Saturday, October 06, 2007

I Can't Beleive I'm Doing This

My favorite thing about my job is the chance to shoot sports. I love it, it's one of the times in my job where I am happy to do something. For me it's like a reward for all those meetings, stupid stories, the running around and the general stupidness of the news business. With sports, I fell like I'm getting paid to watch a game. Yes, I have a giant camera and belt pack on me and at times have to run up and down the field, but I don't mind too much.

To I kind of pained me to tell my station not to change my schedule on Friday nights so that I cam shoot football. Since I came back from my thumb injury we have been rotating Friday nights: one week I'd shoot my normal 3-midnight, then the next week I'd go to a 11-8 and get two hours of overtime to shoot football. I thought that was a pretty good idea. So far ever time I am 11-8 "they" decide to change everything and I don't get to shoot football. A couple weeks ago the airplane hit a building and I was stuck there. I almost understand that. This week, something "kind of" happened with the Duke Lacrosse story. It was nothing more than the three players suing a bunch of people for money and a change to the way Durham polices and prosecuting people. The last part is a biggie, but we had two crews on the story. Also no one was talking, not the city, not Nifong, not the players or their lawyers... anyone. We actually stalked a law professor at UNC to get an interview. So for the second time I was pulled from football to do a thumb sucker/dog lick live shot.

We've had management come up to us lately asking the photographers how they came make things better. The number one complaint was stop jacking around with the schedules and assignments. Obviously, that has not happened. It takes a lot for me to not want to shoot sports, and they finally did it. I'm tired of getting my hopes up for something good and then having them dashed because of poor planning. According to this commenter I'm probably whining again. Whatever, It's the one thing in my job I seek out on a regular basis and to have that carrot dangle in front of me and repeatedly pulled away has left me a little jaded. My chances are slim to get any football for the rest of the year. This is the first time since my first year in news (eight years) that I will only shoot three games, two high school and one college.

I've had a good run, and I just have to except that it's over.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

According to Johnyy Tattoo's logic, he too should have bigger things to worry about than what you write on your blog.

Maybe he should think about that.

I actually thought I was going to work weekends,but now I'm stuck working with a girl who hates me. Fun times.

Anonymous said...

...LIKE working weekends that is

J Dog said...

When I come back to C-bus I'll punch her in the baby maker for ya.