Fun Philosophical Quandaries
Two questions occur to me, after a morning spent in court for a story I'm writing: one, do you think it makes me a bad person if I get a sadistic little thrill at the wide-eyed "Oh, shit, it's her" look certain people get at the sight of little ol' me walking in with notebook in hand and press badge around my neck? And two, does it make me even worse if I compound such feelings by giving these people an enormously friendly wave and flashing a smile even wider than the one Farrah Fawcett made famous in the 70s? (That link leads to a slightly dishonest photo; the smile I surely wore today, but since it's winter in New England I wore a bulky sweater rather than a skimpy bathing suit. And there's no way I'd ever try wearing that shade of orange. Not to mention the appearance of my hair after a huge chunk of half-melted snow fell out of a tree and landed on my head as I walked into court this morning.)
I sincerely hope the answer to both questions is "no," because I'll likely continue such behaviors regardless.
Semi-pointless anecdote: last week I was talking with a guy from another paper, and he said "I went into journalism to tell the truth and to help people." And I said, "Huh. I went into journalism to annoy authority figures who piss me off. And the best way to do that, I've learned, is to tell the truth."
(Actually I went into it because I liked writing snarky stuff anyway, so figured I may as well get paid for it. The downside is, I am also often obligated to find and report actual news.)
I sincerely hope the answer to both questions is "no," because I'll likely continue such behaviors regardless.
Semi-pointless anecdote: last week I was talking with a guy from another paper, and he said "I went into journalism to tell the truth and to help people." And I said, "Huh. I went into journalism to annoy authority figures who piss me off. And the best way to do that, I've learned, is to tell the truth."
(Actually I went into it because I liked writing snarky stuff anyway, so figured I may as well get paid for it. The downside is, I am also often obligated to find and report actual news.)
posted by Jennifer Abel at 9:52 AM
15 Comments:
the smile I surely wore today, but since it's winter in New England I wore a bulky sweater rather than a skimpy bathing suit.
But you could oh so pull it off if the weather permitted. One can almost feel the electricity running..uh...wait a min, wrong thread, sorry.
No way could I wear an orange bathing suit with my complexion, Moose.
I can't wait until next week; once a certain story runs in the Advocate. I can tell you the full story behind today's blog post.
Heh heh heh heh heh.
I can tell you the full story behind today's blog post.
I had assumed, perhaps wrongly, that the "kill your pet" dude was the subject.
Mmmmmmmmmaybe. Next week is story number four the paper's run the matter, my two stories and the column my boss wrote last week about some philosophical questions the issue inspired.
Last week was only the battery story and the interview. And this week there's nothing but a piece about how they WON'T redistrict the local elementary schools. (There was going to be another piece that was a bit more fun, but that got held for next week.)
the column my boss wrote last week about some philosophical questions the issue inspired.
Must have missed that in the punbath. Can you post a link to an archive version?
I just read your story in the Advocate about the elementary school re-districting. Coincidentally I once attended a Braeburn Elementary school, but it was here in Texas. I had no idea the name was anything but local. Interesting.
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Must have missed that in the punbath. Can you post a link to an archive version?
I managed to read that article, loyal reader that I am. Try to keep up, Moose.
I was going to post the address of last week's Boss column here, Moose, but the address is so long it would throw off the margin of the thread. But if you type "Weisenberg" into the Advocate's search engine, the column will be the first thing that comes up. It's called "The Bambi Affair."
Not that long, it's here. Interesting. They realized your worth and given you a healthy raise yet?
And...is editor a vegan? Just curious.
The answers to the last three questions, in order, are "dunno" (re worth realization), "no" (re raise) and "doubt it" (re vegan).
Then, in order also, shame on them, shame on them again but doubly so, and just curious.
For the record, "Oh, shit, it's her" is often my reaction when she returns home from a day of pissing off authority figures.
For the record, "Oh, shit, it's her" is often my reaction when she returns home from a day of pissing off authority figures.
I could see that reaction ;)
So, is it Reason H&R or Hartford Advocate?
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