Newsies

The phrase (or for some, Mantra) of "We write good stories, but the corporation doesn't want to/won't publish them..." is bullshit. If you don't agree with what your company does and you continue to support it, you're just as culpable. "Fixing from within" in the real/corporate world doesn't work. So, take a stand with your editor. If you threaten to print it or they can find another lackey to print their slime, they'll either print it or you'll be on monster.com. If your writing is worth a damn, you'll get the byline. If not, you'll be pounding pavement/writing a novel/whatever unemployed journalists do (writing user manuals comes to mind.) But you'll be making a stand.

I know, it's hard to stand for what is right. In the Army, we boil it down into doing the hard right vs. the easy wrong. Those who do the former, succeed. Those who choose the latter, end up working at wal-mart. Take a stand. If you get fired, odds are the guy replacing you will have less experience, get less pay, and write worse than you. And the media outlet will suffer for it. Perhaps only incrementally, but they'll suffer. If you become known as a principaled journalist, you'll actually be praised by others (or studied as an errant professional odditity) but you'll sleep well, and like the person you see in the mirror in the morning.

For those of you who just don't understand what I am getting at with regards to taking a stand, here are the best examples of Great Journalism, and embedding, that you can find.

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--Chuck