|
Post by Aunt Arlene on Mar 23, 2006 21:34:00 GMT -5
Later, Nick.
|
|
|
Post by tjaman on Mar 23, 2006 21:38:00 GMT -5
Oh, I just remembered that part of the convo. Well done, Auntie!
And huge damn' lighter for Phoe. That song gives me chills. They played it in this week's "Criminal Minds." In-freeqin'-tense.
I just had to do something I really hate to do -- discipline an employee.
One of my writers showed a story we're running in tomorrow's paper to his girlfriend and she had the cajones to call me at home and object to some of the phrasing in it. Not because it was in any way wrong, mind you, but the way it was going in the paper implied that the Campus Crusade for Christ students -- who spent spring break in New Orleans helping with cleanup efforts, and the one evening they took to relax and enjoy themselves was going in as "partying."
She called me at 7-freeqin-30 with this objection the night before the story runs.
I suggested to her that I was going to fire her boyfriend, slammed down the phone and trucked over to the News office. I excised the deeply offensive word and burned a second negative (so yes, this cost us money -- not, y'know, as much as if they'd burned the plate already, but some) and then I went over and talked to her boyfriend.
I'm not firing him. I'm damn glad to have him although he's terribly new and needs a lot more editing than some others. And I told him that I said that to her so that her heart rate could match mine for a few moments. But also, that once he's done writing a story, unless there are significant changes (in which case I'll run them by him), the source of the information is no longer part of the process, and certainly his girlfriend, the cousin of one of the sources -- is never part of the process. Otherwise we'd have sources second-guessing our wordsmithing well past deadline -- hey! Kinda like what happened in this case.
So, now he knows. Source -> Reporter -> Editor.
Ruined my whole damn' night.
* sip * So ... how's everyone else doing?
|
|
|
Post by Aunt Arlene on Mar 23, 2006 21:42:14 GMT -5
I had a long ass day, but it sounds better than yours, tj.
|
|
|
Post by TheMasterGeek on Mar 23, 2006 21:46:06 GMT -5
Wow...that's a reason that I never want to be an editor. It's to stressful. The new writer was just inexperienced, and he will never do that again. I hope.
|
|
|
Post by tjaman on Mar 23, 2006 21:57:02 GMT -5
Not after that conversation.
Y'know, it's a real grey area, and some people work in absolutes: After you do the interview, you take your notes and you write the story. You only consult the source again for missing details you discover in the writing process. And some people read the entire thing back to the source when they're done.
My take on that is I'd discourage the latter -- we're a business. We're not their personal freeqin' public relations office (and if we are, where's my check?). And I tend to have a lot of trust in my writers -- they've checked through everything and I'm just making sure it's in English.
But some people ... need more editing than others, which is in fact why I have a job at all. Otherwise the paper would be a big chalkboard downtown and absolutely anyone who thinks they have something to say would scrawl it up there.
That's what this place is for.
|
|
|
Post by TheMasterGeek on Mar 23, 2006 21:58:50 GMT -5
Not after that conversation.
Y'know, it's a real grey area, and some people work in absolutes: After you do the interview, you take your notes and you write the story. You only consult the source again for missing details you discover in the writing process. And some people read the entire thing back to the source when they're done.
My take on that is I'd discourage the latter -- we're a business. We're not their personal freeqin' public relations office (and if we are, where's my check?). And I tend to have a lot of trust in my writers -- they've checked through everything and I'm just making sure it's in English.
But some people ... need more editing than others, which is in fact why I have a job at all. Otherwise the paper would be a big chalkboard downtown and absolutely anyone who thinks they have something to say would scrawl it up there.
That's what this place is for.
And the Opinion page too.
|
|
|
Post by tjaman on Mar 23, 2006 21:59:55 GMT -5
Oh, there's some gatekeeping on that too. Believe me.
Just ... I don't have to do it.
|
|
|
Post by TheMasterGeek on Mar 23, 2006 22:06:11 GMT -5
Oh, there's some gatekeeping on that too. Believe me.
Just ... I don't have to do it.
I can only imagine the editing that is involved on that page.
|
|
|
Post by quantumcat on Mar 23, 2006 22:10:45 GMT -5
I can see her point but she should have had a little tact and consideration. If she had shown concern (rather than anger) ,you might assume she'd prefer to prevent a misleading choice of words from going in to launching a protest in a letter to the editor after the damage was done. Going ballistic on you at the eleventh hour was inappropriate all the way around and only achieved her objective because you're a decent,professional person. I'd have had far more sympathy with her position if the writer himself had come to you early on and said: "A friend I trust pointed out to me how this part of the story could be misconstrued. I don't know why I didn't catch that before but I'd like to alter that sentence before it goes any further." THEN,if you'd blown them off and people had gotten up in arms over the word 'partying', she could have done an "I told you so" and you could debate with yourself whether it should have been printed in its original form or not. It's just not a good precedent to let the public determine the dissemination of the news beforehand. If you can't trust your editor to make the right calls,then you're working for the wrong people. He should just be glad you're the forgiving type when it comes to being able to trust your reporters. (sets out some cedar,citrus,clary sage ,bergamot and j____e to soothe tj's frazzled spirit.) You try to reward some young people for being unselfish and you get your head chewed off for it... Poor darlin'....
|
|
|
Post by quantumcat on Mar 23, 2006 22:17:23 GMT -5
You're so right,tj.
There's a reason we get our news written on paper or online rather than an Etch- a -Sketch in the town square.
I think some people would prefer it if a little shake-up would make everything they didn't like disappear.
|
|
|
Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 23, 2006 22:25:48 GMT -5
*yawn*
That was one boring meeting. Thank goodness there was this girl who's kinda cute and ....
Never mind. TMI.
Although I get why the girl is upset, I don't get why TJ is the one to get the brunt of the attack. Didn't her boyfriend write the piece in the first place?
Eh.
My sympathies.
|
|
|
Post by Aunt Arlene on Mar 23, 2006 22:27:22 GMT -5
I love how we just befuddle n00bs into leaving at the 'Fraud. ;D
|
|
|
Post by GreatMuppetyNick on Mar 23, 2006 22:29:33 GMT -5
Hehe.
I want to join in, but the only thing I can think of that rhymes starts with a 'c'.
|
|
|
Post by TheMasterGeek on Mar 23, 2006 22:30:16 GMT -5
I love how we just befuddle n00bs into leaving at the 'Fraud. ;D
Can you provide a link, to show a test case.Oh, nevermind.
|
|
|
Post by tjaman on Mar 23, 2006 22:33:53 GMT -5
In all reality, it wouldn't have been as big a deal if it was any other group.
In all fairness, she was expressing a rational concern. In this day and age, conservative children aren't allowed a moment's unsupervised enjoyment.
But even if they were later to be seen -- not by any of their church members, of course[/i] -- prancing about nekkid in a "Girls Gone Wild" video, we'd have a conference about the complete meaning of the words "relaxing and enjoying the New Orleans experience" vs. "partying." It's a demn' shame, too, because the rest of the story is heartwrenching, and you really feel for these kids who spent their vacation helping people in need. They were clearly dedicated. It's too bad the word "partying" -- "We don't 'party'!" -- is so narrowly defined these days. I do not begrudge these kids a night of relaxing and enjoying themselves. Honestly. But I was so upset about this that on my way to work I toyed with the idea of pulling the story altogether.[/color]
|
|