My worst day yet as a journalist

Missing deadline should be your lede, EStreet.

 

Wrote a story about a college kid who died during a pickup basketball game in the rec. That wasn't one of my best days.

 

To the OP:

1. People are going to bitch and complain. Kindly explain why the missing kid's pic wasn't in (Either he or the school probably boned you, it's not your fault) and tell the JV parent that "Since we don't cover JV in the fall, it wouldn't make sense to preview them in the paper." When they say you should cover JV, let them know you "have a limited staff and are forced to focus on varsity athletics."
2. When you’re going to a game, it doesn’t matter how early you think you are, NEVER wait in a drive-through line. If you’re hungry, go into the ‘restaurant’ or go through the drive-through, but only if you know it’s going to be fast and smooth. If you’re in a line for more than ten minutes, and it’s going to affect your ability to get to the game on time/with enough time to find rosters/without being angry, either go somewhere else for food or don’t eat.
3. Why wouldn’t they recognize your credential? Was it a state interscholastic league one? Or was it a picture of you and the words Media? If so, you need to get the right one. Chances are, though, that you’re going to run into this at some point. When you do, offer to pay IF and ONLY IF they give you a receipt … on official school letterhead so that your boss will reimburse you.
4. That brings up my next point… always carry cash. Pay for the program the same way you paid to get in above. If you’re not going to get reimbursed, than bitch and complain until they give in. If they don’t, ask to see the roster and copy it down by hand. I know it sucks, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.
5. You say you had to call the SID over to help with the wireless password and make it sound like it was a burden to him. It’s his job. Don’t feel bad. He’s clearly getting paid to be incompetent if everything’s going this way for you.
6. You’ve got to make sure you get enough time in the PB to get your story done. During halftime, make sure you ask someone when they’re going to close the PB/wireless if you’re planning on writing from there. Like others said, you should have gone to McDonalds or Starbucks … if that was an option.
7. You should buy a car charger for your cell phone.
8. Why couldn’t you have just given your coworker your personal email’s password and changed it later?

So, in conclusion, you’re day did in fact suck. It seems like you handled everything pretty decently though so there’s always that. Good luck the rest of the season. Just remember Murphy’s Law.

 

Oh, and to all of you guys bitching about how his day wasn't bad ... lighten the F up.

Just because he wasn't fired or didn't catch his wife blowing the help doesn't mean he should be happy.

We get it. A lot of people in this industry are in worse shape than those of us who have jobs. But that doesn't mean we should be content with just having employment.

Sometimes people need to vent.

If I come on this site and say how I hated the movie "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist", coming back and saying I should be happy simply because other people in the world are blind and couldn't even see it if they wanted to doesn't help anyone.

The man came here to vent and to share a story. Just because it doesn't meet your anguish quota doesn't mean it's not a valid reason to be upset.

End of rant.

 

schiz,

It sounds like bat had a sucky day. But it's a sucky day that is pretty common in covering prep football.

My point is that you can blame everyone for all your woes or work to anticipate and eliminate them.

Then you get fresh, fun woes out of left field.

 

Could be worse. You could be like me and start officiating JV football games.

At least now it's my second job instead of my lone source of income...

 

What's the matter with you? Are you blind?

He's offsides, dammit, ref!

 

So is what the parents say true? Do the JV kids try just as hard? ;D

 

True, but all I'm saying is that he should be given a chance to vent.

Sure, we can all make fun of him for not carrying cash but this notion that it's impossible to have a bad day in this industry if you still have a job is ridiculous. Besides, I'll bet you next time he doesn't wait the half hour in Jack in the Box and/or have the wireless shut down on him without knowing it was going to happen first.

 

i still want to know about this mysterious creature you call an sid at a high school.

 

You're right.

Nothing wrong with venting because everyone does it -- I'm a master of it--but on a scale of 1 (best day ever) to 10 (worst day ever), in the overall scheme of things FB's day rates about a 4 or 5

He had a bad day but other than the rain, the other stuff was either an inconvenience that he could have solved on the spot (pay for the roster sheet) or a lesson to be learned (make sure your cell phone is charged and carry cash)



.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that better planning and preparation before he ever left the office would have solved half of his problems right from the start, including making a copy of the rosters ahead of time so you don't have to worry about buying a program, and better time management would have solved some of the others. And maybe it's different in other states, but the modus operandi around here is to go early enough (45 minutes to an hour before kickoff) and meet with the home coach, with whom you should already have a relationship, about filing from his office. They're almost always going to stay late, so you don't have to worry about anyone locking up the press box. Fact is, I rarely venture into a press box at a high school game unless it's raining. Get there early enough to test your filing situation, leave your laptop in the coach's office and walk the sidelines. That way you're closer to the action and can still grab a quick quote or two even if you're up against a pressing deadline.