From the category archives:

nicholas hellen

The New Yorker’s ‘Talk of the Town’: British Import

by Viviane on 03/08/2007

in GWAOTM,nicholas hellen,Zoe Margolis

zoe The New Yorkers Talk of the Town: British ImportThe extremely smart (and hot) journalist and lawyer Jeffrey Toobin, better known as the legal correspondent for the New Yorker, interviewed Zoe Margolis (GWAOT) for the New Yorker:

The blog’s voice—cheerfully neurotic, unapologetically political—was distinctive from the start. Regarding one memorable romp, the Girl mused, “Here was I, a feminist, a believer of equality in every realm, and a man wanted me to take all the control? I wasn’t quite sure about that.” (She gets sure.)

Margolis was soon drawing ten thousand visitors a day. In the summer of 2005, an agent suggested that the Girl turn her stories into a book. Working through intermediaries and a trusted lawyer, Margolis signed a contract that would, she thought, allow for publication of the book while keeping her anonymity intact. As a nom de plume, she chose Abby Lee.

Last August, a few days after “Girl with a One-Track Mind: Confessions of the Seductress Next Door” was published, her doorbell in London rang. “There was a guy with a bunch of flowers for me,” she said. “To sign for them, he made me kneel out the front door in a very awkward way. It was just strange.” The next day, she learned that the flower delivery had been a ruse, concocted by the Sunday Times, to take her photograph for a story that would identify her as the author of the book and the blog. “They started e-mailing and calling me the next day, saying that I should give them an interview and pose for pictures, or they would identify me and run the pictures, which they said were ‘unflattering,’ ”

Holy cow. Sex blogging makes it into the New Yorker! Congratulations, Zoe!

Tagged as: , , , , , ,

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Dear Abby Lee: We’ve outed you!

by Viviane on 01/03/2007

in bloggers,ethics,journalism,London,news,nicholas hellen,press,privacy,sexbloggers,sexblogs

gwaotm Dear Abby Lee: Weve outed you!Having the Sex Carnival has allowed us to post about a wide range of subjects and concerns, depending on our whims: sex and sexuality, news, local events of interest, blogs and blogging, security and privacy.

And you know privacy and protecting a blogger’s identity is a big concern of mine.

Which is why I am reposting (at her request) a threatening email sent to the Girl with a One Track Mind by Nicholas Hellen of The Sunday Times (London) on the eve of her outing.

It’s part of her 2006 roundup post, which collects the highs and lows of her past year, a year defined by her being outed by the media. (“I’ve been proud that my writing crossed into the book medium this year; I’ve been gutted that I lost my anonymity in the process.)

You think you are being careful about protecting your identity, but trust me, you’re not.

-Viviane

Update: Abby commented on the post: “Other sexbloggers may be interested to know that this Sunday Times journalist Nicholas Hellen was also responsible for the extended harassment of the sexblogger-turned author Belle de Jour, all throughout 2004 and 2005.”
==========================

Below is one of the actual emails from the Sunday Times newspaper which was sent to me the day prior to the publication of their article ‘outing’ me. [For reasons of privacy, I have deleted certain details in the parentheses]. I print this to show the level newspapers will stoop to, to get a ‘story’, and also to highlight the private effect that an article such as this can have:

Aug 5, 2006 11:08 AM

Dear Miss [my name],

We intend to publish a prominent news story in this weekend’s paper, revealing your identity as the author of the book, Girl With a One Track Mind.

We have matched up the dates of films you have worked on – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Batman Begins and Lara Croft Tomb Raider – and it is clear that they correlate to your blog. We have obtained your birth certificate, and details about where you went to school and college.

We propose to publish the fact that you are 33 and live in [my address] -London, and that your mother, [her name], is a [her address] -based [her profession]. The article includes extracts from your book and blog, relevant to your career in the film industry. We also have a picture of you, taken outside your flat.

Unfortunately, the picture is not particularly flattering and might undermine the image that has been built up around your persona as Abby Lee. I think it would be helpful to both sides if you agreed to a photo shoot today so that we can publish a more attractive image.

We are proposing to assign you our senior portrait photographer, Francesco Guidicini, and would arrange everything to your convenience, including a car to pick you up. We would expect you to provide your own clothes and make up. As the story will be on a colour page, we would prefer the outfit to be one of colourful eveningwear.

We did put this proposal to you yesterday, but heard nothing back. Clearly this is now a matter of urgency, and I would appreciate you contacting me as soon as possible. To avoid any doubt we will, of course, publish the story as it is if we do not hear from you.

Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Hellen
Acting News Editor

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , ,

{ Comments on this entry are closed }