job rant

[FuzzieAlum]

I had to interview the most negative man ever today. He hates the company, the new union, all our aircraft, Boeing, all other airplane manufacturers, what Seattle has become, our sister company, management, Red China, his contract, you name it ... and the employee newsletter, because we're full of factual inaccuracies, he says.

Of course his only example was an INTERVIEW that ran several years ago, which he finally agreed was no so much inaccurate as just presenting one side of the story, which is spin, not error. If he found an actual factual error, we would gladly print a retraction.

HOW HARD IS IT TO GRASP THAT CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS IS NOT JOURNALISM? We're not the Seattle Times or even The Stranger, for heavens sake. Our job is to present the COMPANY's viewpoint, not to present equally the union's & the company's. Yes, we have ethics, so we strive for accuracy, and we do present bad news - but if you want the union's viewpoint, read their newsletter, which isn't any more balanced (although at least ours is polite).

Gah, I went into corporate communication rather than real journalism because I was sick and tired of everyone and their mother thinking that just because they can speak English they know how to run a newspaper better than trained professionals with years of experience. I don't tell this guy how to fix airplanes - he doesn't need to tell me how to write.

I just had to vent. I feel better now.