ON JUMPING SHARKS: Rachelle Hruska, Tinsley Mortimer, Sarah Palin Building Bridges to Nowhere March 12
‘High Society’ on the CW starring socialite Tinsley Mortimer, otherwise known as ‘The Tinz’, and an ensemble cast of urban trust fundafarian’s, fauxsocialite’s, criminals, tranny’s or those suspected of possessing extra equipment, who will probably need to come clean ala Lady Gaga to persuade non-believers, and frauds has been one of the most over hyped reality shows. This launching pad for New York Socialite Tinsley Mortimer received incessant media attention for months preceding its airing this week. As anyone who lives in New York City who attends a few social events may attest to, her cast mates are those who have been positioning themselves for reality fame virtually since birth and their lives are a seeming caricature of the persona’s of themselves that they hope to play on screen. At this stage of the reality cycle, one cannot be sure that the quest for fame is not an Andy Warhol gene passed down into the offspring of today’s social creatures. The reviews, however, are now in. Most are not good. By most accounts, High Society should be more appropriately titled High Times, as you would have to do many a bong hit to believe that this is what is representative of ‘High Society’ in New York City. Whereas High Society has generally been defined as the ‘fashionable elite‘, the phrase has even been used as a brand of a porno magazine but never before for fame seeking douchebags who hustle designers for free clothes to wear on T.V. during their dance with fame.
Today I received notification of a series of blog posts on Scallywag & Vagabond ridiculing the participation in the staging of CW’s High Society by a certain Media Whore/Manipulator for Hire who operates a pay for play platform known as Guestofaguest.com. Scallywag & Vagabond, much like this blogger did 7-8 months ago, called into question the “bona fide” press/journalist credentials of GuestofaGuest.com Founder, Rachelle Hruska.
In the fall of 2009, my blog entitled “RACHELLE HRUSKA: Social Journalist or Helping the Scissors Mafia Take Over NYC?” was viewed by many as a hit piece. Mutual friends and acquaintances of both myself and Ms. Hruska, including those of whom do not have their own wikipedia entry like Ms. Hruska crafted for herself, thought that it was impolite, disrespectful of her stature. Some even suggested that perhaps I was jealous of her success.
While Rachelle’s total lack of transparency bordering on fraud was so obvious to me, I just wondered why it took so long for someone else to actually comment on this subject. It is thus with all due respect that I tip my hat to Scallywag & Vagabond for their dissection of Ms. Hruska. It showed tremendous chutzpah, bravado…and well phuck it, I will say it straight up, big balls so generally not apparent today in the mainstream media. Mazel Tov to Scallywag and Vagabond. I got a lot of grief for essentially pointing out that Rachelle Hruska was oddly being promoted as the Queen Bee of a new brand of pay for play social journalism in New York City and the agent for the Scissors Mafia Poseurs who were taking over New York Nightlife. The woman even appeared as a talking head on selected stories on certain mainstream media outlets. Anyone with half a brain could see that after about two seconds, she looked much like Sarah Palin looking down at her palm for notes. But if you are pretty, smile into the camera perhaps the masses will not notice your lack of expertise. I was told by several folks to lay off Rachelle because she was cute, nice and sexy. Since when do we give a pass to those who deceive simply cause they kind of look good?
THE BIG MISTAKE
Some have made the mistake of buying into the assumption that Rachelle Hruska is actually some kind of a journalist in the first place, rather than an extension of the public relations arm of certain individuals and brands.
Many find it confusing because her brand of “journalism” is to run a press release supplied to her and her staff of writers with a few minor edits, so that the blog basically reflects what those with influence seem to want her to say. That she then gets positioned for appearances on television so that she can serve as their mouthpiece is not surprising, but there should be fuller disclosure about who and what is behind the rise of Rachelle Hruska. While Rachelle has worked the room and become known as the queen bee of the scissors gang mafia that occupy the nightly culture of distraction in the city, while promoting the meaningless social advancement agenda of the retards that permeate around Club Land Nightlife, she is still very much a work in progress who has made some powerful connections to enhance her celebrity and media profile. So, they put her on TV and allow her to speak because she looks good and not because you will hear anything of intellectual import spewing from her pretty lips. She knows how to follow the script provided to her. Her rise as a media figure is as curious as it is well, odd. That a woman of such average intelligence has “accomplishments” regularly bestowed upon her is clearly an attempt to suggest otherwise. Idiot? No. An insightful independent journalist with fascinating opinions? Hardly. Hence, one who studies the curious rise of Ms. Hruska can only be left with the impression that she is but a Trojan Horse or prophylactic for the agenda of others. Perhaps, as certain individuals have surmised, that her “accomplishments” are the result of a team of people who have USED her to advance their own agenda. (See: Steve Lewis of Blackbook Mag).
