A note on my old career, and a couple other things

Blogging old skool today....
(I spelled school wrong on purpose to show I'm hip, just to be clear.)

So there is this website.

http://wearejournalists.tumblr.com/ (Copy and past it, I'm feeling lazy)

Some have debated whether this is narcissistic, self indulgence by journalists or a place for journalists to help bridge the disconnect between the notion of them as minor parts of "The Media" and the reality that they are people with faces and lives and whatever.

I read through the site for a bit. Then I read one article for the site, and another against.

I like it. But I like it because I'm a somewhat self-indulged narcissist. That's what made me a mediocre to acceptable journalist. But just because I like it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

There are good, well-adjusted, reasonable people doing journalism, most of them are probably ok at their jobs. Solid copy editing skills, decent form. Nothing impressive.

There are egotistical maniacs out there doing journalism poorly. They write every column about their wife, their faith, their dog. They may be concentrated in southern Ohio....but I digress.

Then there are egotistical maniacs who are at the heart of every big story. They feel like the world would stop turning if they stopped reporting. And because they think that, they're awesome at their job.

What I'm not doing a good job of getting around too is coming up soon, stay with me.

The above website has people saying "I interview people others wouldn't talk too" and "If I don't tell the story of how that kid died, maybe no one will."

And they're right. We....no, not anymore....they are important. Good journalists ask the hard questions. They write the good fight, as it were. And to be among the best of them, you probably need to be a little narcissistic.

You need to think that only

you

can get that story. Only YOU can do it right etc. It's not a bad thing. A little narcissism fused with journalistic integrity = Bob Wooduff/Lois Lane. (Don't think about how that baby would look).

And in this era of dying newspapers and reader venom, I understand the desire to show your readers that you are a person, and not, "The Media." It would certainly make your jobs easier.

But you're job isn't easy. And you knew that going in.

Even the Cincinnati Enquirer is in on the act.
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/154893/cincinnati-enquirer-launches-ad-campaign-featuring-reporters-in-their-own-words/

And you also knew that if you did your job right, not until you win a Pulitzer or retire or die, should you be the story. We...you...are all a little narcisitic, I get it. Embrace it. But keep it in check. We might want a website aimed at the public that tries to make us look good, but we don't need it.

Thanks for trying, wearejournalists.tumblr.com, but it's a bit much. Be the byline, not the story.

As I finish this thought, it strike me that maybe this tumblr and the Enquirer things are a good idea, or at least a necessary one. Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe I'm just liking the idea more because my brain is doing that rationalization thing it does. Really I'm not even sure at this point.

Feel cheated? Welcome to life inside my mind.

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So I read something today about stealing from hotels. Apparently some people think it's ok to take EVERYTHING in their room.

Just to be clear, stealing from hotels is bad. Stealing is bad. Unless you're Aladdin and you're just buying time until the Genie shows up, stealing is bad.

So let me help you draw the line if anyone out there is confused with a handy list of what is ok to take, and what is not ok. This list was compiled with the help of facebookers like you (well like most of you).

Toiletries: Ok to steal.
I mean of course that it's ok to take soap, shampoo, shaving cream, the complimentary razor, lotion and plastic showercaps. This doesn't include towels or reusable items. Specifically, the soap dish with the hotel logo is not for you, even if you have the same initials as the hotel.

Food/Drink: Probably ok to steal, pay attention.
Was it a two-bed room and you were alone? Yes you can eat the extra pillow mint. Did you not make coffee or tea? Ok, take the packets home with you.
If there's a mini-bar though, or a fridge that is stocked, they're probably charging you for whatever you take. So take it all if you want, but you'll pay for it in the final bill.

Anything Not mentioned: Not ok to steal.
Robes, towels, slippers, tv trays, tv remotes, TVs, chairs, sheets, pillows etc. are NOT ok to take. Also, cups, trays, ice buckets, mugs and the coffee maker are NOT ok to take.
The dirty laundry bag is yours if you want it.

My friend Jenny said it best on Facebook:
"If it's an item meant to be taken, no (it's not stealing). However, I think many people cross the line of that which is fair and expected. So if you walk by the maid's cart and take a handful of soaps, I think that's a form of theft. I think this of that show Extreme Couponing.I think it of the people who clear out continental breakfasts. Same with abuse of coupon codes/free gifts with purchase. There's a point where it's like this: yes, it's free/allowed but you KNOW you're bending the rules and taking advantage."

Was any of that a revelation? No, but according to the internet, some people needed to hear it.

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I'm actually about to defend royalty.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/queen-england-faces-pay-freeze-171306178.html

I don't have a real beef with the existence of an allegedly noble class in an otherwise egalitarian society, but I do have a beef with doing it wrong.

The British royalty has been irrelevant for a long, long time. Decades if we're being generous, centuries if we're not.

But it exists, and I bet it bring in big tourism money for the UK.

Before I say this part, don't think I think the royals are going to starve, they're all rich as hell, at least the ones that half-matter to the paparazzi and tourists are rich.

But these rich people aren't paying out of pocket to take care of these estates that bring in tourism. And the Brits are cutting their funding.

I get it, I do, tough times and what not. But as far as I can tell, the English don't have celebrities outside of Patrick Stewart and Ricky Gervais and I bet if you had a GPS on them right now, you'd find them over here in the New World.

(My God today's blog is rambling and incoherent, stop reading now, or if your nostalgic for that sort of thing, finish this and hit the archives.)

But as it stands, the Brits pretend to have a monarchy in name. If that's what it is, then it needs obscene amounts of money for tea. And for repairs. Hell they repair things so rarely anymore that earlier this year they found a body decomposed no terribly far from some royal residence.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be decomposed bodies on the grounds, I'm just saying the crown should have enough funding to know where the bodies are, and to hide them if need be.

Long live the queen.