Talk:Benjamin Genocchio

Article written by subject
It appears that most of this entry has been written by the subject, Benjamin Genocchio, as User:Bgenocchio. This accounts for the overly positive, unencyclopedic tone of the article. I hope to remedy at which point I will remove the COI tag that I have added. Bangabandhu (talk) 12:20, 6 September 2015 (UTC)

Conflict of interest
A major contributor to this article (who has edited Wikipedia under more than one account name) appears to have a very clear conflict of interest here. Conflict-of-interest editors are strongly discouraged from editing the article directly, but are always welcome to propose changes on the talk page (i.e., here). You can attract the attention of other editors by putting request edit (exactly so, with the curly parentheses) at the beginning of your request, or by clicking the link on the lowest yellow notice above. Requests that are not supported by independent reliable sources are unlikely to be accepted.

Please also note that our Terms of Use state that "you must disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation." An editor who contributes as part of his or her paid employment is required to disclose that fact. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 13:19, 7 September 2015 (UTC)


 * I've looked at this bio and I think you are over reacting to a conflict. The subject hasn't touched it since 2013 and then in minor edits. Your edits are good and have improved the article but stay calm. The subject is notable and the bio is sound. Castlemate (talk) 21:06, 7 September 2015 (UTC)
 * , I'm calm. has been blocked for WP:sockpuppetry; I've placed a connected contributor tag on several articles that have been edited by one or other of the verified sock accounts, and left my standard talk-page COI message too (Melissa Chiu and Artnet are the others I've identified). Because of the limits on check-user data, I'm not going to bother to ask whether an SPA such as  is also connected; nor would I get an answer if I asked about the IPv6 account which edited here on 6 September, or about the very similar IP which edited his wife's page the next day. It does however seem to be worth leaving a note of some of this on this page for future editors to refer to. I hope that is not over-reaction. Regards, Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 22:43, 7 September 2015 (UTC)

Request for impartial review of insertion of negative statement that is not supported by facts in citation
I understand wikipedia has rules about individuals editing accounts belonging to themselves and family members. I don't mind other people editing the page, but in this case they have added a factual error that is not just wrong it is damaging to me personally and borders on libel—essentially it insinuates, repeating a false accusation, that I was fired from a previous job. To claim somebody was fired when in fact they weren’t (and with verified evidence to the contrary) is borderline libelous.

I would like the sentence removed.

The user has added a statement that my previous employer claims they fired me, with a link, but if you read the link you see in a following paragraph beyond the claim that the article states clearly that i provided an email resignation letter to the reporter-- this is printed in the story that is being used as a citation to make a claim that is in direct contrast to the printed facts. Here is the link: http://nypost.com/2014/02/11/blouin-media-loses-staff-to-rival-art-startup/

Here also is the complete text from which the statement is made:

Blouin, at first, was diplomatic regarding Genocchio’s upstart operation, passing along a, “All I can say to him is the best of luck.” But in the next breath she added, “Benjamin was fired. You want it. You got it.” There appears to be no love lost, here. “With any luck we will drive Louise out of business,” Genocchio said. When told that Blouin had said he was fired, he insisted that was wrong and produced a copy of his Dec. 12 resignation letter that circulated to staff.

So lets review this: an individual makes a prejudiced accusation against me, the reporter follows it up, and I provide written evidence to disprove the prejudicial statement. Anybody can say what they want but in this instance I produced physical evidence to support my claim and it is printed in the story which is being used to promote a different version of these events.

Let me also drawn your attention to a New York Times story, dated December 12, which announced my new job— dated the same day as my resignation letter that was "circulated to staff", as the NYP story says, and many weeks before that NYP article. Here is the link to the NYT story:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/arts/design/steve-mcqueen-among-6-hugo-boss-prize-finalists.html?_r=0

At the time of that NYT story I was still working for Blouin media and resigned the same day. So how or when could I have been fired? It doesn’t fit with the timeline, especially given by the time the New York post article appeared in which Louise Blouin claims she fired me (January 3rd) I was already working in my new job! What's even more bizarre about the addition of this statement to the entry is that i continued to work at Blouin until the end of 2014--after i had resigned. How could i still be working there after my resignation and public announcement of new job on December 12 if i was fired?

Let me also draw your attention to a story from the New York Observer, dated December 13-- one day after my resignation. Here is the link http://observer.com/2013/12/blouin-media-publisher-of-artauction-and-modern-painters-terminates-most-international-freelance-contracts-2/

This article includes the following statement about me-- it notes that i had resigned the day before, not been fired, and include a positive statement about me from Blouin Media President Ben Hartley:

"Yesterday longtime Blouin Editorial Director Benjamin Genocchio announced that he would leave the company to start a new journalistic art website with the art start-up Artnet.

