Crushpad: Speak The Truth Or Shut Up!

Dear Crushpad (Peter Ekman, Michael Brill):

When someone calls you for information, and goes so far as to send you the draft of an article (Crushpad Closing) and you say it’s inaccurate, then perhaps you might consider providing some facts. If you don’t, if you don’t dispute anything specific, then you have no one to blame but yourself if the piece is not what you wanted it to be.

The media thing works like this:

(a) I write news articles. I spend a lot of time making calls, calling sources, cross-checking facts as best I can.

(b) You are the subject of an article. I call you for facts and comments.

(c) Now, you are under no obligation to answer my questions or to provide facts. I understand that.

(d) If you don’t provide facts, then you have NO reason to complain.

In this case, you just issued a vague denial without providing facts or any specifics about which  parts of the article might be false.

In a case like this, I interviewed the people you do business with. And I interviewed a lot of them. And they were consistent in their accounts that Crushpad was desperate for money, for wineries to take over their clients, and that Crushpad was heading toward closing their doors.

You had all that and you had ample opportunity to dispute it.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you are asking people to remove Tweets about this.

If you want accuracy, then share the information that only you have. If you want an accurate article, then share the facts.

From where I sit, your reaction looks just like Larry Soldinger telling investors that Cosentino Winery was doing just fine, or Jim Debonis telling me that Geyser Peak was not for sale.

I could be wrong, but that’s what the Crushpad reaction looks like to me.

Are hard facts you can share? Or just more spinning?

We’re all waiting.