kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 17:41:30 GMT -5
(Sorry, this turned out to be long.)
I wasn't really sure where to post this thread. It's not quite money related, and I would get lambasted on YM for it anyways.
I'm a newspaper reporter. I'm about 4 weeks away from having my second baby. So far I haven't missed any work due to pregnancy-related issues. I've made all of my doctor's appointments early in the morning, etc. I haven't taken any sick days because of my pregnancy.
Up until tonight, I haven't let it stop me from doing my job at all. Here's tonight's situation:
Yesterday another reporter wrote a story about a nuisance bar that is going to be shut down by court order. When I say nuisance bar I'm talking about a place that frequently has gun shots, shootings, large fights where people end up going to the hospital, etc. The reporter who wrote the story doesn't know who the owner of the bar is. He is also an editor, so one of my bosses. He left me an email since it's my night to work saying maybe I should go to the club to find someone.
I have strong reason to believe that the owner may be very angry with our paper. And when I told DH I might have to go there, he said no way am I going there because it's not safe. I'm inclined to agree. I'm not sure it's safe for me to go there alone. This certainly isn't a life and death type of story. More information could be gleaned Monday by getting court paperwork.
If I weren't pregnant I would go. But I'm a little nervous to take a chance.
Am I wrong to not go there right now?
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on May 5, 2012 18:26:04 GMT -5
No you are not wrong.
There is plenty of info that can be gleaned from public record (owner name, liquor law violations, who holds the liquor license, number of police calls and type to establishment, etc) and if you are known to the public as a newspaper reporter you could be putting your safety in jeopardy (and that of your baby) by going there if it is more than just a nuisance bar.
I say don't risk it.
And I am a gutless wonder. Tell me not to do it- and that gives me more ammo to do it.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on May 5, 2012 18:30:59 GMT -5
I've learned over the years to trust my instincts. If you've even "got a feeling" you should stay away from this place, then do it. BTW, if your boss threatens to fire you for not going on location, just let the job go. You & your baby are of much more value than any job!
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 18:54:29 GMT -5
Thanks ladies. I don't think my bosses will fire me. On the whole, I'm very dedicated to my job. And I know people get snippy when women let being mothers affect their work, which I've tried very hard not to do over the past few years.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 19:25:42 GMT -5
I wouldn't go. It's one thing to risk your own safety, but I wouldn't knowingly put myself in a potentially bad situation while I was carrying a baby. It's a spot where gunshots are frequently fired and fights often break out, I don't think you need to be somewhere you might need to break out running when you're 8 months pregnant. Kind of hard and awkward to make a fast exit.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 19:35:13 GMT -5
He left me an email since it's my night to work saying maybe I should go to the club to find someone.
What a star!
I wouldn't go either, but what he did is totally inconsiderate, and he sounds like a schmuck. But he is your boss. Is there any way that you could explain that you would generally go, but you don't think it's safe to go after his article, when you're eight months pregnant, to boot, and ask him, exceptionally, to follow up on his article?
If it's important, he'll go, and you'll owe him one. If he won't go on his night off (again, you'll owe him one) well it's probably not all that important.
But you're between a rock and a hard place, especially if this guy is your editor.
I still wouldn't go though. No way I would risk a situation like that with a viable baby. But only you know if this could be a proverbial "hill to die on" for them.
Other thought: could you call another editor (maybe his boss?) and get his opinion (assuming / hoping he'll take your side).
Is there anybody you can call at the bar instead, and make it look like you were actually there rather than talking to somebody on the phone?
ETA: kgb knows I used to be a reporter too LOL.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 19:40:52 GMT -5
The reporter who wrote the story doesn't know who the owner of the bar is.
Do you? Can you call him instead, sympathize, and get his side instead?
Or talk to people who frequent the bar (again, on the phone), and get their side?
IOW, try your darndest to find a different angle rather than just a follow-up, so you can come up with something "original" without actually having to go there at night.
If you know the bar owner, could you meet up with him tomorrow and file something new tomorrow?
If all else fails, maybe a history of the pertinent laws?! Or a retrospective of what happened to other "nuisance" businesses in your town over the past X years?
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 20:09:36 GMT -5
I also do not know who the bar owner is. I've been trying to find out all night with no such luck. I also talked to another reporter who works for a different publication, but I'm friendly with him, and he has not been able to find the owner either.
I know of plenty of people who frequent the bar. Unfortunately, they are the people I write about as the cops/courts reporter. Trust me when I say this is not the type of establishment where the average citizen hangs out for a beer after work. It's an after hours club that tends to draw the drunks from some of the nearby problem towns when the other bars shut down.
This editor is a low man on the totem pole in terms of the hierarchy of bosses around here. I don't think it's going to cause any huge problems. I just hate the idea of not doing something.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 5, 2012 20:13:47 GMT -5
KGB, your husband is a cop, can't he ask around?
And to answer the original question: Hell no.
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 20:24:01 GMT -5
I don't think he knows too many of the guys who work in that particular town. But, "Hell no" was pretty much DH's reaction too.
This is the type of crap that happens around here all the time. Other reporters do half-assed stories on things and then expect me to do the dirty work after the fact. We're already severely short-staffed. They are going to be in big trouble in a few more weeks when I'm gone for the summer. I sometimes think the higher ups don't realize the amount of content I produce each week. I'm hoping my absence will be a wake up call to them.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on May 5, 2012 20:24:25 GMT -5
I agree that you shouldn't go. I don't see the need to make it about your pregnancy. You don't feel safe, so you're going to decline to take this on, but you'll offer to do a story about other parts of it, as you mentioned.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 5, 2012 20:28:34 GMT -5
KGB, do you know any of the court frequent fliers well enough to ask them? In the daylight.. In a safe spot.
