Overheard in the newsroom

Photo by Alan Cleaver

Thanks to Kevin May at Tnooz for retweeting this from Overheard in the newsroom:

“You can start a story with a quote twice in your career. Once when you’re an intern, again if the Pope ever says fuck”

Which then led me to take a look at their site to enjoy to enjoy gems such as:

Web editor to news editor: “Just because you’re necessary doesn’t mean you’re important.”

or this:

Reporter stymied by having to keep off-record comments off the record: “Having ethics sucks sometimes.” 

I'm now following OHnewsroom on Twitter. 

I was trying to remember sayings from colleagues during my career but I couldn't come up with anything pithy and memorable. All I remember was the time I introduced myself to a particularly grizzled, chain-smoking sub on my first day at one publication :

Me: Hello
Sub: So, which paper have you come from, cunt?

Oh, and there was that time when the editor on that publication offered me the opportunity to go on a permanent contract plus for a £3k reduction in salary at the same time that the paper was about to move from central London to Slough.

Happy days...

Got any pearls of wisdom from journalists you've worked with?