i scratch your back, you say get lost

double j - come on man. every day is like "election day" to those people.

 

My ex-boss stumbled upon an account that sold EIGHT full-page ads and got dicked on commission. Part of the reason he's my EX-boss, if you get my drift.

 

I had to do it at my first job -- develop 'em, too -- and it was definitely not my A game.

 

I took photos for a big story I had to travel far to write (and I work for a pretty big paper). They weren't going to send a photog, though. And just in case a freelance thing didn't work out, I took some.
They ran one of them really big, across the page, to accompany the story. It told the story pretty well, too.

Got grief from one of the more union-active photogs at my paper for that. Wanted to know if I had volunteered, if they had asked me, blabedybla bla. Concerned that this would become a trend, that photogs would get gypped out of trips. All that.

I told him it was almost like pulling teeth even to get me there, despite the fact that it was a tremendous story, haven't seen anything close to it. First they tried to get me to do it over the phone, as if the interview subject was going to spill his guts on a very sensitive subject over the phone, to someone he had never met. So I wasn't about to worry about whether photogs were going to get gyped out of trips. Not my problem. Did tell him, for the record, they didn't ask me.

But if they did (and I'm probably one of the only ones on our staff who can shoot), I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant I could tell the story. He wasn't too happy with the answer.

 

ball - i woulda focused on the subject's new nikes.

 

I can see both sides of the "reporters with cameras" issue.

I've done plenty of both, while keeping stats in both football and basketball. The flip side is, as I move into full-time shooting, I don't want some reporter with mediocre photo skills stealing my job.

Just like he doesn't want me grabbing pen and paper and stealing his.

And I'm about tired of the profs around here who say things like "doing a photo project is just like doing journalism." No, it actually IS journalism.

Arg.

As for the topic at hand, if I help you and you don't reciprocate, we're done.

 

Management issue...From your post, you had to know this was a possibilty. You should have covered your ass.

 

Of course, you already know that at most larger newspapers, reporters and photographers aren't the same people. And as Cadet noted, it's tough to do all that at once --- especially when you're staring an 11 p.m. copy deadline in the face.

At my last paper, I was not only the sports editor but also the best photographer in the building. But there was no way in hell I was going to get both stories and pics from a late prep basketball postseason tournament game in the paper the next day, so typically I wrote the first game and shot the second, with our other sports writer shooting the first game and writing the second.

 

and what part of the post would suggest it was known this was a possibility? someone who you've helped before tells you "no problem" when it comes time for reciprocation so by god, you should expect them to honor their word!!!

 

sports editor calls photo editor? nuff said.

Please, honor his word? What planet are you living on these days.

 

Just becuase you lack integrity doesn't mean nobody else has any.

But I still would have had some kind of Plan B in place, just in case.

 

You want to talk about having a hard time getting a photo, try asking any newspaper for permission to use one of its photos in one of my publications.

I had this happen a couple of years ago. The paper ran a great shot that would be one of those "moments in time" shots that I probably would have used for years and years and years. I asked for a copy and permission. You would have thought that I had tried to steal the editors child. Or worse.

I'm not in the habit of asking for things from media outlets, but the newspaper in question (and most others) aren't afraid to ask me for photos when they need them. Can I get a set of basketball mugs. How about football? We are running a soccer story. Can I get an action photo of #4?

But turn the table one time and you can tell that newspapers don't even know the meaning of Quid Pro Quo.