It seems the byline/credit story is relatively dead. Fair enough.
One of them wrote in an email he sent:
"I don't know - it may be that it was in the paper; I'll ask. If they haven't put it in, I'll be complaining - it would be the second time they've done this, and it's really annoying. I don't think they realise how it can damage the relationship between a journalist and a colleague or a contact: just some idiot sub decides they haven't got room or something. My apologies - did ***** get you a credit in the *****?"
And this is what the other person said:
"Hi Nkem,
May have been a misunderstanding on our part, to do with newspaper jargon. A credit means dosh,a payment, which you'll get for research. Sorry if you thought otherwise. It would in any case have been a no-go for my paper to have the same by-line on a story that was in the ***** the same day.
Thanks for the help, and chase it up if you haven't had money in three weeks or so, which I'm
afraid tends to be how long it takes."
3 comments:
Hmmm...sounds a trifle dodgy to me especially the discordant tunes....well, the important thing is you've learnt....as the late Nigerian politician MI Okpara used to say "First time fool no be fool, second time foll na original mumu"
I appreciate how disappointing & unfair this is, Nkem. But I wondered whether Jonathan & Ian consented to having their emails published? Jonathan's email especially strikes me as the kind he'd not have intended for publication, especially as it might create some tension between him and some 'idiot sub'. He also sounds apologetic - inadequate as it may seem - and as I write for newspapers myself, I know what he means about how some things get taken out of the journalist's hands, sometimes.
I have glanced at the two stories and they are not written exactly the same. I wondered, did you write these up yourself or they drafted their respective stories using information supplied by you? If they did the writing, then it is likely that the papers will think the byline should be theirs. It's good that the Indy will pay you for 'research', though I don't know if that's any consolation.
I understand how you feel, but I hope this can be resolved in a way that leaves room for you to be able to have a more rewarding relationship with these media houses in future.
mw
I'm a wiser man now, no doubt.
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