Our little newsroom is definitely what you’d call a starter market. All our talent is pretty green (that’s pretty as in “very” and
not as in “nice to look at”) and on any given work day, it takes us a while to get started.
We have a long history of tripping up other people in the field without really meaning to. Like the time one of our guys bent down to tie his shoe when a mass murderer was being “walked” by police to the car that would take him to court. During a “walk” all the photographers walk backwards so they can continue shooting the suspect as he’s being walked toward them. So, when someone behind them bends over to tie his shoe, well, the photographers pretty much tumble like dominos.
We know we’re not superstars. We don’t have super-size salaries. We don’t have a lot of benefits. And our equipment was new a decade ago. When we do get something “new,” it’s usually “reconditioned” old stuff. Even our toilet paper is recycled (by the manufacturer. We’re not that desperate).
Anyway, you’re probably wondering why anyone would want to work here, and the answer is simple: we never fire anyone and we’re just a block away from the beach. That means we have a long list of freelancers, and a pair of assignment editors who are always on the phone looking for reporters, photographers and editors to fill in for other reporters, photographers and editors who conveniently get sick whenever the surf’s up.
Needless to say, we do a lot of stories at the beach. A favorite beach story was when the double-west-end decided to go topless. It’s called the double-west-end beach because it’s separated from the regular west end beach by the Coast Guard station. It’s pretty remote which is why it was allowed to go topless. That was one of the few days we had team coverage. We did it to shut up the photographers who were arguing over who should get to shoot the story. Then when we told them they’d have to blur their video of breasts for broadcast, they made a game out of following the bouncing boobs on the effects editor. There were plenty of boobs in the room that day and I’m not referring to any part of the female anatomy.
So, just imagine what our news day was like, when the governor was visiting Short Isle and was caught in a sex scandal...
SIN Chapter 1
