month or two which
will use the same member registration file that the member content
areas of the new website uses. That should increase the number of
registered Forums users by an order of magnitude.

Last edited by nolan 10339324 on Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:31 pm; edited 2
times in total
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ppwchess 11041957



Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 275
Location: Downstate NY

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 2:28 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
nolan wrote:
The total number of people registered for access to the USCF Issues
Forum is less than 350

That may be less than 10% of the number of people who vote, and it is
less than 1% of the total number of eligible voters.

BTW, as chair of the Election Committee, I would be happy to talk to
the NY Times reporter to answer questions about the election process.


Since Dylan usually coaches a group of kids who play in the tournament
that I'm directing this Sunday, I will suggestion he get in touch with
you.
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ICC-TD Duncan 12614202



Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 142
Location: Marina, California USA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
nolan wrote:
The total number of people registered for access to the USCF Issues
Forum is less than 350

That may be less than 10% of the number of people who vote, and it is
less than 1% of the total number of eligible voters.

BTW, as chair of the Election Committee, I would be happy to talk to
the NY Times reporter to answer questions about the election process.


Maybe the Forum should be promoted in Chess Life?
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nolan 10339324



Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 4399


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:41 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
I believe there's something on it scheduled for the USCF Issues Page
in the March issue, though Daniel may have pulled it while we look at
alternative forum software packages. Having the signup for the website
also sign people up for the forums should help, though it may also
increase the load on the moderators.

Right now people can have FOUR different USCF signups:

1. New website
2. Members Only area on old website
3. Forums
4. TD/Affiliate Support Area

Of these, only the 4th really needs to be separate (and maybe not even
that one, though I have been considering moving TD/A to a different
webserver for faster response times.)
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ppwchess 11041957



Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 275
Location: Downstate NY

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:52 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
nolan wrote:
I believe there's something on it scheduled for the USCF Issues Page
in the March issue, though Daniel may have pulled it while we look at
alternative forum software packages. Having the signup for the website
also sign people up for the forums should help, though it may also
increase the load on the moderators.



Actually the forum is mention on page 48 of the February issue. It's
kind of buried in the back so I'm not sure how much people will notice
it.
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Joe Lux 10101433



Joined: 09 Dec 2006
Posts: 131


PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:22 pm Post subject: New York
Times Reply with quote
fpawn wrote:
Joe Lux wrote:
Anyone who posted questions directly to me or to all candidates, I
have tried to answer honestly. I cannot say that for every candidate.
They have to decide where to put their effort.


Mr. Lux, what is more important: that a candidate answers in this
forum, or that a candidate answers honestly (and intelligently and
fairly)? It is my judgement that we have some candidates who do not
post at all and other candidates who do not answer questions honestly.
Both are disappointing. Which is worse and which should we try to
resolve first?

Michael Aigner


Each individual has to judge honesty. Not making yourself available to
the membership in the only place where there can be open discussion,
is worse. Still, I don't know if all of the candidates are even aware
of the forum. I only learned about it a few months ago. It is very
time-consuming sometimes to keep up with all of the threads. I will
certainly try to keep up with the threads I start or threads addressed
to me.. I still have to work for a living, work on the campaign and
find time to sleep. It will be a very busy few months.

Chessically yours, Joe Lux
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ICC-TD Duncan 12614202



Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 142
Location: Marina, California USA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:55 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
ppwchess wrote:
nolan wrote:
I believe there's something on it scheduled for the USCF Issues Page
in the March issue, though Daniel may have pulled it while we look at
alternative forum software packages. Having the signup for the website
also sign people up for the forums should help, though it may also
increase the load on the moderators.



Actually the forum is mention on page 48 of the February issue. It's
kind of buried in the back so I'm not sure how much people will notice
it.


I just got the February issue. The Forum is also mentioned on page 6
by Tim Just in his answer to a letter to the editor.
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jonnybear 10098068



Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 218
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:47 am Post subject: Reply with
quote
I find it a little surprising that Dylan Loeb McClain got the go-ahead
for a story on USCF politics.

That's because I had a lengthy conversation with him during last
year's Marshall Chess Club Championship, and he explained in detail
how hard it is for him to "sell" chess stories to his editors. The
Times editorial management is made up of people who know and care
nothing about chess. If they ever think of it at all, they certainly
don't think of it as either a sport or an art. So they routinely veto
story proposals unless there is some deeply intertwined "hook" that
involves an important issue completely independent of chess (sxx,
broader educational issues, man vs machine, geopolitical rivalries,
etc.)

The conversation grew out of my querying him about a view I've
expressed here, that AF4C and the USCF missed great opportunities to
gain mainstream press coverage for last year's US Championship. (My
view, which followed detailed posts by someone using the handle,
"Petrel," was that local newspapers and TV stations in the home cities
of various Championship participants could easily have been persuaded
to do one or two stories about their "favorite son" competing for the
national championship. But no one bothered to approach the media
beyond San Diego, according to "Petrel.")

