Problem when editor doesn't back you up?

Well I appreciate the feedback.
I am young and inexperienced as you can probably tell.
It is "Breathe free"
and I suppose using the line to get into taekwondo is odd.
I used them interchangeably because they teach taekwondo but it's called a karate club.
And as for the looking up the poem, I had some bad information. It was incorrect where I looked it up, so that's my fault for not double-checking.
But, It would be nice to have someone help me with editing.
The point of the story, I guess, was the fact these guys have been teaching taekwondo for 20 years. I wanted to point out the positives of getting involved in the club as well.
The other instructor asked if I could do a story about them being involved for that long. I wanted to spruce it up so I tried something different with the lede. Guess it didn't work, but I'll find out why he's so upset later today.

 

This makes me glad I have the bosses I have. Though they have their faults, they rarely, if ever, take a reader's side. They realize that most readers are, in fact, douchebags.

 

Between 1,000-word front-pagers on a midget hockey team and a piece about a taekwondo school that could be tabbed "informercial" more than "editorial", this whole thread makes my head hurt.

rb

 

Small-town readers who think the local paper should be nothing more than a cheerleading entity for the local Chamber of Commerce and school district need to fuck off.

The positive side to getting dumb assignments ("Here, go do a business story on the Kountry Kunt Knick-Knack Korner, we haven't done one on them in a few years") is that you can learn how to find an angle where there isn't an obvious angle...good practice.

Anyway, I laugh at these small-town bumblefucks who consider themselves old-school social Darwinists...they scoff at the "feel-good" society where everyone gets a participation ribbon just for showing up...then, when the local paper isn't gentle enough while administering a tummy-rub to their business or youth sports team, they whine like kindergarteners.

Get a brain.

 

unless one of my guys has a major fuckup, I never chastise him in public. I'll pull him aside and let them know what they did wrong, but they're my guys and part of my job is to protect them from bullshit and personal attacks.
It seems like your SE throws you to the wolves on a regular basis, in which case, my best advice is to get out.
I had a guy like that once. Came in and took over and just started yelling, after the second time, I put out my resume. After the third time, I quit.
We don't get paid enough to take a ton of shit from the public AND our immediate supervisor.

 

There are so many issues.
Is the story good? Not really, but the editor has to share in the blame. I never, ever let any story into the paper without at least two people getting a good read-through. This is especially important for enterprise or in-depth features. An editor is neglecting a vital role of the job not to do that. I don't care how big or small the operation is.
A meeting with the editor AND the instructor? Are you kidding me? I never take anyone to task in public, much less let the public come in and tag-team a reporter with me. It would be easy for me to say "fuck the meeting and leave" but that's not a good option. If there is such a meeting, keep your composure. You can't win. It seems to me that is the editor's kids are in the program, he might be getting a little benefit for the story being run. I've received similar offers and have taken none of them.
Then I'd be checking out any opportunity, and also learn by the mistakes you did make in the story.

 

Brain, you've got plenty to learn about journalism, but your editor's a douche.

One word: journalismjobs.com

I hear Trenton could use some stringers...if you can keep from spanking it while watching the Thunder, it could be a stepping-stone to other JRC papers.

Sorry.

 

That shit's cold, irish.

Me, I advise you to begin drinking heavily and crank up the PJ...

"The whole world will be different soon..."

 

Uhh... is this serious or is the sarcasm font off?

The appropriate response would be to a) punch said M.E. in the face OR b) resign on the spot in some other dramatic fashion.

The WRONG answer is C) agreeing to emasculate yourself for the sake of midget-hockey parents.

 

It's tough when you have a bad editor. It's even tougher when you have a bad editor early in your career. At my first full-time job out of college, I had a useless editor (gave me no direction, but lots of bad advice). That job ended poorly. Honestly, when you're at a small paper, it can be a crap shoot. Bad editors can stick around for awhile because no one else will work for that little money.
But a good editor will stick up for you in almost any situation (barring a really blatant offense), and will shield you from as much crap as possible, whether it be external or internal. The SE has to wear so many hats (designer, writer, copy-editor, coach, and the list goes on), it can be easy for him or her to neglect some of those roles. It seems like your editor failed you in a couple of areas here, and the best thing for you to do might be to ride this out until you can find something better.

 

I agree with almost everything said on this thread. The article had plenty of flaws, for which you and the editor have to share the blame. There are a few things it seems anyone would have caught -- like having don't' twice and a few things like that -- and the length of the article is WAY out of whack.
It reads like you wanted to make sure you covered every note and quote, which is a mistake many of us made when we started. But remember who you are writing for -- the reader, not the source. You need to boil down the information and give the reader the what they do or should care about. Do it as briefly as possible.
And avoid cliched lede like the plague (irony intentional). They almost never work, and the few times they can work have already been done to death.
Your editor is failing you both in the way he (doesn't) edit and the way he is managing you. He should ALWAYS have your back unless you are doing things seriously ethically wrong.
At the least, he should have pulled you aside and said, "Chuck Norris complained about this because blah blah blah. I think he is right about this, but wrong about that. He wants to come talk to you."
It could have been a good learning experience for you about dealing with the public and some pitfalls to avoid in the future (though I can't see what the instructor is mad about).

 

Since your editor said he won't discuss it until the black belt shows up, he's an ass.
However, there is one egregious mistake that may have his belt in a twist. Practitioners of the martial arts can be very touchy about accuracy when it comes to which art they practice. Karate people do not like to be described as practicing tae kwon do and vice versa. They are very different forms of self-defence. Tae kwon do emphasizes the feet, as in kicking, while karate combines kicking, punching and other hand strikes. In their eyes, using both terms to describe one form is akin to calling boxers ultimate fighters.
Plus all the references to people quitting probably didn't turn his crank, either.