Have you ever run into a subject over and over again that it gets old?
The subject at hand could be everything from a joke or mantra to a viral commercial or fad.
I mean, I’m sure everyone does at some point, but what do you do if it’s a long-running joke you’ve endured for over a decade?
Beyond that, can you actively tell the difference between the joke and someone’s honest query?
A common tease or taunt that I’ve heard off and on over the years has been directed at my job.
I’ve been often asked and -sometimes told - to cover meetings or events in a certain way to paint the experience in a particular light for our readers.
Let’s not sugarcoat it – those persons are asking me to violate my integrity for the sake of their image!
It readily appears that they don’t care about my image or the image of this newspaper and instead are selfishly caring only for themselves.
I hate to tell you dear reader that that is not the way we operate here – let alone any other journalistic company that values truth and ethics.
Nine times out of 10 the folks pushing harder for a skewed view are usually the guilty party – or at the least willfully ignorant.
Not to mention, I can tell who is saying such a phrase in a lightly joking manner versus who might be asking genuinely or in a snide and condescending way.
After all, I’ve been in the jour-
nalism business since 2008 and while it isn’t quite as long as Mike’s 50-plus years of experience – I think it should count for something!
I’m honestly tired of being told how I “should” do my job by folks who claim to not use social media or know the difference between “their, they’re, and there.”
In the past, I sort of brushed these things off and just stuck with a Mona Lisa smile or shrug.
I’ve also reminded those folks that my job is to write the facts and if they don’t want something to end up in print then they need to be aware of their own behaviors.
Lately, these jokes are frequently becoming hamfisted attempts to make light of their failings and to persuade us to go “easy” on them without an ounce of humor attached to them.
But, now I’m adding a new response to my repertoire!
If you want me to write something a particular way to paint you or your group in a specific light then you’re going to have to pony up.
Because a request like that is essentially a press release or media consultation and outside my usual scope of newspaper work – therefore I should be paid for it since it is a separate task altogether.
The great thing about them buying the press release from me is that they own it and can share it with other media outlets on their own time.
The same can be said of photography services and I’ve freelanced those out to various entities and organizations for years, too!
After all, if you see the value in my skills for our paper then you recognize that I can put them to work for you – and I should be paid for my work.
As the late Heath Ledger said as The Joker in 2008’s “The Dark Knight” movie: “If you are good at something, never do it for free.”
