J’s Notes

Jason Roop, editor of Style Weekly, has commented on Style’s withdrawing of their sponsorship of the Environmental Film Festival in light of its organizer’s past ties to the eco-terrorist group Earth Liberation Front:

I can only speak to the editorial side of Style Weekly in saying that our team is covering the festival, as we always would, whether or not the magazine is a sponsor of that event. I hope you’ll enjoy a story in today’s Arts & Culture section that features an exclusive Q&A with Ralph Nader. You also may have noticed that we’ve published a cover story profile by writer Brent Baldwin on John Wade.

It’s an interesting story that explores some of the controversial debates among those in the environmental movement, and the drastically different approaches to making change by the more mainstream as well as radical organizations. We share what inspired Mr. Wade to his cause, and how his perspectives have changed.

No, he doesn’t quite apologize for his and his friends’ actions — which include inflicting more than $200,000 in damage locally and intimidating residents. But he does discuss how he’s struggling with ways to further his cause since serving three years in federal prison. Brent Baldwin also writes about the Patriot Act and how it affected Mr. Wade’s situation, which included the government naming him as an “eco-terrorist.”

You should know that Style Weekly has served as a sponsor of these kinds of events before, including spearheading the first “Living Green” awards (did you go?) in October, corresponding with a special Green Issue of Home Style, our monthly home magazine. Unfortunately, Mr. Wade intentionally withheld significant, relevant information about himself (as he says) in securing support and sponsorship. That put the company in a poor position when it learned, last-minute, about Mr. Wade’s background. As you can imagine, this left the decision-makers wondering what else they hadn’t been told about the event, if anything. It’s too bad that Mr. Wade wasn’t up front from the beginning.

By the way, the company’s sponsorship was in the form of reduced-rate advertising. So its decision to suspend sponsorship included giving money back to Mr. Wade’s group, not taking it away. I know that Style’s publisher and Mr. Wade have spoken in the days since and have come to an understanding, and perhaps they can move forward with a more honest and open relationship on future events.

For more, read Wade’s War here and see Jason Guard’s thoughts here.

The Environmental Film Festival is this weekend at the Byrd.