Correction: Nikki Finke Is Not Crazy
Yesterday, as you may have seen but probably did not, Marketwatch's Jon Friedman published a short profile of LA Weekly columnist and Deadline Hollywood Daily blogger Nikki Finke. Friedman had contacted us — or, at least, half of us — for a quote about Finke, whose work we admire. We obliged with this: "I think what makes Nikki so compelling is that she's clearly at least a bit crazy — and you can never quite figure out if it's good crazy or bad crazy. She's a great reporter and a fun writer, and God knows I wouldn't want to be on her bad side." We intended that as a lighthearted and complimentary appraisal, and we know that Friedman, among several others who've mentioned it to us, took it that way. But Finke, who has written on her blog about her contempt for Friedman's entirely positive article, had a different read. She thinks we have defamed her, and she has repeatedly demanded a correction and apology. So here it is: We're sorry, and we in no way meant to suggest that Finke is actually, clinically crazy. Indeed, after the jump, please find our entire email exchange with her on this matter, which will show that she's not crazy in the slightest.
From: Nikki Finke
To: Jesse Oxfeld
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 5:00 AM
Subject: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
From: Jesse Oxfeld
To: Nikki Finke
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
i said it with love!
From: Nikki Finke
To: Jesse Oxfeld
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
How dare you say something slanderous like that when you don't even know me. Tell me, given all my hard-nosed and accurate reporting, just when and how did you decide I was crazy? We not only have never met, we've never had a single phone conversation. What gives you the right to make such a diagnosis (and how Friedman could have printed it is beyond me.) Why then did you send me 20 emails trying to get together with a crazy person in LA?
From: Jesse Oxfeld
To: Nikki Finke
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
are you serious? i wasn't making a clinical diagnosis. that was supposed to be — and was clearly taken by jon as — a playful, complimentary quote. all interesting people are a little bit crazy, and certainly all reporters are. i meant it only as a compliment, and i'm sorry if you feel otherwise.
From: Nikki Finke
To: Jesse Oxfeld
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
If you ever decide to become a journalist, rather than a blog aggregator which is what you now are, you will understand how hard it is to craft a serious career and reputation, and how easily it can be undone, especially if you are a woman covering a male-dominated arena, by unserious people who toss off wild statements without any consideration. You owe me an apology.
From: Jesse Oxfeld
To: Nikki Finke
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:33 PM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
again, i meant it only as a compliment, and i'm sorry if you feel otherwise.
From: Nikki Finke
To: Jesse Oxfeld
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:37 PM
Subject: Re: You dare call me "crazy"? You've never even met me.
then i suggest you genuinely apologize for it with romenesko and friendman and in an appropriate public forum to which you have access.
you stepped over a big line here.
From: Nikki Finke
To: Jesse Oxfeld
Cc: Jessica Coen
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 7:20 PM
Subject: i am formally demanding that you retract what you said about me being "crazy"
you have no basis for making that judgment call about me personally or professionally since you have never met me, and you cannot point to a single thing i've written that's "crazy." you also did this within your role as gawker.com since that's how you're identified.