WHY IT MATTERS
Consider the disparate treatment provided by GuestofaGuest.com in July 2009 to two presumed Gubernatorial Candidates, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo, which violated charity event coverage protocol to sling mud at a sitting Governor who merely attended a charity event. This is important to consider especially considering Scallywag & Vagabond’s exposure of Ms. Hruska’s less than transparent, pay for play journalism. Ask yourself whether the lack of transparency in reporting and representation allows her to have an impact to an audience of younger readers while appearing independent. If the CW could “buy” Ms. Hruska, did the Cuomo campaign buy her as well? Inquiring minds want to know.
David Paterson: Southampton’s “After Ten” Party Draws A Ritzy Crowd, David Patterson Remains A Horrible Governor
Andrew Cuomo: Fundraiser, West Village Penthouse, although it may have been a mistake to take a photo, with this guy.
Fact is in America 2010 the American Media landscape is littered with lots of pretty faces with empty heads all too eager to be famous themselves, who report to the dumb down masses while collecting a check from someone who tells them what to say and when. Nobody (with half a brain) will ever confuse Ms. Hruska with Walter Cronkite. The fact is simply that GuestofaGuest has simply lowered the bar for what idiots might perceive is actually journalism and therein lay her ability to make an impact on an unsuspecting public when there is a lack of transparency.
In conclusion, while I have heard of folks “jumping the shark”, one has to wonder whether the Tinsley Mortimer, Rachelle Hruska (who herself knows something about jumping sharks), Devorah Rose, Jules Kirby et al etc. ensemble is akin to using WaveRunners to vault over the sharks straight over a Niagra Falls like plunge to oblivion or taking a long walk off a bridge to no where. You’d really have to be “high” to think that this is ‘High Society’ rather than perhaps High Society as imagined by the bastard anal love child of Satan and Narcissus, one that had to be extracted by colonic to remove all remnants of the fecal child from the lower colon of Narcissus.
Scallywag Mar 12
What a wonderful and thoughtful piece. As an observer of society and media I was increasingly appalled for what I felt was a degenerative descent into a type of ‘journalism’(if we are to even be kind to use this word) that consistently towed the ‘party,’ ‘corporate,’ ‘phony’ elite.
Nothing is challenged, rare is it that any outlet forces critical regard of topics at hand and further investigation only lead to the corrupt apparatus called pay to play, non disclosure journalism.
Ms Hruska and her elk and backers, Gawker and etc have debased the cultural mileiu and have only served to foster apathy, cronyism and what George Orwell termed once – double speak- nothing means anything anymore and yet it supposedly means everything if positioned (paid) correctly.
Congrats Ms Hruska keep making that money and be sure to propagate a debasement of ethics, integrity and anything worthy of genuine reflection, inspiration or enlightenment.
Read below for more-
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/03/rachelle-hruska-media-whoremanipulator-for-hire/
Blogger Tia Walker Mar 12
While I prefer your whistle blowing article RACHELLE HRUSKA: Social Journalist or Helping the Scissors Mafia Take Over NYC? your piece above provides grains of truth and I repeat….GRAINS of truth. Tinsley Mortimer like it or not is part of High Society ( the real one that exists here in NYC) the “cast” of characters around her on her show may be questionable but whatever-television is meant for casts, so are films and the stage.
Guest of a Guest and their band of Harvard educated backers are doing what they need to do–it is NOT a crime. The CRIME is in the fact that girls like Rachelle, and I do mean “girls” in that they are devoid of significant work & life experience, ALL want to be at the TOP of the blogging heap with CREDITS they have not yet EARNED. The only way to appear CREDIBLE is to manufacture it all & QUICKLY. Take no prisoners ….emulate whomever you can…. and often times it has been me.
