Bristol editor gives one-fingered salute to Washington Post

Something tells me that the Post doesn't give a crap about what some smaller paper thinks.

 

Oh, when a reporter makes mistakes in article or misrepresents the truth, I bet they do.

 

You haven't dealt with the Post, Times et al. There is no chance, whether it be off or fat or slim. Once those papers decide a person is unworthy of them, no amount of future success changes that opinion. To the contrary, the snobs get even more defensive in standing their ground.

 

I think the column lends voice to the frustration some of us feel that despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to advance ourselves past a certain level in the business.

You go to a good journalism school, you work hard, you do internships, you work relentlessly without regard for the clock or for living the rest of your life, but no matter how many spots you interview for, you don't get that break early in your career. And then you see numerous 20-somethings at big papers, really no better or more experienced than you, and you and wonder how they got there at that young age. What did they do that you didn't? What big story did they break that set them apart? Or was it not that clear cut? Were they just in the right place at the right time? Did they just make the right connections that you didn't make?

Is that whining? Sure. I'll cop to it. I'm a whiner. But I suspect there are probably a lot of us on this board who have had those same feelings.

 

He did.

Not exactly Bristol Community College A&M, is it?

That being said, so as not go come off like a rank hypocrite, I don't think that going to a school like that marks you as some silver spoon fortunate son.

However, don't drop Princeton as an insult when your reporter in question went to the freaking University of Chicago!

 

That's not true. The NYT gave me a shot in my 20s, 30s and 40s. Of course, the answer ultimately was the same each time, but they wouldn't have wasted time and money on me if the outcome was predetermined.

 

Or if you're a guy who applied to Princeton, thought you blew the interview and were destined for the University of Illinois, then got into Princeton anyway.

 

The column read like vintage Todd Foster to me. I'm sure regular readers in Bristol have gotten used to his style and voice and wouldn't have found this to be out of line.

Anyway, I liked it. I'm sure his overall points could've been made in a different tone, but then it might not have sounded like Todd.

His points about the Post's sloppiness on this particular story fit with my experiences working at community newspapers in Maryland and Virginia where Posties would occasionally drop by to write about something. I think that's a frustration many of us have felt and he captured that well.

 

I liked it. And yes, moving up in this business is indeed sometimes a result of A) right place, right time and B) who you know.

I'm not drinking these days, but I can tell you this: I got at least one job and probably two because of who I drank with back in the "old days."

But this column? I agree with whoever said it went up to the line but didn't really cross it.

 

I liked it too. I hate the big smug guys and love it when their lazy work is exposed.

Congrats Bristol.

 

There's probably a difference between what you're saying and what I'm saying. It sounds like you were a candidate, and while they ultimately went with someone else, they liked what they saw and heard in you. In other words, if they had two job openings instead of one, they would have been happy to bring you aboard. The Bristol editors and many others fall into a different category: An editor determined he wasn't worth hiring even if 50 openings existed. I've never heard of anyone getting another chance after landing in that stack.

 

I, like about half of you, thought this was a great story. Inspiring, really.

I'm sure this is a cheesy, old saying, but a cheesy, old motivational speaker told me a few years back, "If you save your best work for the New York Times, you'll never get there." I was in a real rough patch in my early career, and I took that advice to heart and it changed my outlook on my job. That was probably three years ago now, and I'm in a 500 percent better situation having since found a very decent gig at what I think is a very good paper in a town I like and again can take pride in what I do.

Likewise, I took some similar inspiration from this and bookmarked it for future re-readings.