| Topic Name: |
Very picky ep |
| Message Name: |
Political Stories??? |
| Date Posted: |
05/31/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
And in one sense you should take it as a compliment. I would change stuff to make it better, but only with reporters I thought were worth a damn. With reporters who couldn't write, I didn't even bother, because my little changes weren't going to make a difference.
What I wanted in response was a reporter who asked, with eyes open, why I was changing her writing. I wanted to hear her be eager to learn and improve. I sometimes wanted him to challenge me and defend why he wrote something a certain way. And I wanted to see her work with me to get something right. Eventually, those relationships got to a point where I could leave the reporter alone. Usually, they moved on to bigger and better markets.
So go into your EP, tell him you've noticed him changing some things and asking how you can improve, so he knows why you are asking. Then build that relationship and open your ears!
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| Message: |
Is the EP changing your stories around to make them better, or to fit his/her personal political agenda?
Worked with one EP who wouldn't allow the use of "prisoners" in any story about Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay. Politics aside, alternating "prisoners" and "detainees" is simply a better read. But the producer was hell bent on not calling them prisoners. Hey, if you're rounded up by the local Barney Fife, thrown into Otis' cell, then released/cleared the next day, during the time you're in custody you're a PRISONER.
That said, the EP is probably trying to help you. But sometimes there IS an alterior motive.
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