Job well done
Jac was right as usual, issue 303 is a cracker so well done all of you in our Ed's absence. Jac's role as stand-in editor reminded me of my trials and tribulations sitting in the big chair way back when I was still living in Tenerife.
The most stressful aspect to editing the paper, I found, was getting a good splash. On one occasion however, it was Monday night, and with just one day to go before pressing, I had nothing to grace the front page but a weak whale story. Now the old whale story is a great filler, partly because it evokes emotional sentiments, partly because you can always find a cracking whale picture (which Tenerife editing room doesn't have one knocking about?).
But this time round, I really wanted to impress the Ed and go with something striking. At the time, I was also working at night in a bar called The Drunken Duck in The Patch, and so, having left the office rather stressed at this 'no story' business, jumped in a cab and went off to collect some glasses (a great stress buster as the job came with six free Heinekens and three pints of Vodka Redbull - but that's anther story!).
As we approached the bar, the traffic came to a stand-still and in the distance, I saw plumes of black smoke rising from The Patch area. In a flash I jumped out of the cab after paying the driver and ran towards the smoke, which was evidently a fire judging from the fire engines that were fast approaching it.
Hurrah, I thought, this is my story. Looking back, that seems so mercenary. People could have been dying and all I thought of was my story. I have since learnt that all reporters get this same rush of adrenaline at the prospect of a scoop. No wonder we are not very popular.
As I reached the fire engines, a small crowd had surrounding the busy fireman, who I recognised from a day I spent with the Bomberos (wicked day - I've never been so popular!).
One of them spotted me and kindly filled me in on what had happened. Okay so it was far from a towering inferno, but thank goodness for that. A fire had been starting on the lower levels of the Patch - something to do with the tramp that used to live there. My Tenerife amnesia (any other ex-Tenerifians have this problem?) prevents me from remembering his name, but he was always knocking around The Patch with his trusty dog. Anyway, his mattress set light and there was a lot of smoke, but thankfully not much fire and even better, nobody was hurt. No matter, I got my front page. Some dramatic pictures of a closed off Patch, and an admittedly slightly weak story on what could have been. Oh, and if I remember rightly the whale story made it to page three!
Tasha Laming
The most stressful aspect to editing the paper, I found, was getting a good splash. On one occasion however, it was Monday night, and with just one day to go before pressing, I had nothing to grace the front page but a weak whale story. Now the old whale story is a great filler, partly because it evokes emotional sentiments, partly because you can always find a cracking whale picture (which Tenerife editing room doesn't have one knocking about?).
But this time round, I really wanted to impress the Ed and go with something striking. At the time, I was also working at night in a bar called The Drunken Duck in The Patch, and so, having left the office rather stressed at this 'no story' business, jumped in a cab and went off to collect some glasses (a great stress buster as the job came with six free Heinekens and three pints of Vodka Redbull - but that's anther story!).
As we approached the bar, the traffic came to a stand-still and in the distance, I saw plumes of black smoke rising from The Patch area. In a flash I jumped out of the cab after paying the driver and ran towards the smoke, which was evidently a fire judging from the fire engines that were fast approaching it.
Hurrah, I thought, this is my story. Looking back, that seems so mercenary. People could have been dying and all I thought of was my story. I have since learnt that all reporters get this same rush of adrenaline at the prospect of a scoop. No wonder we are not very popular.
As I reached the fire engines, a small crowd had surrounding the busy fireman, who I recognised from a day I spent with the Bomberos (wicked day - I've never been so popular!).
One of them spotted me and kindly filled me in on what had happened. Okay so it was far from a towering inferno, but thank goodness for that. A fire had been starting on the lower levels of the Patch - something to do with the tramp that used to live there. My Tenerife amnesia (any other ex-Tenerifians have this problem?) prevents me from remembering his name, but he was always knocking around The Patch with his trusty dog. Anyway, his mattress set light and there was a lot of smoke, but thankfully not much fire and even better, nobody was hurt. No matter, I got my front page. Some dramatic pictures of a closed off Patch, and an admittedly slightly weak story on what could have been. Oh, and if I remember rightly the whale story made it to page three!
Tasha Laming
posted by The Paper Bloggers | 6:46 AM
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