Ima cut you, bitch

[veronica_rich]

I really need an icon that has the Incoherent Capslock of Rage with appropriate visuals, but this will have to suffice for now.

I am a reporter. I ask questions. Sometimes, I ask stupid questions - or rather, questions that would sound stupid to you if you are an expert on the topic and I am not. Sometimes I ask the same thing more than once if I don't understand what's going on. I don't always sound altogether bright ... and unless you are an expert in all new things you encounter in the course of your job each day, you might not, either. However, when I sit down to write it, when it comes out the other end, I SOUND as if I know what I'm talking about - because if I don't, I don't write it. This is what my brain has to twist through to accomplish its weekly tasks.

In other words, there are many days in my job where I feel like I am a little kid learning new math or reading concepts all over again.

So, I am not impressed when I encounter a "communications" person with a large company who has obviously never worked as a reporter and has no patience with explaining things to other people (I mean, come on - who asks a reporter "why do you want to know that?" DUH). I am not amused when I am told "the press release I sent you was very clear" - well, if it were, I wouldn't be calling you, now would I? Maybe it IS clear to a monkey. Maybe I am not as smart as a monkey - but that is NOT your job to imply or say to me, not when I am politely asking you questions and admitting my ignorance upfront and expressing a willingness to learn about the very thing I am asking you. And DEFINITELY not when I know you're making an assload more in salary than I am, doing the same thing day in and day out and already an expert on it with no need to learn much more, when I am busting my ASS learning entirely new and foreign concepts every single goddamned week to explain to 110,000 other people.

Did I mention this has to do with finances and they stock market? That might be KIND of important to understand the niggling details before writing about it, DO YOU THINK?

Comments

[komandant-krech.livejournal.com]

I wish there were more reporters like you ;)

I don't know what's going on, but suddenly the field of research I work in is all hip and pop and I have to answer emails from reporters from this-and-that papers. I don't mind it at all (unless I'm on vacation and it would actually be my boss's job to answer those questions, lol), but what I mind is when the reporter in question does NOT ask enough questions -- not so nice to explain to some big, international companies why I just told, in some media snippet available to all public, that we get financing and work for their worst competitor. LOL!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I usually end up asking too many questions and then my articles are overly long and detailed for the space allotted. But I figure it's worked for 14 years, so I'll not stop now.

[a-silver-rose.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the interviewee was being a tad defensive, if not outright paranoid.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

And there was no reason - all I wanted to know was how their new market policy worked for trade of certain commodities. It was neither positive nor negative. She just had no bedside manner.

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

I still say we need to write the (slightly more intelligent?) reporter version of "The Nanny Diaries."

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Not such a bad idea after all. It just needs a structure and a plot ...

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I think we could pull it off, though.

[justawench.livejournal.com]

There, there, let it out. Probably, the guy is mostly an idiot but he knows one thing and is really smug about it and likes to lord it over people.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

It's a she and she was a real bitch about it. When all I was guilty of was ignorance - which I admitted at the outset! There was nothing to "lord over," I wouldn't think - that's more fun with someone who does think they know everything, isn't it?

[curiouslyfic.livejournal.com]

I have insane love for this post, not just for how new/awful the PR flak sounds, but for the OMG familiarity of interviews that involve "stupid" questions and unnecessary repetition and incoherent capslock of rage.

I'm assuming, given the subject, you asked simplifying, clarifying, and/or confirming questions, yes? Nothing stupid or pointless about those. At all. I kind of pity the PR rep who can't tell the difference, because my God, is she in the wrong job. Would she rather you get it wrong? *headshake*

Doesn't matter what she thinks of you, anyway. Only matters what the readership understands in what made the page.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

When I was in school, I had a small handful of teachers (thank god!) who were absolutely horrible or at least bad at what they did, and were clearly miserable doing it. It wasn't until I was older that I figured they must have believed in that old adage "those who can't, teach." I'm guessing this woman wanted to do something else and couldn't get a job, so she took this one as a consolation. (Which, I'm sort of insulted that a LOT of communications jobs are viewed this way, but they kind of are - very low on the totem pole and not very "important" in a company. BLEGH.)