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These articles always seem to come from the perspective that a woman had to have been abused or forced into the profession. As if no woman has ever made the choice that selling sex is easier and more profitable than any other job she could find. This article focused more on street walkers and I am sure that women on the low end of the sex trade are more prone to drug and other abuse, but really.
I love it when they write that way about strippers too. A woman takes $ 20 from a guy for a 2 minute dance and she's the one who is being exploited, yeah right.
I guess the writer didn't run into any of those ladies who most of us have met along the way. The ones who like sex so much they decided some where along the line if they are going to do it 6 times a day anyway they might as well get paid for it.
It was refreshing to hear the cop say if two consenting adults are meeting online he doesn't see the harm.
[QUOTE=Permanent Wood]Good point, and you are right. The Isthmus has accepted payment for adult ads for years, Daja and Suzanne have advertised in it for decades now, along with many others. I suppose you could say The Yellow Pages is in the same boat, advertising adult services, but they aren't writing articles on "Sex for sale" either.
Maybe the article should have been titled, "Sex for sale in Madison, just flip to the back for their ads."[/QUOTE]
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[QUOTE=Lonelyguy128]I guess the writer didn't run into any of those ladies who most of us have met along the way. The ones who like sex so much they decided some where along the line if they are going to do it 6 times a day anyway they might as well get paid for it.[/QUOTE]It wasn't from lack of trying. The prostitutes I talked with were ex-prostitutes and they got out of the business for reasons, as stated in the article. I have no doubt that some women choose the business and even enjoy it, but I could not get any active prostitutes to speak with me. Two originally agreed to do so but then backed out. Others I called from ads either refused or hung up on me. And I can't say that I blame anyone engaged in illegal behavior from trying to talk to me. You've got to protect yourself. But I'm not going to report on a perspective I haven't heard or documented first hand. I made an effort to talk to as many people as possible and reported what they told me.
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[QUOTE=Curious Writer]I can't say that I blame anyone engaged in illegal behavior from trying to talk to me[/QUOTE]You're admitting that your editor is aware that illegal behavior is being advertised in his paper?
Boy did you just fuck up.
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[QUOTE=Too Nice]You're admitting that your editor is aware that illegal behavior is being advertised in his paper?
Boy did you just fuck up.[/QUOTE]Ha, whatever. Boy do you take yourself seriously.
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[QUOTE=Curious Writer]Ha, whatever. Boy do you take yourself seriously.[/QUOTE]
It's strange for a writer to now suggest his words are just a joke.
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[QUOTE=Too Nice]It's strange for a writer to now suggest his words are just a joke.[/QUOTE]Who said I was joking? I never called any ads that ran in Isthmus. I called ads that were on Craigslist and Backpages. Isthmus doesn't have much in the way of escorts ads anymore--the internet long ago killed that revenue stream for alt-weeklies.
But I find it funny that you would think my words on this site would somehow be actionable. I don't have anything to do with advertising. I don't set advertising policy, do not take any advertising orders, and know next to nothing about our advertising operations, or what ads the paper will or will not accept. Nor does my editor. That's how it works at most newspapers and magazines.
I merely said that I can understand someone being involved in prostitution--an illegal activity--having some reluctance in talking about it to a reporter.
Your comments are further amusing because this site is devoted to talking about an illegal activity. And somehow I'm going to get in trouble for saying I called a couple of escort ads? Whatever.
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Adult ads in the Isthmus
[QUOTE=Too Nice]You're admitting that your editor is aware that illegal behavior is being advertised in his paper?[/QUOTE]
I wonder if the law that protects internet postings would also apply to the Isthmus? I think so.
[quote]Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (a common name for Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996) is a landmark piece of Internet legislation in the United States, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 230. Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by others:
No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
In analyzing the availability of the immunity offered by this provision, courts generally apply a three-prong test. A defendant must satisfy each of the three prongs to gain the benefit of the immunity:
1. The defendant must be a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service."
2. The cause of action asserted by the plaintiff must "treat" the defendant "as the publisher or speaker" of the harmful information at issue.
3. The information must be "provided by another information content provider," i.e., the defendant must not be the "information content provider" of the harmful information at issue.
[/quote]
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Sounds to me like Curious Writer doesn't know much of anything about anything. No wonder he can't get people to talk to him.
I think the best way to do investigative reporting is to immerse yourself in the subject. Try out a few providers and those that don't rush you out the door will be happy to talk to you.
