So this morning I decided I'd waited long enough, and would just walk up to the house and ask for a meeting with MTV. Despite the local newspaper coverage, no one from the show has reached out directly to people in the neighborhood.
I walked over to the house and say plainly that I didn't know who was with the show. Someone pointed to a man (let's call him Man 1). He didn't say much but took my contact information.
As I'm leaving, another man (let's call him Man 2) started to get combative. Man 2 said "why the blog? are you anti-reality TV?" What this jerk doesn't know is that ALL I WATCH is Reality TV - The Hills, Project Runway, and all of the Real
Housewives seasons. I love those shows! What I'm anti- about is that I know how one should run a successful public relations campaign, and I know MTV isn't doing a thorough job of reaching out to the community.
Man 2 mentioned a nightclub up the street and I said “yes, but when something goes into the neighborhood there are permits involved that the public knows about and that are approved by ANC.” I also mentioned to Man 2 that no one from MTV came to the ANC meeting the other night. Then the conversation went like this:
Me: There wasn't an official MTV representative at the meeting.
Man 2: How do you know that?
Me: No one spoke up.
Man 2: You don't know that no one was there.
Me: Well I sure hope someone was there and taking notes. But no one stood up and spoke and answered questions.
I'm really irritated and dismayed by how unprofessional MTV or their PR representation are being. Granted, people seem to think this whole production might not be disruptive to our city, but we're talking about my street and my neighbors and my family. I asked a neighbor today as I was walking my dog, and he said he would probably come to a meeting of the neighbors on the street and MTV. He also knows the guy two houses down from us who is concerned and would definitely come. Both neighbors are probably in their fifties.
People have HOMES here, and we just want some answers.
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15 comments:
Just a little advice, MTV is not producing the Real World, Bunim-Murray Productions is. MTV cares less about the production. BMP is who you should be contacting, not MTV.
Bunim/Murray Productions
6007 Sepulveda Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91411
CA Tel. 818-756-5150
Fax 818-756-5140
If there was a meeting with MTV or whoever these people are, then I'd flyer my entire building. I know there are people in 1920 who'd show up just to have questions answered.
Just remember: they are out there... and they are reading. ;)
Man 2: How do YOU know we're reading the blog?! Wait...
Maybe think about getting a petition set up with the names of everyone on your block. At the moment, they believe it's just YOU making a ruckus and not everyone else. They need to know it is a joint effort.
I guarantee you that you all are making this whole Real World situation far, far worse with this antagonistic blog. Despite what you think, you're not educating anyone or building awareness - if that were your goal, you'd write this objectively and professionally (with spell check and grammar check) without the mediocre-at-best attempts at wit and sarcasm. And you'd take it up privately (amongst your neighborhood association) and [continue to] take it to the proper government channels.
While I absolutely agree that BMP and/or MTV should've done a better job of reaching out to the community BEFOREHAND, DURING, AND AFTER, all this blog is doing is spreading the hate and anger and fueling a fire that doesn't need to be fueled.
And if the rumors are true and the new Real World cast is actually "scared" to come now, then shame on you all for ruining what would just be an otherwise fun life experience for a few 20-something "kids." Don't kid yourself - at some point when you were younger, you wanted to be on The Real World. Badly. Somewhere along the way you turned into a grumpy old person that now just wants their 15-minutes of fame on some poorly written blog. C'mon guys - DC is better than that. All you're doing is reinforcing the stodgy, conservative reputation DC so desperately needs to shake. Don't punish these kids for being, well, kids and for whatever missteps BMP and/or MTV have made. That's not fair.
What scares me most of all is that all this "anti-Real World" sentiment is just going to fuel anger that will culminate in some ridiculous fight. Yeah, these kids are ABSOLUTELY going to be drunken assholes for however months they'll be here. But guess what: there are far worse drunken assholes that you run into every night, but I guarantee you, just because this one drunken asshole is on The Real World, some self-righteous Anti-Real World blog reading moron is going to decide to take matters into his own hands and "teach him a lesson" over something that on any other given night would be overlooked, brushed off, and forgotten.
Hope you're proud of yourself, DC.
