Controversy Surrounds Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame Book Release

Rumors of impropriety have swirled around Creating Keepsakes' annual Hall of Fame contest almost from its beginning 9 years ago. But with the release of Vol. 9 of the Hall of Fame annual, featuring the 2007 contest winners, the whispers have become a roar that Creating Keepsakes and the scrapbook industry can no longer pretend not to hear.

The 2007 contest rules explicitly stated that all photos in the entry had to have been taken by the entrant. But when the book hit newstands recently, at least one layout by winner Kristina Contes was accompanied by a photo credit to past Hall of Famer Nisa Fiin. Outraged entrants have besieged online message boards, including the one on CK's own site, asking why Contes was made a winner of the contest instead of disqualified.

Interestingly, an examination of the 2007 contest rules reveals that "Entries that do not follow the specified format, or that include more or less than 10 scrapbook layouts, will automatically be disqualified from the 2007 Scrapbook Hall of Fame contest..." The "format" reference appears to the way that the entry was to be compiled and presented for judging, not its actual content. Later, the rules state that "Entries, including photographs, must be the sole work of the entrant" and "The winner...will be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility, compliance with contest rules and release of liability."

Nowhere does it state in the published rules what the penalty is for failing to complete the assignments as instructed. The only specific penalty listed is disqualification for failing to assemble and submit your entry as instructed. Whether there are penalties specified in the affidavit of eligibility for violating contest rules (or signing an affidavit that says you are in compliance when you weren't) is unclear and would likely be a civil court matter.

Creating Keepsakes' response to this controversy was unorganized and inaccurate. First, CK web hostess Erin Lincoln attempted to clean up the mess by claiming the photo credit was an "editorial mistake". When it became clear that her explanation wasn't going to stem the rising tide of public opinion against the magazine, CK Editor-in-Chief Brian Tippetts stepped into the fray with an official statement on the Creating Keepsakes message board. His initial statement apologizing to Kristina Contes for mis-attributing her pictures on the "Family of 3"  layout to Nisa Fiin was misguided at best.

Later that same day (Wednesday October 10th) Tippetts was forced to issue another statement retracting the earlier one by acknowledging that not only were the pictures on the "Family of 3" layout taken by Fiin, but so were the photos on three other of Contes' layouts published in the Hall of Fame book. In his second statement, Tippetts basically placed the sole blame for the scandal on Contes by claiming that at the time of judging "we had no information that the stated photos were taken by someone other than the contestant." He goes on to stress that "Fairness in identifying the industry’s top talent has always been our top priority," but makes no mention of any CK plans to take action against Kristina Contes for the rules violation.

So now, after years of rumors about the contest, something concrete is out there. Should Kristina Contes be stripped of her Hall of Fame win? It certainly seems that she didn't follow the same rules as the other contestants. This brings to mind a similar debate in baseball - the Barry Bonds home run record. Barry's record-breaking ball is being sent to the Hall of Fame after a fan vote to put an asterisk on it. Whether or not she is stripped of her title officially, Kristina Contes as a Hall of Famer will always have an asterisk next to her too from those who follow the industry.

Will there be wider repercussions from this controversy for the scrapbooking industry? For one, I think the fall out from this may well spell the end of the Hall of Fame contest. I wouldn't be surprised if 2008 is the last one. Already because of the rules changes for that one, I know few people who are entering.

This controversy also may start a trend towards magazines requiring more exclusivity from their designers. Memory Makers cannot be happy about having the reputation of the author of one of their latest books dragged through the mud in a scandal that has to do with a competing publisher. To have more control over their designer's activities - and thus reputations - publishers may see this as a reason to start requiring their headline designers to sign non-compete agreements.

Could this affect the reputation and growth of the industry as a whole with consumers? Possibly. CK Media is a big player and Creating Keepsakes is their flagship. Through the magazine and their events, CK does a lot to promote the industry to consumers. If the reputations of people like Lisa Bearnson and the other CK "names" are affected, the loss of goodwill could affect their ability to work to expand the scrapbook market.

Only time will tell what the entire fallout will be. But this bell of scandal has been rung and can't be un-rung. Some things will definitely be different from now on. Good? Bad? We'll have to wait and see.