Mr. Hartley said Mr. Gennochio’s departure is unrelated to the international restructuring. “Ben Genocchio is a true professional, a good friend and a trusted colleague,” he said. “I wish him well.”"

Now if i had been fired, why would the President of the company have said this?

I am not going to go in and correct this as i will be accused of a conflict of interest but surely there has to be a level of impartially and fact checking here? You can't just take assertions which have no evidence to back them up, and treat them as fact simply because there is a citation. In this case, furthermore, the citation itself contradicts the claim.

Thank you for your attention

Benjamin Genocchio — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bgenocchio (talk • contribs) 15:04, 17 September 2015
 * Drmies answered this edit request below. Altamel (talk) 23:24, 9 March 2016 (UTC)

Sue or threaten to sue
Can someone urgently look at this edit change that was just inserted here please-- it is incorrect. the newspaper was NEVER sued for defamation, nor was i. please read the sources. It was threatened in a newspaper article by Vittorio Sgarbi but he had no authority to make that accusation. No lawsuit ever was filed or eventuated or even a legal letter sen to me or the paper-- this is not source or that claim. please read the sources and correct the statement.

(cur | prev) 14:21, 17 September 2015‎ Drmies (talk | contribs)‎. . (6,220 bytes) (-292)‎. . (→‎Italian government lawsuit: rm editorial commentary ("not even valid"). also rm meta commentary about coverage, which isn't verified by the source) (undo | thank)

Thank you, Benjamin Genocchio — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bgenocchio (talk • contribs)
 * Done. Drmies (talk) 16:28, 17 September 2015 (UTC)
 * , it is most unusual for me to disagree with your excellent judgement, but I think the sources make it clear that it was Sgarbi who lost his rag here, not the government of Italy. I believe any references to the "Italian government" in this context must be seen as a synecdoche, the whole being named when one under-secretary was actually involved. I've tried to rewrite this passage in more neutral and more accurate language. If you think I've screwed up, please say so. Regards, Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 18:53, 17 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Justlettersandnumbers, I made a quick edit where the main interest was to defluff the article, removing a grandiose claim about worldwide coverage and an unverified claim that there was no legal basis for the threat. (There may not have been, I don't know or care, but the article shouldn't have said it.) In other words, what you're pointing at is not something I looked at carefully and I hope you will change it to whatever's better. Thanks, Drmies (talk) 19:08, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

Discussion of major additions to the article
User:Penelope1114 (who hasn't yet added a note about her COI to the top of this page, but will soon, I'm sure) has asked me on my user talkpage why her additions were reverted, and I've tried to explain. Here it is. Not sure if the question-and-answer ought to be copypasted here; if somebody wants to, I, at least, don't object. Anyway, continued discussion should take place here. There is also a current discussion at WP:COIN. Bishonen &#124; talk 08:57, 14 October 2015 (UTC).
 * Bishonen, have added notice of COI. Would be happy to rework and submit section by section for review on this talk page. Thank you Penelope1114 (talk) 15:39, 14 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Great, thank you. Bishonen &#124; talk 15:41, 14 October 2015 (UTC).

Proposed updates to be made to Benjamin Genocchio
I would like to offer that the following changes be made to the introductory paragraph of Benjamin Genocchio:
 * Change the first sentence to: Benjamin Genocchio (born 1969) is an art critic and non-fiction writer from Australia.
 * Change the last sentence to: He is the author and editor of 10 books.
 * I am basing 10 as the number of books authored and edited off of the bibliography I researched noted here:
 * Bibliography
 * Contributor, “Discourse, Discontinuity, Difference: The Question of ‘Other’ Spaces”, in Postmodern Cities and Spaces, edited by Sophie Watson and Katherine Gibson, pp.35-46, Blackwell Publishers, London, 1995
 * Contributor, “Photography Besides Itself”, Photo Files, edited by Blair French, pp.51-58, Power Institute and Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney 1999
 * Author, Simeon Nelson, Passages, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 1999 and University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2000
 * Author, Lindy Lee, Craftsman House, Sydney, 2000
 * Editor with Adam Geczy, What is Installation?, An Anthology of Writings on Installation Art, Power Publications, Sydney, 2001
 * Author, Fiona Foley: Solitaire, Piper Press, 2002
 * Editor, The Art of Persuasion, An Anthology of Art Criticism, Craftsman House and Thames and Hudson, Sydney, 2002
 * Author, Dollar Dreaming: The Rise of the Aboriginal Art Market, Hardie Grant Books, 2008
 * Author with Melissa Chiu, Contemporary Asian Art, Thames & Hudson, London, 2010
 * Author with Melissa Chiu, Asian Contemporary Art, The Monacelli Press, 2010
 * Author with Melissa Chiu, Contemporary Asian Art, A Critical Reader, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2011
 * Editor, Modern Art in Africa, Asia and Latin America: An Introduction to Global Modernisms, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012
 * Contributor, Art Studio America - Contemporary Art Spaces, Thames & Hudson, 2013

Look forward to receiving feedback. Thank you. Penelope1114 (talk) 02:32, 16 October 2015 (UTC)
 * The only proposed change to the middle sentences would be to add an internal link to Artnet News. The text here is accompanied by some new references: He is editor-in-chief of Artnet News, an art news website. He previously worked as an art critic for The New York Times, and then as the editor-in-chief of Art+Auction magazine, Modern Painters magazine, and the website artinfo.com.