Contact these people. These are your targets.
http://www.bunim-murray.com/index.php?session=aboutus&id=2
Do you own or rent? Renters should have no rights; they are not invested in the area, it is not your neighborhood, and therefore all renters' opinions are meaningless. Now go back to your stuff white people like and complain more. Maybe wear a satchel, perhaps shop at Whole Foods
As much as I agree with your cause, the incessant bitch and moan fest is getting old. Keep us up to date with happenings and news, but harping on a meeting that happened earlier this week accomplishes nothing, and you just sound like a broken record. I feel like I'm watching Fox News when they had the update on the terrorist threat level every 5 minutes.
VNL - That's some good old-fashioned, self-righteous finger-wagging, yes it is! But I guess you were so busy chastising and tsk-tsking people for bad-mouthing and mistreating those poor, innocent (boo-hoo) 20-somethings by scaring them off that you forgot the definition of "hypocrite." Otherwise you wouldn't have gone on to refer to the kids as "drunken assholes." They must really be grateful to know how much you care about them.
VNL - You mentioned all the other drunken assholes out there (besides the ones who will be living in the house, that is). It's true, there are plenty of them, and those are the people who are likely to want to make their presence known and cause problems around the RW house. They are why I am so firmly opposed to the house being in my neighborhood - there's a good chance it will be a magnet for all kinds of assholes. Oh and I'm also against the RW because. It. SUCKS.
Mr. DC (aka The Grumpster)- Wow, did someone get up on the wrong side of bed his entire life or what? Yeesh. Anyway last time I checked, renters are residents of the neighborhood they live in and pay taxes. Their views are as valid as anyone else's.
Really Mr. DC? Renters, who can live in a neighborhood for years, are not invested and shouldn't have rights. As opposed to their absentee landlords, who own the houses but don't actually have any idea of what's going on nearby.
like it or not, a lot of the city's renters, and as long as they're living in an area, I think they're going to want some say in what goes on there.
I love this blog. You guys are my heroes.
I'm not only concerned about the impact of the Bunim-Murray Productions filming in the Dupont area, but also the surrounding neighborhoods.
Crowds and crime in Adams Morgan is a significant problem, one that requires the city to pay cops overtime to work on 18th St. on the weekends. The DC City Council shut down Spy Lounge and the hookah bar on the corner of 18th of Belmont less than six months ago because of the crime and congestion both venues caused. The city council has also proposed closing other bars and food stands because of other violent incidents that have taken place inside or in front of them in recent months (notably, the shooting deaths of three men after a fight broke out in Kokopooli's and the city council's proposal to shut down all the Jumbo Slices on the block).
18th is starting to look like a street of shuttered store fronts (I can think of at least five that are sitting vacant right now). The city council is trying to attract restaurants and businesses, not bars (like the recently opened Town Tavern), to revitalize an area that is increasingly plagued by crowds and violence. As a HOME OWNER, I am truly nervous that having RW cast film in the neighborhood, which I believe will not only increase the already unruly crowds, but will drive away businesses from opening in the area.
Furthermore, gang violence has increased in AM and I shudder to think what will happen when some ignorant cast member is drunk and starts shooting his mouth at the wrong person as the bars are closing late on Friday night.
Finally, I am so annoyed that NO ONE, not MTV, BUNIM-MURRAY, or our CITY COUNCIL though at all about the sociocultural politics affecting these "privileged" NW neighborhoods. Race, poverty, sexuality and other sensitive issues surrounding gentrification have caused areas such as U St., Adams Morgan, and Logan Circle to explode with violence, especially over the past year. There are real concerns that need to be addressed, and residents of these neighborhoods have every right to be concerned.
hmmm why do people always complain about nothing? the production company is providing jobs to 100s of people in the city, and pumping money into the city. i could see if they were shooting outside on the streets and taking over a few blocks for production trucks etc and causing a ruckus for 12 plus hours a day. the real world shoots indoors and doesn't bother anyone. O wow they're taking over a few parking spaces...GET OVER IT!!!! do something better with your life instead of creating stupid blogs about nothing...they're worst things going on in DC....chilll
This is hilarious, people --WHO ARE READING THIS BLOG--complaining about the content of the blog!
You know, if it hurts when you bash your head into the brick wall, I'm gonna guess if you stop, it's no longer going to hurt.
Oh... do you need me to translate the meaning of that?
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