Reactions on messy EDXC election
Publish and be damned

In a response to news reporting on the HCDX web site, one of the auditors, Mr. Anker Petersen, Denmark, criticises the HCDX for "bad journalism" and the HCDX web editor for "continous attacks on the DSWCI" in a posting to the EDXC email discussion list.
(Regarding DX Window, the problem was that the DSWCI board wanted, no matter what, to make it a members only publication. So I quite, and you all got this: a free HCDX. But that's another story.)

The full text of Mr. Petersen's views on the HCDX EDXC coverage follows.

"Thanks to Anton Kuchelmeister, I noticed that our previous member in Sweden, Mr. Hermod Pedersen, on the Hard-Core DX webpage today is continuing attacking the DSWCI.
Two years ago we chose him as webmaster for our weekly e-mail newsletter "DX-Window" on the Internet, but in private e-mails he drove our worldwide co-editors mad with his criticism of their editing, so nearly all of them stopped it, and the popular "DX-Window" had to stop.
I told him that he was undermining the DSWCI and he left the Club.
With the closure of the "DX-Window" many members left the DSWCI.
Now he seems to be doing the same towards the EDXC!

"Regarding the renomination of Kaj Bredahl Jørgensen and myself as auditors for the next period within the EDXC, the facts are that the DSWCI sent this nomination to the Secretary General in an e-mail on 05 November. Independent of this, on 27 November, Anton and Risto asked us as present Auditors to look into the election procedure and so we did.
Thus it is bad journalism when Mr. Hermod Pedersen on the public webpage after copying parts of our Statement of 29 November, writes 'The auditors then went on to nominate themselves for yet another auditing period...'

"For the EDXC, it is bad situation, but unfortunately seen many times before , that there are so few candidates for new officials to the Council, so that the Full Member Clubs have difficulties in making their choice at the elections.
However, they should be happy that somebody cares to take up the big workload for the benefit of the European DX-ers.
After the EDXC Conference in Castelldefels we finally got some candidates, and the Secretary General will allow more nominations. If the Clubs want more candidates, then go ahead and find somebody who are willing to do the jobs, and nominate them before the new deadline, please!
For instance from Sweden!
It is too easy just to make negative criticism!"
Anker Petersen, edxc mailing list, December 1, 2000


Wanted: Positive press releases
Well, I would not worry too much about a story which has unattributable quotes from "outsiders" and "observers" who have not got the guts to put their names to what they say.
Perhaps they might like to make these comments directly to the list and put themselves forward for rebuttal.
Anker and Kaj also have too much standing in the DX community to be affected I would think from the suggestions that their club cannot nominate them as EDXC auditors, I am sure other clubs would have been most willing to do so if asked.
The more you react to this sort of thing the more credibility you give it.
Of course you are right Anton in that positive press releases are always a good idea.
Mike Barraclough, edxc mailing list, December 1, 2000


HCDX comment
The Powers have spoken
All executives express themselves in ways like Mike Barraclough, always longing for "positive press releases".
That's why we lousy, bad, trash journalists just love to tell everybody the real, full story in any of these messy stories, be it Florida or be it the Lilliputian EDXC.
We even have the guts to use unnamed sources, to protect people feeling intimidated by group pressures, such as those expressed above.
Hermod Pedersen, hcdx web editor