 * I would suggest "He is the author of four books, the co-author of three others, and the editor or co-editor of a further three." BMK (talk) 02:45, 16 October 2015 (UTC)
 * BMK, your suggestion is a very good one. Penelope1114 (talk) 17:53, 16 October 2015 (UTC)
 * I've made the changes discussed above. If I made an error, please let me know.  If any other editor objects to the changes, please feel free to revert them. BMK (talk) 01:00, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Proposed update to Family and education section within the Benjamin Genocchio article
Here I suggest a few updates that could be made to the Family and education section within the Benjamin Genocchio article. My suggestions include more dates and information on degrees earned. I also removed a direct quote from a citation which seems unnecessary, "He spent his childhood years playing amongst the creeks and bush of Lane Cove." Have included additional references as well. Thoughts? Thanks again.
 * Genocchio, of mixed Italian and Australian heritage, is a citizen of Australia, Italy and the US. His father Giorgio was born in Genoa, Italy and trained as an engineer before meeting his Australian mother, Jennifer Cunningham, in 1960. His parents spent the first half of the 1960s living between Australia and Italy before settling in Australia to raise four children. Genocchio was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the second of four boys. He grew up in the Lane Cove area and attended Newington College (1981–86) during his high school years. He studied Arts/Law at the University of Sydney earning his BA summa cum laude in 1992. Then Genocchio completed a Ph.D in Art History, also at the University of Sydney, in 1996. Penelope1114 (talk) 02:01, 20 October 2015 (UTC) Penelope1114 (talk) 18:15, 22 October 2015 (UTC)


 * I don't see any problem with these suggestions, so I'm going to make the change. Any editor who disagrees is free to remove it, although I think a discussion of "why" here would be beneficial. BMK (talk) 20:25, 27 October 2015 (UTC)
 * FYI: While examining the difference between the existing section and your suggested change, I noticed that you had left out the statement about his short attention span as a kid leading to becoming an art critics. Since that is sourced, and I believe is pertinent, I restored it while making your change. BMK (talk) 20:32, 27 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Q: Does "Arts/Law" mean a course called that, or "Arts and Law" or "Arts" and "Law" or something else? BMK (talk) 20:36, 27 October 2015 (UTC)
 * A: It means "Arts" and "Law". So "Arts and Law" is better. Penelope1114 (talk) 21:23, 27 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Re the attention span sentence, that was added after I proposed the changes you implemented. That is why I did not mention it. The source does do not indicate that the subject "suffered" from a short attention span, it states that he "had" one. Perhaps a more balanced wording for the sentence would be, "As a youth he had a short attention span and a low boredom threshold, traits he says led him to become an art critic." Instead of the current version which reads, "As a youth he suffered from a short attention span and a low boredom threshold, traits he says led him to become an art critic." BTW, thanks BMK. Penelope1114 (talk) 21:32, 27 October 2015 (UTC)
 * "Had" for "suffered" seems fine to me. BMK (talk) 21:38, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Proposed update to Career section
This proposed edit could be placed at the beginning of the current Career section.

Early Career
In 1992 at the age of 22, Genocchio wrote his first published piece for an exhibition catalog. In 1995, he began his first position as a contributing editor with Eyeline, an Australian contemporary visual arts magazine. From 1997-1998, he worked as art critic for BRW (Business Review Weekly) in Melbourne. On a freelance basis, Genocchio also wrote art reviews for the Bulletin and the Sydney Morning Herald. Genocchio’s first editor-in-chief position was with Postwest Arts magazine from 1998-2001. He also served as associate publisher for Art Asia Pacific Magazine from 2003-2004. Penelope1114 (talk) 00:55, 29 October 2015 (UTC)

There are some issues with the sources provided. For example source [1] and [2] do not refer to the subject of the article. I stopped there and did not check the other sources. Please note that we need secondary reliable sources that can be verified, otherwise we are engaging in original research. Basically, if something is notable for inclusion it will have significant coverage in reliable sources. -  Cwobeel   (talk)  21:25, 10 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Closing this, the OP hasn't responded for several months. The edit request can be reactivated if the above issues are addressed. Altamel (talk) 23:15, 30 March 2016 (UTC)

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