I left New York to be a family man, moving to the bucolic Eastern Shore of Virginia, only to have another marriage (to the mother of my youngest daughter, Aryn, who is 18 now) disintegrate. By the time things got really, really bad on the home front, I was working at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk. I designed pages, copy-edited and tried to hold onto my sanity.
Fishing helped. It probably saved my life. Croaker. Shark. Eel. Perch. Striped bass. Black bass. Catfish. Sheepshead. Puppy drum. Toadfish. Flounder. The Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean became my friends. I was always on the water, or near it, or in it. I even owned a small boat once.
Two years ago, I moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., to work at the infamous News-Press. Things were OK for me there for a while. I basically kept under the radar by designing pages and copy-editing. After a while, I was promoted to lead A1 designer, then interim copy desk chief.
Then I was cut out of the picture. I was let go. You can “Google” me and learn more about that mess.
After being fired from the Santa Barbara News-Press, I just wanted a job. And I didn't really want to leave California. I'd been freelancing and part-timing my way since my firing. I'd landed a spot at Noozhawk.com, another at the Santa Barbara Daily Sound and a gig copy-editing Richard Prince's "Journal-isms" with Maynard. Between the three jobs, I was barely able to make rent. And I had no benefits. I knew, however, that if I stuck it out, things would change for me. They would have to.
When I got a call about the possibility of working for the Glendale News-Press, I was not excited about working for a community newspaper ... until I learned that News-Press was owned by the Los Angeles Times. So at the end of February, I took the job — at a salary level that I hadn't seen in years — and was thankful. Then, I got a call from the Los Angeles Daily News in July. I interviewed, took a test, met some folks, sat in on their afternoon news meeting, met some more folks and got offered a job. Though I liked the idea of working for the Los Angeles Times, at this point that's about all it is to me... an idea.
Being in the community news division, is seen by the folks downtown at the main paper — from where I sit — as being in the minor leagues. Think "New York Yankees' triple-A" ball clubs, where the organization goes to get players, if they are lucky, whenever a spot opens up. A lot of the players never get to Yankee Stadium, though, even though the organization is paying them. Get it?
When I accepted the job with the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader, I figured I had gotten my foot in the door of the main paper, the fabulous Los Angeles Times, and that if something opened up, I would be in place already, ready to slide right into position.
About a couple of months before I left the organization, there was a position open for a night national desk editor. I went for it, sending my resume to the appropriate people as soon as I saw that there was an opening. I thought for sure I would get a phone call and an interview. I mean, have you checked out a brother's resume lately? Really. So anyway, I get this e-mail from downtown saying that although I have some strong experience, the position would have to be filled "from within."
I was completely tripped out. I thought I WAS "from within."
I had an employee ID card that said Los Angeles Times on it. I had access to the offices downtown in addition to the one I worked from in Glendale. I learned about the job I was interested in via an in-house job board. When I logged onto the system each day, I saw the list of all the Tribune papers on one of my start-up screens. My e-mail address was cliff.redding@latimes.com and, most important, my paycheck said Los Angeles Times on it.
So I'm scratching my head in bewilderment. I make a phone call to one of the people I'd sent my resume to, the one who wrote the words "from within." I wanted some clarification. Something just did not add up. When I get the guy on the line and engaged in conversation, he basically reiterates the fact that my working for the community news division was not considered REALLY working for the Los Angeles Times.
I was too through!
I realized that the money I was making at the News-Press was not Los Angeles Times money, and that was OK. I felt I just had to wait until I could get my shot. I realized that the stories I was editing were not Los Angeles Times stories, but instead community-based stories about council meetings and kids in school and local businesses going under and police reports.
Community news, and that was OK. I felt I just had to wait until I could get my shot. In the meantime, I'd learn all I could about how to run a community paper. I was even OK — for the most point — with people on my team constantly trying to one-up me after they’d learned that I'd worked at some serious newspapers back East. It was almost like the gunslinger who isn't about killing folks anymore, but he's more about enjoying life in a small town, doing something mundane, but some folks want to try him — because of his reputation. "Yes, there is a difference between 'convince' and 'persuade.'" "We can NOT say, 'Police arrested a 24-year-old man for drunken driving.'" "There shouldn't be a hyphen in 'nonmember.'" And one of my favorites: "I think we should change the headline to read, 'Glendale woman is strangled' instead of 'Glendale woman is strangled to death.'"
I have a relatively high tolerance for bullshit. After all, I spent four years in the military ... practicing to go to war during peacetime. So, working at the News-Press and Burbank Leader, which are inserts for Times subscribers who live in Glendale or Burbank (the papers are free on the street), wasn't something I would call negative. A brother had gotten thrown off the bus in Santa Barbara and he needed a job. He just wanted to work ... in the business.
But when I was told that I would not be considered for the national desk job because I worked at the Glendale News-Press, I was done. DONE. And it was just a matter of time ... Thank God I work for Maynard as a "consultant" or "independent contractor." And thank GOD I've started writing again. Maybe I can FINALLY get my book done. And thank GOD I've got my bicycle and my fishing gear. A brother has to stay sane. Can you say "set it off"?
So I started at the Daily News on Monday, Aug. 4. My last day of work in Glendale was July 30. The staff was down, the editor was on maternity leave and I didn't want to leave the team in a lurch, so I offered to finish out the month.
So I'm in debt, older than 50 and starting over again. But I feel good, anyway. I’ve been blessed. I’ve got my health. I’ve got a job … in the business.
And I’m in California. Sunny California.
There it is.
Cliff
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