ATCA condemns the selling of press comps (in brief)

ATCA condemns the selling of press comps (in brief)

A Seattle critic for the Huffington Post recently advertised his extra press comps for sale to women willing to accompany him. (Howard Sherman has the basic facts.) That’s risible enough, and it may even have been a joke (he advertised them at half face value, and most press comps have zero face value), but amused contempt and thundering denunciation have been his lot. Now ATCA has issued a statement, beginning, in part:

“[ATCA] is incensed that a Seattle theater critic for The Huffington Post has offered for sale on Craigslist his second free ticket to events that he was covering.

“’To be very clear, the writer is not a member of our organization,’ said Wm. F. Hirschman, chairman of ATCA’s executive committee. ‘But, nonetheless, we want to stress that our code of conduct specifically forbids taking advantage of the generosity of theaters’ decades-old practice of providing a second ticket to reviewers.’ … 

“Chairman of ATCA’s Committee on Ethical Standards Victor Gluck wrote, ‘The ultimate problem with reviewers selling their complimentary tickets is that it casts an ethical pall over the entire critical community.’”

For the full ATCA statement, click here.