Dylan told me I was wrong. Based on his experience with the Times, he
was adamant that local newspaper editors, even in smaller towns and
suburban regions, couldn't care less if someone from their town played
in the US Chess Championship. (The only exception he saw was if the
"someone" finished in first place.) After all, it's only chess -- not
something important, like a physical sport (any physical sport), or a
hot-dog-eating contest, or a wet T-shirt contest. (Those things would
get covered.)

So if major chess news is too arcane for the general newspaper
readership, I find it a little surprising that they now are going to
write about something that's arcane even within the chess world -- the
USCF election.

ChessPromotion 12123950



Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 379
Location: Forest Hills, NY

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:00 am Post subject: Reply with
quote
jonnybear wrote:
I find it a little surprising that Dylan Loeb McClain got the go-ahead
for a story on USCF politics.

That's because I had a lengthy conversation with him during last
year's Marshall Chess Club Championship, and he explained in detail
how hard it is for him to "sell" chess stories to his editors. The
Times editorial management is made up of people who know and care
nothing about chess. If they ever think of it at all, they certainly
don't think of it as either a sport or an art. So they routinely veto
story proposals unless there is some deeply intertwined "hook" that
involves an important issue completely independent of chess (sxx,
broader educational issues, man vs machine, geopolitical rivalries,
etc.)

The conversation grew out of my querying him about a view I've
expressed here, that AF4C and the USCF missed great opportunities to
gain mainstream press coverage for last year's US Championship. (My
view, which followed detailed posts by someone using the handle,
"Petrel," was that local newspapers and TV stations in the home cities
of various Championship participants could easily have been persuaded
to do one or two stories about their "favorite son" competing for the
national championship. But no one bothered to approach the media
beyond San Diego, according to "Petrel.")

Dylan told me I was wrong. Based on his experience with the Times, he
was adamant that local newspaper editors, even in smaller towns and
suburban regions, couldn't care less if someone from their town played
in the US Chess Championship. (The only exception he saw was if the
"someone" finished in first place.) After all, it's only chess -- not
something important, like a physical sport (any physical sport), or a
hot-dog-eating contest, or a wet T-shirt contest. (Those things would
get covered.)

So if major chess news is too arcane for the general newspaper
readership, I find it a little surprising that they now are going to
write about something that's arcane even within the chess world -- the
USCF election.


Jon,

Both you and Dylan are correct. Chess is not big to the mainstream
people. But I have news for you, Katie Couric (CBS) will likely do a
story about chess very soon. The time has changed with new technology.
Blogging has become a major player in the media world. I have seen the
incredible numbers first hand.

Susan just finished filming for BBC, National Geographic, Discovery,
etc. and these shows will be shown in over 100 countries. The interest
is there but someone has to feed the media the "right" story. You have
to know what to sell and how to sell it.

There are 2 BIG stories in this election. This is not a "typical"
election. I expect it to get more coverage. It is too early for media
people but things will change in June / July. Dylan is not the only
one asking a lot of questions so far.

Best regards,
PT
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ueschessmom 13470792



Joined: 22 Jul 2006
Posts: 11


PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:13 am Post subject: Reply with
quote
It seems like things may have changed in the past year. Chess has
become more interesting, though not necessarily for the reasons we
would wish. The Times had fairly extensive coverage of the World Open
cheating scandal as well as "bathroomgate" (Topolov/Kramnick). They
had a nice piece about Hikaru Nakamura's comeback a few weeks ago and
a weird, seemingly not newsworthy piece about the New Jersey coach who
allegedly passed himself off as an IM more recently. So maybe they've
come to the conclusion that "chess dirt" sells newspapers. If so, you
can begin to understand why they may be looking into the USCF
election. As to the other part of your post -- about lack of chess
coverage in local and suburban papers -- if you follow Susan Polgar's
blog, she posts links to several chess stories each week (sometimes
several in one day) published in newspapers around the country. Many
seem to be about scholastic chess but there are also stories about
military chess and other human interest/chess stories. I applaud her
for taking the time to bring all those stories to a wider audience.
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seki 10470218



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 61


PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:24 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
Quote:
The total number of people registered for access to the USCF Issues
Forum is less than 350


Of course this forum is hidden from the majority of the voters. I
still think that this is a bad idea.

We're all at a preachers convention with the parshioners locked
outside.
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seki

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nolan 10339324



Joined: 20 Dec 2003
Posts: 4399


PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:28 pm Post subject: Reply with
quote
Any voter (eg, current USCF member over 16) can register for access to
this Forum.
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seki 10470218



Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 61


PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:53 am Post subject: Reply with
quote
Quote:
Any voter (eg, current USCF member over 16) can register for access to
this Forum.


With respect Mike, that is pretty slippery. The current USCF member
has to know that this forum exists before they can register for it.

Last time I checked the US Forum Index (57 seconds ago) this forum was
not visible.
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seki

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nolan 10339324



Joined: 20 Dec 2003
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:19 am Post subject: Reply with
quote
That is correct. It is not visible to the public (including non-
members), it is visible to any USCF member who registers for access
and logs in.