Inauspicious Beginnings

I arrived at the station 8:45 this morning, a full fifteen minutes early for my first day as a television news photographer. I walked nervously through the front door of the station, only to find the reception area empty. I patiently sat down in an uncomfortable chair to wait. A few people wandered through, each one in a slightly bigger hurry than the last as the nine o'clock hour approached. I offered each one an inquiring glance, hoping one of them would wonder who the hell I was and what the hell I wanted, and perhaps lead me to someone who could get me started. No such luck.

Finally, at 9:05, a receptionist wandered in from somewhere in the back. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm here to work," I said. "I'm your new photographer."

"Your name?"

"Max."

"Have a seat, Max. I'll call back and let them know you're here."

She indeed made the call. "They'll be right with you," she said to me.

And so I waited. 9:15 came and went. A little coffee table in front of the chairs offered up a copy of a very poorly written local business magazine, which gave me some insight into why I wouldn't want to locate a business here. 9:30, and still no summons to the newsroom.

"Let me see what's going on," the receptionist said. She made a call. "This guy is still up here. Yeah. What was your name again, hon?"

"Max," I said.

"Max, she said. "Okay. I'll let him know." Then to me: "Sit tight a little longer. They'll come get you when they're ready."

So I read about some local entrepreneur who truly believed in the service she was providing the community by insuring it from all manner of disasters. Boats, fires, cars, floods, homes, she could do it all. There was a picture of her posing by her giant yellow H2, apparently ready to jump in and come sell me a policy.

10:00 came and went. I was exhausted from moving into my new place yesterday, and despite the uncomfortable seating area I began to doze off a little. "There's coffee right in there," the receptionist said, as if on cue. I got myself a cup and resumed the wait.

At 10:30 I began to worry a little. Finally at 10:35 a young woman bolted through the door that led to the inside. "Max?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. I'm not sure exactly how I did it, but as I got up I managed to fumble my coffee. I didn't drop the cup, but I jostled it enough that it splashed out... right on the front of my light blue shirt.

Great. My first day, and I have to spend it advertising a big brown stain to everyone new I meet.

The girl was just an associate producer. The news director and chief photographer weren't ready for me, so they sent her to send me to Human Resources. I had paperwork to do there anyway, so I'm not sure why I waited almost two hours to get started. Finally the paperwork was done, and I was sent back to the newsroom.

"Hi, I'm [News Director]," said the ND. He shook my hand as he looked disapprovingly at the brown stain on my shirt.

"Coffee," I said.

"Huh." Great. I was making SUCH a great impression.

From there, it's amazing how uneventful the rest of my day was, and yet how exhausting at the same time. The ND gave me a very quick tour of the station and threw a hundred names at me by way of introduction to the staff. Then he said, "I don't have much for you to do today. Just wander around and watch how we do things."

With that, he was back in his office. I ended up watching the AP from earlier take feeds, listening to the assignment editor (who also happens to be the 6pm anchor) deal with crews on the phone, observing a couple of photogs editing and generally wishing I wasn't such an outsider. I couldn't get introduced to my gear today because the chief photographer was out running the live truck. I did hear that I am probably going to get the "Hate Van" as my vehicle, once it comes back from the shop. I'm not sure what a Hate Van is, but it doesn't exactly sound encouraging.

However, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when I'm supposed to spend the day with the chief photog getting my training. It's time to get this party started already.