Chris Jones on "Animals," his Zanesville Zoo massacre story

Free? That Jones is a helluva guy, huh? I know you're not buying HC!

 

Oh, you don't know me at all, honey. I am a very generous woman. The folks that came to Toronto can attest to that.

 

No one's buying HC, not if JR has anything to say about it

 

What competition does is eventually lead to contraction and hegemony in a free market. The paradox of the whole schmeer.

 

Can't wait to finish reading this.

 

The thread or the story?

 

Both, which why I was tagging the thread. Unbelievable story. The photograph of all of the animals in a pile was also excellent. I am a crusader people being allowed to keep wild animals -- it ought to be against the law except for highly qualified and well regulated permit holders -- so this was a peek-through-the-fingers horror story type read for me. I want to read the non-Jones piece as well but I have to let my nerves settle before I do. Maybe in a week or so...

 

The GQ version will not be nearly as nerve-wracking for you.

 

Can't it be both? ;D

 

My brother used to sell cars. Get buyers into the cubicle, move the merchandise. Sell, sell, sell. To him, it was just a job, a way of paying bills and providing for his family. He loved his co-workers, loved meeting people, and loved when he put them into a nice vehicle at an affordable price.

Then one day he said to me, "I just can't sit there and sell a Camaro to a guy who really doesn't need it and really can't afford it." Soon after, he quit. My brother just couldn't keep up. He didn't sell enough cars and, in turn, didn't make enough money.

Does he lament that the sales business is so cutthroat? Of course, and if he had the power to change it, he would. But he didn't, so he left.

Journalism at its best is a tough business. It should be. And, admittedly, some can't handle it. Doesn't mean the business should change. Readers deserve the best, most objective, and unbiased stories we can write. Anything less, we cheat our readers and ourselves. Reality is, at smaller papers, we share scores, stats, etc. Maybe larger papers don't. Yet we all -- even reporters at smaller papers -- have that line, that when crossed, feels wrong; there are some things you have to keep for yourself.

I used to cover metro preps at my shop; one of the paper's highest profile beats. After games, I'd often be the only reporter to interview a local coach. No big deal. Other times, usually playoffs, multiple reporters would surround him/her. I'd poke my head in, listen for anything useful. Yet I'd make sure -- if deadline allowed -- that I had a one-on-one with the coach, with whom I likely had built a rapport. In those interviews, I got better insight. I could ask more pointed questions, more in-depth questions that often unearthed better answers.

No one wants to be a dick, be evasive or "salt the earth" as some say. And if you can tell the better story, you better serve the reader.

 

Chris Heath just booked a flight to Germany: