Editor: What is this? Why are you going down this angle with this draft? It’s unnecessary.
Journo: What do you mean it’s unnecessary?! I feel like I’m unravelling a Truth here. I feel like, this is gonna be a big story amongst his fans!
Editor: It’s not a story. This woman has like, 7 followers? On her blog?! A fictional blog?! This isn’t a story. How many hours did you clock in for this? 30 hours?! You spent 30 FUCKING HOURS reading this random woman’s fictional blog to come up with this GARBAGE?!?!
Journo: I really could, report you to HR right now, for that kind of language…
Editor: Do it. Report me. I’ve been waiting for the Golden Handshake anyway.
Journo: So you don’t even care about this publication. You don’t actually CARE about the TRUTH that I am UNCOVERING!!!
Editor: It’s not a Truth to uncover. Do you know who our owners are? And their owners? Did you really follow the money?
Journo: I’m not a finance journo. No, I didn’t follow the money… what about the money in the genre industry? What does this mean? What do YOU know?
Editor: Don’t, fucking… try… to… uncover… “this” particular… story… It’s unnecessary.
Journo: What’s the Truth here? What am I missing?
Editor: You are hired. To find an angle. The angle that our readers want. That our owners also want. You’re not hired — to dig — like this.
Journo: Why not?!
Editor: It’s not profitable.
Journo: It’s not?! How come?!
Editor: You are hired… to write… OUR angle… you, going down this rabbit hole — it has nothing to do with our angle. It’s the angle of curious fans. Go work for a Curious Fans publication, don’t write this for us. I am so tempted to not even acknowledge your 30 hours in the books. You shouldn’t even be getting paid for those hours. It has nothing to do with the brief that I gave you.
Journo: You wanted fluff from me. You wanted me to write a fluffy piece about this genre artist.
Editor: Yeah. That was your brief. That’s your job. Please, do it.
Journo: I don’t understand! I can’t write something if I don’t UNDERSTAND it. I feel like it’s meaningless and pointless.
Editor: (Chuckles) Welcome to corporate journalism.
Journo: Why?!?!?! And what if I did?! What if I quit right now and start my own Curious Fans publication?!?!!?
Editor: (Nodding) Good luck with it… you’ll probably have a niche following, a little bit of cash flow… good luck…
Journo: You just don’t think this issue is global enough? Mainstream enough?
Editor: It’s not at all relevant. Enough. You’re going down a rabbit hole that doesn’t matter to anyone. It doesn’t matter to anyone of significance, of power, in society right now. In fact — it will only be laughed at — if you try.
Journo: What does that MEAN!??!!? Why are you speaking in RIDDLES about this?!?!?!!?!
Editor: The real and actual personal lives of genre stars — it’s a well-known veil in their own cultures. You don’t need to write any of this out. You don’t need to keep digging, and digging, and trying to tug at that veil, trying to “reveal” their “true selves” — just write the fluff.
Journo: Write the fluff?! Isn’t that us as a publication LYING to our readers?!?!
Editor: No.
Journo: Why not?!
Editor: They’re barely even reading these articles! They buy it for the pictures!!! They want FLUFF.
You — on your high horse — start a blog or something. Do whatever. Go into the dungeons of Discords and Reddit forums if you really want to “blow the whistle” on all this. It doesn’t matter down there. But for this publication? We’re not publishing this. Not digitally, not in print. It’s not gonna happen. You haven’t even started following the money trail, have you? Of our investors. Our shareholders. You don’t need to write any of this stuff.
Journo: I quit.
Editor: Good. I respect you more as a journalist now.
Virgo Sun Pisces Moon 