Pulitzer, Shmulitzer. I was on local television.
I have a great family. My mom and sisters love me and are very supportive of what I do. Even if they don't understand exactly what it is that I do do. That's ok. They're supportive anyway. I tell them about my day and they get a glazed look on their faces, similar to the one I often sport when my big sis tries to explain the inner workings of pharmacology to me.
I often forward them links to publications that I've been interviewed for and quoted in, like the LA Times, Washington Post, Datamation, eWEEK, Line 56, and CRM Magazine. They sometimes send me a little email back and say, "Congratulations" (with two exclamation marks). Sometimes I remember to send them links to articles I've written for trade magazines. They are always very polite and supportive, even if they don't actually read the articles.
But should I happen to make a 3 second appearance in a tiny bit of footage on the local tv channel because of a charity walk I participated in, I'll get several excited calls and someone will actually tape it when it comes back on at 11!
I was going to make light of this and say that I don't get it, but I can't because I actually do.
My appearances in various journals and trade publications, as well as the articles that I write, are part of my professional life. It is a Trillian that they've never met. I might be very proud of that part of my life, but it's not a part that they have ever participated in or seen. That's not the Trillian that laughs too loud in the movie theatre or is constantly telling stories about Frankie and Benjy.
The chick that waddled past the tv crew at the charity walk? Ah. That's the Trillian that they know and recognize. And, so while it may seem funny that they get more excited about a chance appearance on a local news show than by coverage as an industry expert in an international publication, it all makes sense in a weird-ass, crazy, cosmically fucked-up way.
Know what? That's ok. I wouldn't trade them for coverage in Time Magazine.
posted by Trillian @ 8:20 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
People go nuts when it comes to TV. I wonder if it has something to do with the transience of the medium: miss it and it's gone.
Or maybe it's just that TV is chock full o' famous people, like that idiot Ashton Kutcher, or Pamela Anderson's breasts. You know, if you've been on TV, you're only a bra-strap away from the most famous silicone in the world.
You have just described my life to a t. That glazed look pretty much describes everyone in my extended family when I tell them about my own latest geek-literary exploit.
They all stare at the ceiling and count the holes when I tell them I've been quoted in the New York Times or the Washington Post. But when the local radio hack in their town starts talking about my CAT, they're all over me like a cheap suit.
Gotta love 'em...
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