[QUOTE=Curious Writer]Who said I was joking? I never called any ads that ran in Isthmus. I called ads that were on Craigslist and Backpages. Isthmus doesn't have much in the way of escorts ads anymore--the internet long ago killed that revenue stream for alt-weeklies.
But I find it funny that you would think my words on this site would somehow be actionable. I don't have anything to do with advertising. I don't set advertising policy, do not take any advertising orders, and know next to nothing about our advertising operations, or what ads the paper will or will not accept. Nor does my editor. That's how it works at most newspapers and magazines.
I merely said that I can understand someone being involved in prostitution--an illegal activity--having some reluctance in talking about it to a reporter.
Your comments are further amusing because this site is devoted to talking about an illegal activity. And somehow I'm going to get in trouble for saying I called a couple of escort ads? Whatever.[/QUOTE]
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[QUOTE=Lonelyguy128]Sounds to me like Curious Writer doesn't know much of anything about anything. No wonder he can't get people to talk to him.
I think the best way to do investigative reporting is to immerse yourself in the subject. Try out a few providers and those that don't rush you out the door will be happy to talk to you.[/QUOTE]You've got me there. I have never claimed to be especially knowledgeable or smart. Feel free to insult me all you want, if it makes you feel better. Or hell, even if it doesn't, I don't mind.
As to your point about immersion reporting, I've done it on a few occasions and found it valuable for conveying what certain experiences are like--walking on fire, fasting, being chased by prison dogs, sleeping in a homeless shelter. But it wouldn't have answered the question I was most interested in for this story: why do people become prostitutes and why do people sleep with prostitutes, or put more broadly, what is life like for some fellow human beings. I could have slept with a prostitute, but it wouldn't have told me much about what her life is like. It would have just been a gimmick. Though, years ago, a reporter for Isthmus did do something similar, and visited a massage parlor and got the full treatment. If I can find a link, I'll post it, but I fear it was pre-internet.
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[QUOTE=Curious Writer]But it wouldn't have answered the question I was most interested in for this story: why do people become prostitutes and why do people sleep with prostitutes?[/QUOTE]
The short answer is quick and easy money.
And for the second part of your question, quick and easy pussy.
Curious Writer, the part about having trouble finding providers to interview, I believe would be because they are programmed to be paid for their time, freebies of any sort are as rare as chicken teeth.
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[QUOTE=Permanent Wood]The short answer is quick and easy money.
And for the second part of your question, quick and easy pussy.
Curious Writer, the part about having trouble finding providers to interview, I believe would be because they are programmed to be paid for their time, freebies of any sort are as rare as chicken teeth.[/QUOTE]Sure, those are the easy, obvious answers, but they don't get me any closer to understanding what someone's life is like, which is what I'm most interested in as a writer. Neither does sleeping with them.
At any rate, on my salary, I can't afford the rates most of the ads I saw charge. And like most of you, I don't sleep with people I don't I don't want to sleep with.
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Writer thinks that there's some kind of sub-culture like the Masons or the Lion's Club, with secret rituals and weird costumes.
A better story, the one he missed, is why old and young, rich and working poor, business / government leaders and losers are all willing to risk so much for something that harms no one.
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"But I'm not going to report on a perspective I haven't heard or documented first hand. I made an effort to talk to as many people as possible and reported what they told me."
Let us be honest and forthright with each other. The perspective you wished to follow would be the angle that would gain the greatest favor with your editors. Your prejudices are subservient to their preconceived perceptions. This allows you to gain favor with the bosses and helps lubricate your journey towards journalist nirvana.
That and being able to sit at the bar with your colleagues and engage in titillating smarminess while slurping Negro Modelos.
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[QUOTE=Kimosabe]"But I'm not going to report on a perspective I haven't heard or documented first hand. I made an effort to talk to as many people as possible and reported what they told me."
Let us be honest and forthright with each other. The perspective you wished to follow would be the angle that would gain the greatest favor with your editors. Your prejudices are subservient to their preconceived perceptions. This allows you to gain favor with the bosses and helps lubricate your journey towards journalist nirvana.
That and being able to sit at the bar with your colleagues and engage in titillating smarminess while slurping Negro Modelos.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately, my colleagues don't drink and we have a pretty small staff. And well, let's be honest--I've made no presumptions or assumptions about anyone involved in the sex industry. I wish you'd afford me the same respect. Yes, I like to make my bosses happy. But I also genuinely like to convey human experience. It's why I've chosen this profession. I would never lie or make shit up to please my bosses.
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And really, if all I cared about is what my bosses thought, I wouldn't be engaging you here.