Fanzine news:
Ratatosk, the SoCal-based newszine (the counterpart to New York's
Degler and the South's
Rally) is back after a two-month hiatus. Because of the gap, they were rather late to the Save Star Trek party, and editor Bruce Pelz seems rather lukewarm about it (though not the show):
"STAR TREK," apparently having Rating Problems, has gained the somewhat dubious aid of a group of SF authors calling themselves "The Committee." The committee has sent out form letters (one to fans, another to SFWA members) urging recipients to write letters of appreciation and praise for "Star Trek" to TV stations, sponsors, TV columnists, and TV magazines such as
TV Guide. Nine names appear on the mast head -- Anderson, Block, Del Rey, Ellison, Farmer, Herbert, Matheson, Sturgeon, and Van Vogt -- but Harlan Ellison seems to be the spearhead for The Committee. (Van Vogt gives the impression that he's letting them use his name and that's all.) [This is probably third-hand by way of
Dynatron in Albequerque.] While admitting that the
Vox Populai can be quite useful in saving TV shows that might go down the Neilson [sic] drain, I tend to be a bit cynical about The Committee, which obviously has its eye on the $12,000 story money [this amount probably from SFWA or third-hand from
Degler], and which is using convention mailing lists for its form letters to fans (my 10-month-old daughter got a copy). If you
are in a mood to write letters, by all means do so -- it
is an excellent show. You can also write Ellison, at 3484 Coy Drive, Sherman Oaks, Cal 921403, if you want."
So now we know how Ellison was getting the word out -- through con mailing lists. This actually puts an upper cap on the number of people he could have directly reached. Westercon's list would have been 2-300. Worldcon's ~1000. SFWA ~100. I'd be surprised if the intersection of these three sets went much over 1000 though since the community was pretty incestuous (not literally, except, perhaps, in Walter Breen's house).
This does make me revise my thoughts somewhat on the 2nd vs. the 1st campaign. I had though Bjo's raiding of the convention lists was new to her, but obviously it wasn't. This doesn't mean the 2nd campaign still wasn't bigger (the Trek community was bigger and organized by early '68) but the con-list raiding is no longer a differentiating factor.
By the way,
the latest Trek review is out at the Journey.
