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: the CBC lockout, the PR flack and me
A few years ago, I decided that I wanted a career that wasn't routine, that didn't make me envision an unending stretch of days of doing the same thing. I've come to realize that this means giving up a few things like regular pay checks, paid vacations, health coverage, and so on. (Then again the whole idea of a job that you can count on for the long run seems to be on the way out.)
For instance, on Saturday I got a call from an editor at The Tyee, to do a piece on how locked out CBC employees are putting together their own radio network via podcasting.
No problem. I hadn't done anything for the Tyee in a while.
They wanted it on Monday morning.
Ah, I said articulately. I agreed anyway. Journalism means rising to the challenge, and this would probably be only 600 to 800 words, which through experience I've learned to do pretty easily. Maybe it was a lingering guilt over getting some minor names wrong in the Granville Book Company (which generated good readership response anyway.)
That meant a Saturday and Sunday of tracking down various Canadian Media Guild people in the middle of their hikes or with screaming twin boys on their laps, for phone interviews. That was hard enough, but try getting any kind of response from CBC management on a Sunday. I got through to some security guard at the Vancouver branch, but I'm pretty sure he was so tired of being called a scab that he just wanted to get rid of me.
Monday morning, I got up early to hammer out a final draft and make a last ditch effort at calling somebody at the CBC.
It's turned out quite well, despite an low information content conversation with a Toronto CBC spokesperson (he stayed on message, I'll give him that). Communications like that is why I much prefer talking to artists or regular people or anybody who doesn't use public relations newspeak. Most of the workers I contacted to were glad to talk. That's my hope for the future, that new kinds of organizations will not have a layer of personal assistants and PR flacks insulating the decision-makers them from the world.
The article on CBC Unplugged from Studio Zero in Vancouver is up, and I think it turned out pretty well. Some of my best work is done under pressure, when I don't have time to agonize over things. It has even generated a Technorati hit or two. The podcast will go up Tuesday morning.
Monday, I found myself unexpectedly free from by temping job downtown, and hung out for a while on the CBC picket line, actually meeting the people who I had talked to on the phone yesterday. I actually overheard somebody talking about "the article on the Tyee", and introduced myself. I also got to see Ian Hanomansing playing street hockey.
On top of all that, I got a check for $1000 today for my two Vancouver Courier pieces. I also have tenative plans for a trip to Montreal, to visit Vijay, and then on to my favorite city in the world, NYC. So, things look pretty good right now.
Tags: cbcunplugged, journalism, work
A few years ago, I decided that I wanted a career that wasn't routine, that didn't make me envision an unending stretch of days of doing the same thing. I've come to realize that this means giving up a few things like regular pay checks, paid vacations, health coverage, and so on. (Then again the whole idea of a job that you can count on for the long run seems to be on the way out.)
For instance, on Saturday I got a call from an editor at The Tyee, to do a piece on how locked out CBC employees are putting together their own radio network via podcasting.
No problem. I hadn't done anything for the Tyee in a while.
They wanted it on Monday morning.
Ah, I said articulately. I agreed anyway. Journalism means rising to the challenge, and this would probably be only 600 to 800 words, which through experience I've learned to do pretty easily. Maybe it was a lingering guilt over getting some minor names wrong in the Granville Book Company (which generated good readership response anyway.)
That meant a Saturday and Sunday of tracking down various Canadian Media Guild people in the middle of their hikes or with screaming twin boys on their laps, for phone interviews. That was hard enough, but try getting any kind of response from CBC management on a Sunday. I got through to some security guard at the Vancouver branch, but I'm pretty sure he was so tired of being called a scab that he just wanted to get rid of me.
Monday morning, I got up early to hammer out a final draft and make a last ditch effort at calling somebody at the CBC.
It's turned out quite well, despite an low information content conversation with a Toronto CBC spokesperson (he stayed on message, I'll give him that). Communications like that is why I much prefer talking to artists or regular people or anybody who doesn't use public relations newspeak. Most of the workers I contacted to were glad to talk. That's my hope for the future, that new kinds of organizations will not have a layer of personal assistants and PR flacks insulating the decision-makers them from the world.
The article on CBC Unplugged from Studio Zero in Vancouver is up, and I think it turned out pretty well. Some of my best work is done under pressure, when I don't have time to agonize over things. It has even generated a Technorati hit or two. The podcast will go up Tuesday morning.
Monday, I found myself unexpectedly free from by temping job downtown, and hung out for a while on the CBC picket line, actually meeting the people who I had talked to on the phone yesterday. I actually overheard somebody talking about "the article on the Tyee", and introduced myself. I also got to see Ian Hanomansing playing street hockey.
On top of all that, I got a check for $1000 today for my two Vancouver Courier pieces. I also have tenative plans for a trip to Montreal, to visit Vijay, and then on to my favorite city in the world, NYC. So, things look pretty good right now.
Current Mood: 
satisfied
satisfied