How frequently do people ask you if a columnist is your editor?

A publicist I had dealt with on a story a few days earlier called to pitch a story to me. I was polite, thanked her for the suggestion and said, "I'll have to talk with my editor about this."

The publicist then said, "Is (name of columnist, who she deals with frequently) your editor?"

"No," I said. "(Name of editor) is my editor."

(This is all a cityside situation.)

My question is this -- as was posted on the subject line -- how frequently do people ask you if a columnist is your editor?

 

Can't say I've ever had that happen to me.

 

I always get asked what stories I write, even tho I always say I copy edit.

 

I've never had that happen to me. But I do notice that most everyone I speak with regarding a story idea is generally put off by my "I'll have to talk with my editor" response. It's almost as if they assume just because I'll write the story, it's my call as to whether it sees the ink.

Of course, I also use that line when I want to get off the phone or get back to my car. So that might be it, too.

 

I've been at papers small enough where the columnist WAS the editor.

 

Was a copy editor, then a night news editor before getting out of the biz. Never wrote a story. My mother-in-law, thinking it was a huge crack to my self-esteem, would always ask me when I was finally going to be able to write a story.

Ha. Ha.

 

When I have been a reporter as well as when I have been an editor, civilians often ask, "What column do you write?"

 

No offense to all the fine deskers here -- folks who have saved me countless times from silly errors and dumb mistakes -- but I had a buddy who loved to introduce himself as "An editor at --------" and was quite happy to leave the citizen with the impression that he was a high-ranking, decision-making honcho.

Because of that, whenever I could beat him to the punch and introduce him, I'd refer to him as a "copy handler." Only because I knew it short-circuited his little game.

I know writers who are glad to let people think that all whose copy appears in the paper are "columnists." And I've also known a couple of knuckleheads who, when referred to as a "writer from the ----------" would interrupt the person and say, "Columnist!"

Gimme a break. Let's get over ourselves.

 

And many of them do.

My somewhat (somewhat!) related story: I once watched a TNT basketball game with a non-journalist, not-very-educated friend. After Craig Sager did his halftime interview, the friend started peppering me with questions about Sager's "reporting" job in a way that made it obvious he thought my job, as a newspaper sports reporter, was more or less the same.

 

To wear bad suits and pander?

We don't wear bad suits...just bad golf shirts ;-)

 

People who call a column "an editorial" -- and they are legion -- are likely to think a columnist is an editor.

 

*Sigh*

A couple years back, I was back home for a rare visit. A guy who worked for my dad at the time stopped by and after my dad introduced me, I excused myself to go help my mom with something.

As I walked away, I heard my dad tell his employee I was the sports editor at Nearby Larger Town Daily.

Problem was, I was sports editor at Small Town Weekly. And had been for years.

Weird thing, now that I'm at the paper I'm at now, there are people who think I really did move to the Nearby Larger Town Daily.