If you're following the ongoing debacle that is Recoil, you'll love this next bit: the recent statement from Joe Galloway is now officially not the official Recoil stance. If you're unaware, Mr. Galloway sent out a message that
basically said, "We're sticking to the editor's apology. If you don't like it, piss off. Other people will buy our magazine." It was, in fact, so condescending and arrogant that I called his office -and that of Jerry Tsai - to confirm it wasn't bogus. I couldn't believe his message reflected their official response. Maybe it's an internet troll trying to make things worse. To be completely up front, I was infuriated. Galloway's statement essentially belittled all of us who are and were riled up over the whole thing.
I never did hear back from Galloway or his assistant, but I did talk to Jerry Tsai. I believe he is sincere and contrite.
He advises (and I have no reason to disbelieve him) that Mr. Galloway sent that out on his own accord and that it wasn't cleared by the actual publisher. The actual publisher apparently still hasn't taken a stance (or if they have, they haven't made it public). Mr. Tsai seems to have been awaiting clearance from his boss to address this whole issue any further. Fair enough. Sadly, then Mr. Galloway threw more fuel on the fire in a big way...after which, things grew even more complicated still when HK released their statement, which completely contradicts Recoil's.
Here's what I know: Editor Jerry Tsai spoke to me directly and said Mr. Galloway's message was not that of the Recoil publisher. He advises Mr. Galloway's role is strictly relegated to the sales team. I'm inclined to believe this given the texts I received from Mr. Tsai asking me to stand by while he finished what I later interpreted to be damage control meetings and my subsequent conversation with him.
So, it's become even more convoluted. The truth of the matter? I don't know. This pooch has been well and truly screwed. I just can't see how the magazine can survive this most recent gaffe (whether it was their official stance or not) without something drastic happening.
In the end, you're defined by your actions. Even if Galloway was off the reservation, they obviously can't control their people, which shows a fundamental lack of leadership. Whether that's because of their corporate structure or because of the failure of one or more individuals somewhere in the food chain I don't know. I just don't know how this goat can be unf&$#ed. It's a pity too, because I really liked the magazine. I still hold onto some faint (probably vain) hope the situation will be salvaged, but I couldn't for the life me predict how that would happen.
In any case, Stay tuned for the next episode of Recoil's Pages Turn...
FYI, lots of background information on the issue at:
You can also read background and responses from Pantaeo, Jim Fuller, SWAT, Haley Strategic, Magpul Dynamic and others.
Disclosure: I don't know Recoil Editor Jerry Tsai very well, but I have been in contact with him off and on since SHOT 2012. I will let you know up front I personally like the guy insofar as I've known him. I also exchanged some desultory e-mails with a member of his staff a couple of months back about doing some freelancing for Recoil. Although I never spoke to Mr. Tsai about the freelancing directly, I have no reason to believe he hadn't heard about it. I had not yet gotten around to the point of submitting my past print articles from other magazines for their review before Issue 4 was released and I have not addressed the matter further.