And can you call the tax collector and find out who writes the check for the municipal taxes?
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 20:31:48 GMT -5
On Monday I will be able to find out much more.
ETA: leanna, the only reason I made it "about my pregnancy" is because if I weren't pregnant I would probably go, despite the potential danger. But right now I'm responsible for someone else's safety too.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 20:43:26 GMT -5
kgb, you made the right decision. I'm sorry you're going through this angst.
I hope your absence will be a wake-up call to them too, we all know how dedicated you are.
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 5, 2012 20:46:42 GMT -5
Thanks debt! How are you fairing in the non-journalism world? I see your posts on YM. I was just curious if you miss it at all. I left and did the PR thing, but I just couldn't come to terms with not being a reporter.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on May 5, 2012 21:16:37 GMT -5
Figures they need a woman to clean up after someone else!
Our small town paper got cracked down on for sloppy reporting.
No one appreciates a reputable and efficient reporter until they don't have one.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 22:43:22 GMT -5
Kgb, you should never put yourself in the way of personal harm, pregnant or not. Don't make it about the pregnancy, just make it about personal safety. No one, regardless of position at the paper, would feel okay about someone accidentally getting shot in an effort to get more information about the story. Going into a volatile situation would not be the right thing to do. Going there during the day/late afternoon could net you the same information without the volatility the night crowd evidently brings.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 22:58:16 GMT -5
I guess I assumed that certain kinds of news reporters' jobs can sometimes involve taking a risk to get the story. I don't know exactly what kind of reporter kgb is, but it seems like she's ok with a certain level of risk as just part of the job, except this one is too much because of her pregnancy.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 6, 2012 7:56:01 GMT -5
I'd be OK with going on the early evening before it for too wild, but not when 8 mos pregnant. You just can't move like you need to when hugely pregnant.
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998fbird
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Post by 998fbird on May 6, 2012 12:06:33 GMT -5
I think Swamp has it right. If I was in this situation and still in early pregnancy I would probably go, but not in advanced pregnancy with the physical effects. Really no reason to go except the editor wants you to do his job and public records are probably a much more effective way to get the real info. Aren't liquor licenses issued to people, not corporations?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 12:19:00 GMT -5
My wife is not pregnant, not even close and I would have said HELL NO!
So 8 months pregnant, there wouldn't be a snowball chance in hell I would agree to let her do it.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on May 6, 2012 12:25:11 GMT -5
I think Swamp has it right. If I was in this situation and still in early pregnancy I would probably go, but not in advanced pregnancy with the physical effects. Really no reason to go except the editor wants you to do his job and public records are probably a much more effective way to get the real info. Aren't liquor licenses issued to people, not corporations? I wouldn't pregnant or not. I know a bunch of reporters and I seriously doubt they have ever put themselves in a remotely unsafe situation. I have known a few that by chance got stuck in a situation that was unsafe, but I have never heard of them doing it on purpose. There has to be another way to get at the info without having a face to face. Things like property owners, tax records, liquor lisences are all matters of public record. Around here most are accessible online. Just a thought. HTH!
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on May 6, 2012 14:40:58 GMT -5
KGB I hope you stood firm and did not go. What was that editor thinking? Just the liability he would have exposed the paper to if you had gone and something bad would have happened. What an airhead (I had a much stronger word in mind, but I don't think that one would have passed the CoC)
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 6, 2012 14:50:28 GMT -5
I see this a little different. If this is a bar known for shootings and you are going to confront an angry owner, being pregnant doesn't make this more dangerous. It IS dangerous - but being 8 months pregnant doesn't mean that you could ever outrun a bullet.
Oddly, I would think it would be less likely that you would get hurt if you are pregnant. People are scared to death of hurting a pregnant woman because the court of public opinion will hang you twice for that one.
Either it is too dangerous or it is not. If you just don't want to go because you are protecting your child, and not yourself - I guess that is a different story.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on May 6, 2012 17:54:19 GMT -5
On Monday I will be able to find out much more. ETA: leanna, the only reason I made it "about my pregnancy" is because if I weren't pregnant I would probably go, despite the potential danger. But right now I'm responsible for someone else's safety too. I hope you didn't think I was critiquing you. I wasn't. I think you're making a good decision. I just meant that you don't need to say that's the reason.
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kgb18
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Post by kgb18 on May 7, 2012 16:23:15 GMT -5
Thanks for all the responses everyone. Good news. My not going was not an issue, so I worried for nothing. I'm a cops and courts reporter. It's not uncommon for me to have to go to unsavory neighborhoods or talk to people who may not be very happy to see me. I felt like going to this particular place, on my own, under those particular circumstances was a bit more risky than the normal stuff. While I'd like to think that being pregnant would offer me a certain level of protection, I'm not that naive. I recently wrote about a woman who assaulted a pregnant teenager on a city bus. In court the defendant saw me, and because I was pregnant, thought I was the girl from the bus, and she started screaming at me in court that I got what I deserved. People are nuts. No worries. I wasn't offended. I just wanted to clarify my position.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2012 20:34:44 GMT -5
I'm glad it didn't cause you any issues at your job. We want a healthy, happy babykgb! Take care.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on May 7, 2012 20:55:56 GMT -5
I'm glad it didn't cause you any issues at your job. We want a healthy, happy babykgb! Take care.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 8, 2012 10:29:01 GMT -5
So has anyone found out the owner yet?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2012 10:31:28 GMT -5
Thanks ladies. I don't think my bosses will fire me. On the whole, I'm very dedicated to my job. And I know people get snippy when women let being mothers affect their work, which I've tried very hard not to do over the past few years. yeah, but then there's the other extreme - not knowing when to fall back. I wouldn't go if I had a small child. Your DD needs you just as much as your incoming DS does.
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