The eXpressions Journal planning to sue OnMilwaukee.com
The publisher of a local arts magazine fires back over a blog post... from 2007
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Back in September we reported on Brady Street fixture Ras Kennedy’s decision to leave local art publication The eXpressions Journal. Known simply as “The eXpressions Journal guy,” Kennedy was notorious for walking up to strangers—or the same person dozens of times—and asking, “Are you creative? Do you like to write?” as a way to get them to participate in his magazine. When Kennedy announced his departure, we thought that was the end of eXpressions Journal guys hassling people outside of Walgreens. But it turns out that’s there’s actually another Ras—as in Ras Trammell, the publication’s publisher, who's looking to start a war with OnMilwaukee.com.
Earlier this week Trammell posted an item on the eXpressions’ blog “seeking a law firm or attorneys to sue OnMilwaukee.com” over a blog that was posted on the site by OMC publisher Andy Tarnoff more than two years ago. The blog post, called “I flat-out lied to the eXpressions Journal guy,” details Tarnoff’s various (and familiar-sounding) encounters with Kennedy over the years. “Truth be told, eXpressions Journal Guy is pesky but harmless,” Tarnoff wrote. “I still don't understand the full details of what he's pitching every single last person in Metro Milwaukee, but damn, if it isn't annoying as hell.”
While the mildly critical blog has since been taken down (because the content “expired,” not because of the lawsuit threat, Tarnoff says), Trammell still wants “restitution for lost income” and between $500,000 and $1 million for defamation. Trammell also has reached out to OnMilwaukee’s advertisers “in a less than friendly way,” Tarnoff tells The A.V. Club. “At least one of them called the police.”
WMSE didn’t call the cops on Trammell, but the other eXpressions Journal guy did threaten to boycott the radio station starting this Friday because of its involvement with OMC, says promotions director Ryan Schleicher, who, like Tarnoff, expressed bemusement about the blog brouhaha. “How can you call yourself eXpressions Journal and then boycott someone for expressing an opinion, even if that opinion speaks poorly of your endeavor and how you go about selling your paper?”
When reached by The A.V. Club, Trammell declined to comment on the lawsuit or boycott. Regarding Tarnoff’s allegation of “less than friendly” tactics with his advertisers, Trammell said, “The only thing I have to say about that is that I’ll be contacting any advertiser that has ever dealt with that particular rogue media operation. There will be a boycott. Just stay tuned.”
