Drama!

I had so much drama today. I once remarked that nothing interesting ever happens to me, that my life is too boring to be blogged. What was I thinking?? In fact, so much has happened to me these past weeks but I never had the time to sit down and blog about it. So much to write about, so little time! I never thought that would happen to me!

Today's drama stemmed from the stir caused by a news item I wrote last week. To cut it short, a police officer here somehow landed in hot waters because of what I wrote. I learned from one journalist that the said police officer was told by the local court to explain herself or else be cited for contempt of court. Wow, all this drama just because of one news item.

However, it wasn't my fault as I based my report on a very reliable report released by the Capitol. This is a trustworthy source, no doubt about it. There was no malice involved in the "mix-up," just pure honest mistake, I guess. The kind that can happen to any journalist. The kind that can happen to me.

Every time I release a news item, I always have this fear that somehow I made a mistake somewhere, or misqouted someone, or have all my facts mixed up. I always feel this way, without fail, every Thursday (the day I release all my press releases to all media outlets). So this fear - bordering on paranoia, I admit - pushes me to review my reports once, twice, thrice until I look at the clock and realize I'm just minutes away from my self-imposed deadline.

I've already had some reporters complain to me about this. Yes, my press releases are much awaited by the local press. As much as I would like to say that this is because because I come up with the most newsworthy items, but the truth is most of the local media just don't have much material for their broadcasts or newspapers. So they need as many news items as they can get.

So what did I learn from today's drama? That I'd rather be late in releasing my news items than be sorry. Seeing that one news item can raise so much furor, I can't be too careful enough.

Another lesson learned- always, always attribute statements, especially when it involves sensitive matters. Let's just say that if I had not properly cited my source in the said controversial news item I wrote, then it would be me in hot waters.