Blogger Versus Goliath; FashionIndie.com Prepares Class-Action Lawsuit Against The New York Observer
Edited by Saynt
Daniel Saynt Defends Fashion Bloggers
Hey Indies,
As many of you know we are currently pursuing a class action lawsuit against The New York Observer for printing a false article about me and Fashion Indie. The article has led to the cancellation of Fashion Indie Week and a major financial blow to our company which may lead to reduce our coverage of fashion week and adjust our business model.
We are just a bunch of bloggers looking to change the fashion world one post at a time. It’s sad that a publication as big as The New York Observer could print things that could so badly effect our business.
We hope that we have the support of the blogging community as this case could potentially change the way independent online publishers are viewed forever. We’ll be contacting members of our blogger network Sayntly with details on how they can join “Team Indie” and support us as we try to defend our name and prevent The New York Observer’s libelous claims from destroying our reputation in the industry forever.
Below is our press release, please add it to your site immediately.
For Immediate Release
February 18th, 2009
Blogger Versus Goliath; FashionIndie.com Prepares Class-Action Lawsuit Against The New York Observer Over Christian Siriano Claim
New York – Daniel Saynt (25), President and Blogger-In-Chief of FashionIndie.com, is pursuing a class-action lawsuit against The New York Observer for a recent article that described the new media mogul and his employed writers as “a crew of crony bloggers” looking to destroy the relationship between the fashion industry and online publishers by barreling their way into the Bryant Tents uninvited and with complete disregard to designers and fashion week organizer IMG.
The New York Observer caught wind of a scheduled editorial piece listed on Fashion Indie’s events page titled Fashion Indie Crashes. The piece was to be a written expose on the not-so-secret “art of crashing” and would offer readers insider information on the best ways to approach fashion week events and gain access. “The Observer took this editorial piece and made it seem as if it was going to be a crazed media stunt to garner “cheap traffic” for our website by crashing Christian Siriano‘s show,” states Saynt. “Without any confirmation or outreach to myself or my organization, they printed a libelous story that makes our company seem juvenile and unprofessional.”
“We are registered members of the press and have every credential necessary for entrance into Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. We also have established relationships with the public relations firms of hundreds of designers and have never had to “barrel” our way into any fashion event. Their representation of FashionIndie.com, our writers, and myself as anarchists set to unhinge the fashion world with our careless behavior was completely irresponsible and this type of defamation of character has already begun to affect our relationship with an industry we love and respect.”
The story has led to the cancellation of Fashion Indie Week (a seasonal series of events and editorial coverage focused around emerging designers during New York Fashion Week), editors of the site being denied entrance to fashion week shows they had been confirmed to attend, Saynt’s mailbox being bombarded with emails from members questioning the media groups behavior, and the potential loss of a major client which accounts for 65% of Fashion Indie Media’s yearly revenue.
Further proof of the articles affect on Daniel Saynt’s reputation can ironically be viewed on the Observer’s blog posting of the article in which
Saynt continues, “I have always been a vocal advocate for blogger rights and have worked tirelessly to gain us the notoriety and respect we deserve. My views on fashion have always been sharp-tongued and I have never been afraid to thoroughly enforce my right to an opinion. If we as bloggers allow publishers like The New York Observer step on us and push us around, making such broad, false accusations about our practices, then we are all threatened to be censored and lose our freedom of expression. This lawsuit is meant to set precedence and truly encourage positive changes in the way this traditional media and the fashion industry views independent publishers.”
For more information about this story, please feel free to contact Daniel Saynt directly at 917-450-5238 or through email at saynt@fashionindie.com
About Fashion Indie Media (FashionIndie.com)
More than a fashion blog, Fashion Indie Media provides services to fashion brands looking to understand the new media landscape.
They are currently working with a national high-fashion magazine to create a performance-based advertising structure for fashion brands looking to influence bloggers. The group has produced fashion events associated with companies such as H&M, The Body Shop, and Smart Car.
In addition to FashionIndie.com, the media group owns and operates 7 online publications and social networks which reach out to a global audience of nearly 1.3 million readers per month. One of the fastest growing digital properties on the web the company has attracted the attention of nearly every major fashion label and publication. Their events and websites have been covered by nearly 500 online blogs and have been featured by the BBC, The New York Post, The Daily News, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, New York 360, Numero, Elle Magazine, MTV True Life and The Tyra Banks Show.
Fashion Indie Media has produced events for Project Runway designers including Malan Breton, Diana Eng, Zulema Griffin, and recent winner Leanne Marshall. In addition, they grant access to producers and casting directors to engage with their database of over 500 emerging designers. The results have been collaborations with Maurices (owned by Dress Barn), Polartec Fabrics, The CW, The Travel Channel, Project Runway and MTV.
Their event development work with charitable groups including All for Africa, Action Against Hunger, and Fashion Delivers has helped raised over $10,000,000 for those in need throughout the world.
About Daniel Saynt
For nearly three years, Saynt has been a vocal advocate for blogger rights and their desire to be recognized in the fashion world, a landscape dominated by traditional media publishers.
In February of 2008, Saynt critiqued Gucci‘s “Gucci Hearts New York” blogger campaign and was the only New York-based blogger who was invited to their Madonna hosted charity event at the UN. The story was featured in WWD and set a standard in the industry in regards to how large labels should work with bloggers.
He’s established a network of over 50 select independent publishers called Sayntly, a group of partners supporting each other through content sharing and opt-in advertisement opportunities provided by Fashion Indie Media. Saynt’s views on the need to enforce freedom of expression across the blogosphere led to the establishment of the TRIP (The Rights of Independent Publishers) Initiative which acts as a suggested code of conduct to bloggers and details the editorial responsibilities of online publishers and the rights they are entitled to in regards to blogger networks.
Saynt is a firm believer that bloggers should have the freedom to express themselves and not feel threatened by fashion labels or industry leaders.
“I believe that bloggers can unite to support each other without the rules established by faulty, ready to censor networks. Through the actions of independent publishers like myself, fashion is truly becoming a democracy that will one day encompass the views and ideals of the greater number rather than the chosen few.”