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30.1.07

What's in a byline?

Ahhhhh! My son, Frank, has got his first byline. He's doing his work experience at the moment - if you don't live in the UK, it's a bit like US interns or slavery. But he's really enjoying it as he want to be a journalist. He's 15 and I have tried to persuade him that journalism might not be the best profession (I did it for 15 years and loved it and then I had a family to feed) but he is determined and in the time-honoured tradition he believes his Dad is an idiot - thank God. He's a good judge of character. By the way, he's working at Spong.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Frank! And well done him for having the good sense to find an outlet that actually hands out bylines to its writers. My early days were spent at a paper where they were refused on the grounds you were "just doing your job" - which could be seen as fair enough but has added to the sad spectacle of a nearly 40-year-old woman still getting excited when she sees her name in print...wherever it is!

News Update said...

I was quite lucky as I got a byline during my first week in a real job at the Liverpool Daily Post! But I knew one guy who had to wait three years before his name appeared in print - I thought he was going to cry when he told me his mum would be so proud