I got into a yelling match tonight, am I wrong?

Yeah, you are in the wrong, GV.

Shouldda made a deal. If you agree to write the letter, you also get to write your review this year.

 

I can't believe what I'm reading from all you people saying this guy is wrong. Do any of you have any ethics at all?
Yeah, maybe it's wrong to get in a yelling match, but ...
It is flat unethical in any profession to misrepresent yourself in a way that you write something, then someone else signs it as if they wrote it. It's also embarrassing to see professional journalists on here defending that kind of crap.
There are discussions on here all the time about the small things journalists can do to make themselves and their papers better. But lying about something you wrote -- even if it is a damn contest letter -- is absurd and goes against everything a journalist has been taught.

 

You aren't getting it, I'm afraid. The biggest thing about this is that nothing is gained by getting in a shouting match with one of your news execs. It is merely going to retard your growth potential.

And as far as "a lack of planning on your part does not consitute an emergency on my part," hey, it's a sharp thing to say. But if the lack of planning is by someone who outranks you, the result just MAY be an emergency on your part.

 

How long would it have taken for the NE to write the letter? Five minutes?

Sure, it could've been handled better. You didn't mention how the deal escalated, or you did and I totally missed it. Who dropped the first F bomb? That doesn't excuse the other party, but it still would give some more context.

And I bet if NE reminded the publisher that he'll be taking all that comp time that he racked up doing two jobs, an ME would be hired in weeks.

 

Now the Battle for Endor, that was worth fighting.

 

And the Spanish Inquisition, too. Because nobody expected it.

 

I also can't believe how many people are encouraging this guy to do something that he sees as unethical (and I do too).
In our business, our ethics are about all we have. When I write something, I expect people to believe it for one simple reason -- because I put my name on the article and, thereby, assured the readers what I'm saying is true.
I don't know about you all, but I don't get paid nearly enough to do things I don't feel are right.
Could this have been handled better? Probably, but for an editor to encourage one of his writers to essentially lie in writing (in any case) is wrong.
I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. Perhaps you could take the news editor aside and explained why you feel the way you do, but I would never back down from a fight when they wanted me to do something my conscience told me was wrong.
Really, people, in this business ethics are about all we have. If you're willing to give those up, then go into PR and make more money lying for a living.

 

Funny that you guys are talking ethics about a letter accompanying a contest submission.
How about fuck these contests, and worrying about doing things that might help save you paper's sagging circulation and fading ad revenues.

 

Gee-zus.
When did people in this business decide that you're not SUPPOSED to get in shouting matches with editors? When did newsrooms become cathedrals? When did we all turn into middle-management insurance executives?

 

When you can get somebody thrown out on the street by delivering bad advice, that's when.

 

Having GV write the letter is not unethical. It may be lazy but it's not unethical. Hell the letter is just supposed to explain why GV should be up for an award. GV probably knows better how he came to write the story, what he had to juggle, what the impact was, etc.

As long as the guy reads it and signs it, it's fine.

When you all put statements from an athlete or team owner in the paper that are sent as press releases, do you assume that the athlete wrote the release?

 

You're wrong, and I don't even have to know what it's about. You're wrong to get into a shouting match with a co-worker, a supervisor or someone calling to bitch.
An issue handled in a mature manner is the way to go. Even if the other person starts yelling, stay calm. Maybe 20 years ago you could get away with yelling at an editor, not anymore. The environmnt has changed, my friend, and I've been here to see them. I don't yell at anyone who works for me and vice versa.
It's called respect.
As for the letter, write the damn thing and shut up. I agree with Ace. If a letter has to accompany a contest entry, I'll volunteer to write it and forge my boss' signature if he wants. I know the article/section better than he does.
All this anger for a freakin' contest. Now, that really does deserve a "Gee-zus."