I'm sorry to say on this assignment we had a time fatal; that is, someone who failed to turn in their story by the 11 a.m. Tuesday deadline.
It's doubly sad because the person says their story was finished on time; they just forgot to turn it in.
It's a shame, but I can't cut slack for that. In journalism, you not only have to get it right, but you also have to get it on-time. This is a deadline-oriented business. Finishing a story on-time is of no use to readers if they don't get that story from you on-time.
Newspaper people have to get their stories to the printer on time, so newspapers can get delivered on time. Broadcast people have to get their scripts done before their scheduled newscasts, or else anchors won't have anything to read. (They won't hold up the 11 o'clock news until 11:03 so you can get a script finished.) Online journalists must get content up as soon as possible. Getting news to people while the news is still fresh and needed is like delivering a pizza while it's desired and hot. Late just won't cut it.
Let's please be sure we're meeting our deadlines. Every time and all the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment