More evidence, if I needed any more, that journalism is a sucker’s game: Just got back from my first Writing for Television class. Our first assignment is to start a clip file of newspaper stories we can use for narratives. Yes, that’s right: We’ve been ordered to find our raw material, and then rip it from the headlines.
This came after she sketched out the pros and cons of being a TV writer, and one of the pros was: Lots of money. “As a journalist, I’ve long suspected we were the poorly compensated legmen for ‘Law & Order,'” I said after class. “Nice to have it confirmed.” She took the joke well, I’m relieved to say.
ashley said on January 11, 2004 at 12:28 am
Ask her if you’re supposed to (A) write for a producer that thinks that all stories must be completely wrapped up in 52 minutes, with “find me a motive” detectives (Law and Order)…
Maybe, she’ll say it’s O.K. to have a story that has threads, that doesn’t completely wrap in a single hour,
that actually has 3 dimensional characters and believable dialogue.
My guess is that she’ll opt for (A). Ripped from the headlines my ass.
Ashley the Cynic
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