A few comments about PR and politics have been made by others in the paranormal community.

I want to make my personal position clear.

PR AND TOURISM

I believe that any community’s PR and tourism policies should be chosen by the people who live and work in that community.

If I don’t live there, I don’t pretend to understand the nuances of their PR.

(Although some people associate me with Salem [MA] and Portsmouth [NH]  — plus a few towns in the U.K. — I don’t live there.  By choice, I live in a town so small, we don’t have a post office.  My town’s most animated discussions are about the new sign at the bakery/sandwich shop/gas station. )

POLITICS

No matter what the field — or even the playground — a few people seem to enjoy a sense of competition.

There are plenty of  ‘haunted’ sites and ghost enthusiasts to share them with.  I don’t subscribe to scarcity thinking.  I don’t choose sides when competitively-minded people attempt to grab the spotlight at the expense of others.

As a professional, gossip and politics can’t be part of my work.  In general, I think they reduce our credibility in a field that is already controversial.

Admittedly, there are people who enjoy gossip, controversy and bickering.  There’s clearly an audience for that, or tabloids wouldn’t be in business.  I avoid that approach to marketing, but that’s a personal choice.

My focus is on my work and discoveries in this field.

Ask me to gossip about a fellow professional or discuss industry politics, and I’m likely to deflect the question.  I’m truly not interested.

Instead, ask me about recent breakthroughs in paranormal studies, and I’ll talk for hours.

This isn’t a huge issue, but it’s a topic that has been brewing lately.  I want to make my position very clear:  My focus is on my research and my writing. When I’m among fellow professionals, we discuss our work, not each other, and that’s exactly as it should be.