Bad Press

I spent 25 minutes on the phone last week with David Kesmodel, a writer for the Wall Street Journal. We chatted about how so many comedians are successfully using the Internet to market themselves and get seen by thousands of people. I cited Aziz Ansari's meteoric rise, Improv Everywhere , and stand-ups like Eugene Mirman .

I was overwhelmingly positive.

Well, the article came out on Thursday and only had one quote attributed to me...near the end of the artice...after much talk of both Aziz and Eugene with no mention of me or UCBT until:

Some Are Wary of Web Routines

While Web sites have become a key marketing tool, some in the industry caution that aspiring comedians are spending too much time honing their sites and not enough time honing their acts.

Anthony King, artistic director at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, which features sketch-comedy shows, said most unsolicited Internet videos he receives from would-be performers are second-rate. "There are a lot of untalented comics on the Web who aren't going anywhere," he said.

Whoa! What a jerk I am! Here's a courageous journalist writing an article about up-and-coming comedians using a new tool to promote themselves and then along comes me, AD of NY's premier alternative comedy theatre, to say, "Well, yeah, but most of them suck." ZINGERS! What an elitist douchejag!

Well, lesson learned. I am no expert at talking to journalists yet, that is clear, but I learned an important lesson: When the reporter asks something negative like, "But aren't most of the people out there not very good?", it's a trap! That journalist is really saying, "Thank you for being so positive, but your positivity is boring. Can you please give me a juicy one-liner to provide counterpoint in my article that I might quote out of context?"

So I guess you win this round, David Kesmodel. Or as you might quote, "Thank you for being so positive!"