Dear dimwit on the phone

Believe it or not it was one of the big four. His reasoning was that you wouldn't want to spend money on something that contains anything you don't like. To think he honestly thought a newspaper would stop running sports coverage just because he called to ask.

 

Customer's always right.

 

Woman emails us from school playing Podunk asking that we mention their goaltender's 11 saves. Why, I have to ask. We don't usually include other team's stats in the roundup. And why would she want us to mention 11 saves in a game she gave up 14 goals? (Before anyone asks, it was girls water polo, not soccer). But if she were really interested in promoting the goaltender, why didn't she send stats to her very own Hometown Fishwrap? Because I looked at the copy in our office today and there wasn't a thing on that game in there.

 

Pretty quiet fall season so far?

 

Co-worker got a call that lasted several minutes with a woman complaining that there is a sign posted in her neighborhood that says NO SOLICITING, but there was STILL someone trying to sell subscriptions to our paper door to door. The nerve!

 

Well, in her defense, that sign means NO FUCKING SOLICITING. EVER.


Also, stay off the fucking lawn.

 

It has been for us.
That either means
a) we're doing a much better job, or
b) everyone assumes we suck and it's no longer worth wasting their breath.

I fear it's B

 

I think so too. A lot of people just don't care enough anymore.

 

I've been starting to think the same thing. What's really bad about is that I guess people like me enough to tell me their feelings about it. Not the publisher or the managing editor. Me. Their complaints are about the paper in general although I had one woman rip me for not covering JV and freshman football and the publisher appeased her instead of saying, "It's a one-man department and if there's a varsity soccer game the same day, guess where he's going to be."

On the other hand, the soccer team is horrible this season, so covering JV football is actually a better use of my time.

 

Starting to think that, since I've been in this seat for a while now, folks understand I'm not gonna start covering JV or under-6 soccer just because their spawn is on the team.

 

Or they've all passed away.

Our coverage of non-sanctioned high school lacrosse went from nothing to quite a bit more when the spawn of the publisher started playing.

 

I think I've mentioned it on this thread before, but one of the greatest acts of courage I've ever heard of in a newsroom was the day the city editor resisted the publisher's request that the group shot of a high school play go on A1. Do I have to mention one of his kids was in the play?