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Player's mother e-mails in pictures/What I wish I could do

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Mr. X, May 15, 2008.

  1. Mr. X

    Mr. X Active Member

    Part of the problem here is that I hear from this woman far too much. I breathed a sigh of relief when her daughter graduated, not knowing she had a son who was an incoming freshman the following school year.
     
  2. Maybe, maybe not. But if you tell her what you're looking for she can try. And even if she can't take a great action shot, she can probably take a good celebration shot. Most 'normal people' can. Just tell her to keep it down to two or three people in a photo, and that it needs to be close.

    That way, if she keeps sending you team photos you have a good reason to not run them.

    You could have already taken care of this in the time it took you to come on here making excuses.
     
  3. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Personally, I like to make friends with high-powered lawyers.

    Keeps me out of jail.
     
  4. They usually have good taste in liquor, too.
     
  5. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    36K daily here.

    I've got at least two player moms who have bailed me out of serious freaking trouble with their wacky e-mail photos in the last couple of years.

    One, with celebration art from a North Half softball championship, another with a season's worth of cross-country art that was better, honestly, than anything we had shot.
     
  6. beardpuller

    beardpuller Active Member

    I'm with Write-Brained. Maybe to stay in business, we need to find ways to, say, post this woman's pictures on the web site. It's not what any of us really signed up to do, but, hey, if it keeps us going ...
     
  7. Man, oh, man. The paper I contribute to these days LOVES pictures of the type you're irritated by. I know how you feel, but there really are places so small that they crave mommy shots.
     
  8. Rumpleforeskin

    Rumpleforeskin Active Member

    You would be onto something if she sent them via cell phone.
     
  9. Barsuk

    Barsuk Active Member

    Yup. We have a place to post them on our Web site, and we run reader-submitted photos a couple times a week in our main sheet. It's a nice outlet to have.

    Mr. X, ignore this woman at your own peril. You never know when you might need a parent as a source for a coaching scandal story or something, and you will have burned a potentially valuable bridge, simply because you were too annoyed to send off a cursory e-mail saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."
     
  10. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    Mr. X: Posts subsequent to your first indicate there might be some history with her being a chronic pain in the ass, but at first, it was you who lacked professionalism and had a really crappy attitude.

    I understand you can't/won't run the picture. We have to make those kinds of decisions all the time.

    But to get pissed at her for trying, say you're not even going to acknowledge her effort and explain why you can't run it -- "a public service" is still one of the things newspapers can hang on to.
     
  11. ink-stained wretch

    ink-stained wretch Active Member

    Write-brain — got it in one.

    Mr. X — eyeless in gaza or is it clueless in small town?
     
  12. OnTheRiver

    OnTheRiver Active Member

    We've got one of those sections on our Web site where people can upload photos of teams with captions. I think it's great -- gives them an outlet to show off, doesn't require work from us, and they come to our place to do it.
     
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