My gripe is not with Rachelle directly. Here is my ONLY gripe, the years that I have spent building both my credentials & The Quest for “it”, it is not simply a lack of recognition for doing so that STINGS but the underlying racial undertones of this GRAND SLIGHT–let’s glorify a young blonde figurehead instead of the industry’s original innovators. Neither myself nor my blog has ever appeared, been interviewed for, cited or mentioned by any major New York publication (The NY Times, Wall Street Journal, NY post etc.) Gawker recently gave me some love–thanks Gawker!!!! Even though The Quest for “it” is an independent RESOURCE for many LARGER online publications and began in September 2005– 2 full years before Guest of a Guest. In part we do first hand reporting of celeb, fashion & society events that most independent blogs cannot event get credentials for. We run with the BIG BOYS we always have.
If I had a dollar for every girl that has come up to me over the last 3 years and said” I want to be a blogger like you ,Tia” I would certainly be wealthy.I run when I hear this. I no longer even say thank you, because they do not mean they want to be LIKE me they mean they want to BE ME & that is a very SCARY& dangerous thing.
You want to be a blogger like me? CARE about your work, LOVE it, do it honestly, work/sleep/& work again, be gracious, be accurate in what you write, WRITE your own SHIT don’t steal it (that goes for content, layout, & concepts) and make sure that your PERSONA is YOURS not a copy of someone else’s (that goes for your clothes, you hair, your style).
Peace!
Scallywag Mar 13
Wow, very revealing Tia…
Gregory Partanio Mar 30
I do not always read what my brother Christopher writes. I just happened to now because I received a phone call last week with someone advising me I was on Television. I turned to Channel 11 but did not see myself (I guess I missed a brief glimpse of myself). What was interesting to me was, I recognized all the people on TV as I have been shooting them for years at different events in and around New York City. Chris gets up my ass for not paying attention to the media, not knowing about this scandal or that scandal, who’s up, who’s down or whatever. The truth is I really don’t care. I just like taking beautiful photos of interesting people. To get wrapped up in melodrama is a waste of my time. It does not pay my bills. Do I read about Obama’s Health care Plan? Sure I do. Do i read about troops killed in Afghanistan? Again, sure I do because I am interested in what is happening to my fellow citizens, especially those who risk their lives on our behalf. Do I watch Kiefer Sutherland on 24 every Monday night? Again, yes I do. Why? Because it’s entertaining. Do I find the CW Show High Society interesting? Absolutely not. I couldn’t believe some of the crap coming out of the mouths of some of these people, but in the long run, do I care? No not at all. I mean if all these self promoters who are selling their souls to be on a reality T.V. show for 15 minutes of Fame (if you can call it that) expect to be taken seriously after the show has been cancelled, I think from a Public Relations standpoint doing this type of show really is detrimental to one’s image. I am surprised that most of these folks have not figured that out as of yet. I have seen many marriages go down the toilet because one of the party’s hunger to seek press to promote themselves not a product or to sell something but just to be out there. So do I care whether Paul Calderon is not really a Johnson & Johnson heir or that he stole a pocket book or that he is living on $25 grand from his mommy, and when that runs out what is he going to do? No I don’t. Do i care that Jules Kirby disrespects housekeepers? Not really. Most of it is hardly believable and is simply bad TV that seems rather scripted to shock and offend. Since it does not affect my bottom line, if it does not make me laugh, I simply ignore it. For me, there is no sense writing about it. Maybe if we all just ignore it, it will all go away, although some how I doubt it. Will any of these people ever become a Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie? Highly unlikely. Much of this reality programming, specifically CW’s High Society is made for less intelligent or less informed people who get sucked in to believing that this truly is the world of “High Society” in New York yet those who I think of as New York’s High Society would not be caught dead on one of these shows. But that hardly matters. In the end, we are all just people; Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt are all just people. That’s the approach that I take when photographing them. Some are, however, just more fortunate, intelligent, pretty, successful or lucky than others. In many respects by focusing their lives on bad reality TV as regular people will always simply be “Building Bridges to Nowhere.” I choose to just live my life and ignore it all. Because in the end what really matters to me most is my family and friends. PEACE.
Shirley Apr 6
Tia Walker…really??? get over yourself!!
Scallywag Apr 26
Why do Rachelle and Cameron Winklevoss keep pushing the grain?
Now they want to obtain as much info on you as possible. Really as media there is a limit- because after a certain point it becomes invasive and the larger question arises- for whose sake are Guest of a Guest breaching the law once again. Yes once again- the story is below:
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/04/guestofaguest-com-continues-artistic-rip-off-joins-the-social-cia-movement-to-be-a-homing-device-on-your-persona/