X-Tra News4 You July 17, 2006
The Editor and the Host enter the Coffee Cup only to get verbally bashed by Margarita, waitress who wondered why no news appeared in this week’s publication.
“Where is the news,” Margarita said. “This reads like your competition’s advertising rag. I mean, a vacation story?”
Whoa! Give the Editor a break, the Host said. I mean, you went on vacation last year, and I didn’t whine that you were not here to take my order.
Look, he took a much needed vacation last week to Wyoming and took his kids backpacking, the Host told Margarita.
“Oh, I guess,” Margarita said. “Well, I suppose everyone needs a vacation once in a while.”
Well, I hadn’t really taken a week off for my own personal pleasure for years. I took a week to retrieve my kid Brilliant from Oregon. But when I traveled to Oregon to get them from their summer vacation that was four years ago. And another week off when my mother died, but that’s not what I call an enjoyable vacation.
I was working for another newspaper, and the management of that publication said “no deal.” I fixed that situation quite quickly. I called the manager of the local convenient store and asked for a job. The next day I quit my job, and as life turned out, I traveled to Oregon anyway.
Now here I am four years later taking a personal vacation.
And old retired editor named Bob sat at the table listening to the conversation. “In the days I worked in the newspaper business, we never took days off or a vacation,” Bob said. “And when we were through with reporters, we threw their bones out onto the street. Reporters don’t deserved to have a day off. I mean, they were lucky if someone actually paid them for their work. We thought writers Didn’t deserve to be paid. After all, they don’t do anything productive in life.”
Thank goodness, we have rid newspapers from the likes of you, the Editor said. I have no interest in working for free.
“What? You mean you wouldn’t do the work for the love of writing stories and taking pictures? You should work for free,” Bob said.
Look dude, the Editor said. I will take a vacation at my liking. You came through a time when people could curse at their employees, fire them for any reason, including a mean reason. Times have changed.
“So you finally have taken a vacation. Now next week we expect to see some real news printed in your little publication. Let’s see some real coverage of events this year,” Bob said.
Sure the Editor said. We will do just like the competition, and we will print pages of meaningless words submitted as press releases nad just fill the pages with the propaganda sent to us by various organizations wanting to promote their causes or government workers wanting to preserve their jobs.
“Now, give your competition a break,” Margarita said. “You are not accusing the competition of just filling the pages with meaningless words.”
Not at all, the Editor said. Every organization must find out how to achieve maximum profits. So in line with profits, they focus on efficiency, and the least costly ways to complete their tasks. The greatest benefit is selling advertisements. Printing and gathering news represents a cost that some publication will not pursue, and press releases provide a low-cost method of filling the papers..