Talk about peaking!

Eddie Arzouian

No I did not want to be hired by The Gazette while I was running the Evian Team.

I would not have left the team. It was my baby. I only started writing on cycling in the first place to get enough English press clippings to take to sponsors to start a team. Cycling was always the priority, not journalism. I prefer being the news than writing it.

I always preferred cycling to journalism, given the choice.

I left Associated Press in Washington in 1983 to start racing my bike again in the 1984 season. I turned down a photographer's job at The Toronto Star in 1984 to race my bike. If you doubt me write to Barbara Davidson a photgrapher now at The Dallas Morning News who thought I was nuts for passing that up.

Uboat

So no response about conflict of interests (writing race reports where your own team was directly involved, therefore with a huge bias) just another threat of a lawsuit to Patrick?

Ok, I have a beautiful wife that's meeting me with two amazing kids. We are going to the cottage this weekend. So, have fun in your little world Mr. Arzouian, and have a good weekend all.

Good day sirs.

Uboat

For someone who goes on and on about transparency, conflict of interests, and so on, you just shot yourself in the foot for saying that there was no problem to write about the race (and your team) in a newspaper. But, go ahead and tell us how it was for the good of the sport (even though that's no excuse, it's still a conflict!) and how the rules can be broken when it's you.

Honestly, I'm gone now. Good weekend sirs.

Eddie Arzouian

No, my warning of legal action is in reponse to Van de Wille's lies.

With regard to conflict of interest, in the five years or so of writing only Van de Wille ever perceived a conflict and wrote in. Nobody else did. What does that tell you?

In fact, most people were glad I was writing for The Gazette because they had never had anything on cycling before..

All my work is available at any public library on microfiche (just look in any Monday edition of any Gazette from June to August from 1988 to 1992, you will fidn something most likely) and as I have said I can fax anybody that wants to see it many pages and you can judge for yourself.

There was no conflict of interest.

If I had a bias it was AGAINST my team not for it.

But, as I say, read the stuff yourself, don't believe Van de Wille because he is a liar (and I use that term very precisely).

For years there was no problem. There was no hidden agenda I was signed my name to eveything: all above board. Everybody in the sport at the time knew who I was. The Gazette had two or three people looking over the work, they saw no problems with it until Van de Wille started complaining. only the unions were whining.

The same type of thing goes on in Pedal and CC every day. Look who is submitting the work, it is riders taking part in the events. Erin Carter, Tim Lefebvre, etc.

You can email me fax number to get your copies at ed@arzouian.com

BillyBlass

I suggest you PHONE your lawyer. I do not know if you have much of a case, what I do know is that you have provided Patrick good grounds for a counter suit. I will explain.
Patrick is well known in the cycling scene as a good journalist. He has made some career choices that has allowed him to market his name quite well. He now has a very good reputation in the community.
No offence, but I do not recall reading any of your articles. (I will pull out my archives and look them over by the way) If I did, I did not remember your name. Damage in the community will be used to measure the damages in a suit.
You instigated the belittling on this forum and then pressed on. You are damaging his reputation. You may claim the same, but what are the damages? Considering, from my point of view, Patrick has received the larger of the damages.
Here is an excellent link on law:


www.duhaime.org

Let me know when you want to discuss cycling again. I do appreciate your views on cycling topics.

sub55

Billy - exactly, this is what happens eventually - down the toilet, cycling is a sideline issue for deal with personal angst over lives lost.

I'll think up a new thread that is cycling related and have a got at it!

Eddie Arzouian

Billy,


The difference between what I do and what Patrick does is truth.

You see I never lie about Patrick. He lies about me.

Furthermore, if for any reason I am incorrect when I mention something about Patrick, like him doing four bikes race, not two, I correct myself and apologize. Patrick can apologize for lying about my by-lines and length of stories. He knows the truth.

Patrick admits himself in his own words, he rode around that parking lot drunk and naked.

Patrick wrote he does not know as much about cycling as I and his experience is mainly as a spectator and reporter. I have never challenged that. I agree that is where his experience lays (or lies?)


Therefore that doesn't give him much ground to stand on to sue me. He can try if he likes

I, on the other hand, have pages and pages of documentation to support my claims. As I said I can fax anybody dozens, hundreds, of examples and they are all on file in any CDN public library.

Patrick says no by-lines and 75-words, I have reams and reams of stories with by-lines and all about 300 to 700-words long, if not more. That is the truth.

Van de Wille

No the real reason I don't sue is the same reason that I suspect all others potentially slandered by Ed don't sue: because they can't be bothered to bring suit against someone for rants on a public forum. Only Ed tries to "win" discussions by attacking individuals and threatening to bring suit.

Not only that, but he keeps confusing "possible errors" with "lies". If I remember correctly, the majority of the Gazette's coverage of cycling races at the time was briefs, which is why I said "mainly". If someone can provide a complete inventory of cycling coverage in the Gazette during that period (and not Ed's personal clip file, because even if I were a personal clip-collector, which I'm not, I wouldn't bother keeping my unbylined briefs either), and indeed it turns out that the majority of those clips are not briefs but large, in-depth, bylined, Dickensian pieces, I will be happy to admit a mistake in judgement. Otherwise, things are what they are. I certainly fail to see what potential damage is brought on Ed's reputation by saying that he wrote mainly briefs: probably the majority of business or sports reporters in the working journalistic community produce more briefs than full stories.

Van de Wille

Nuff said, I would think.

Eddie Arzouian

Patrick,


Just send me along your fax number and I will fax you only about 40 or 50 of my by-lined articles I wrote (one for each stage of La Classique Cycliste de Montreal, for each stage of Beauce, for most Canadian Tire Cups, for most Men's World Cups including the pre-race crits in Hamilton and Ile Notre-Dame, plus all the Madison racing on winter Sunday afternoons, (that's from The Gazette AND The Montreal Daily News) plus Olympic selection races road and track and some Mardi Lachine (admittedly many Mardis got briefs but not all) . I will not send the other 150 to 200 I have on hand.

Since that represents about all the racing in Quebec you can assume those that aren't covered were in briefs.

Send along that fax number. I can go back and look on your web site but I see only phone and cell.

Van de Wille

Listen, I said you mainly wrote briefs. I said that because the greater part of cycling coverage in the Gazette at that time was briefs. You've said before that you wrote more than 300 pieces for the Gazoo, correct? You're offering to send me 40-50 articles with your byline. Then you say that "since that represents about all the racing in Quebec you can assume those that aren't covered were in briefs." And I am indeed assuming that. Which means that coverage was mainly (ie: "in majority") briefs, like I said. Is there something I'm missing?

I don't have a fax machine, and never before have I been so thankful for that fact. I think that, for a guy who says in this forum that the main objective of your journalism was to help secure sponsorship, you doth protest too much. But again, as I've stated, if someone can provide a complete inventory of Gazette coverage during that period (not the Arzouian personal collection), and the majority of the pieces are full-length bylined articles by yourself, I'll be happy to apologize for a mistaken impression.

Eddie Arzouian

Patrick, after World Cups , and Beauce , La classique, the other Canadian Tire Races (Lac St.Jean ) Sunday Madisons, Nationals, some Mardi Lachine, what OTHER races do you expect to see in complete newpaper articles? Remember I'm talking about events one would attend IN PERSON in Quebec, not commenting on what some other newspaper would have written? Do you think the GP de Duplex woud merit a full article? Unlikely.


All those mentioned above were over 300 words with a by-line.

It is obvious you are backtracking and trying to cover your ass. That's fine.

Answer the question about the level of recommendation.