Tom Corvin’s “Dear Dick”
I spent way too much time in the TV business, saw too much, and left in 2005 with too little of my soul. I’ve written some here about it, but probably not enough.
A friend of a friend recently published former Atlanta and Kansas City newsman Tom Corvin’s two-part open and unsent television news resignation letter. Here’s a piece of it.
But she wanted me to hold her, to let her cry, so I did. And I hated it. I hated all of it. Because it crossed the line. It turned the table. It made me taste their trauma, touch their souls. And that’s not what this is about, is it, Dick? It’s not about reality, right? It’s about distance, the surreal safety of space, the old switcheroo, the better-you-than-me saga, so we can all feel better about our shitty lives. So I apologize for cracking, for getting a little too close now and then. But the stories didn’t suffer. We always got the grieving. Even mine, sometimes.
It’s in two parts. Read them both. You won’t be disappointed. And thanks to Tom for writing it. It’s a lot of what I wanted to say and never did.
Forgive me for not falling for this self-righteous bullshit. I’m sure he made a fine living working in the markets he worked. And I’m sure he enjoyed cashing those paychecks. I hope he’s working for the Peace Corp now or something where he can really “make a difference.”
Guess what? Not all news operations are the same. And at any point, he could have said “fuck you” to the boss who sent him out on the latest random assault story and found a boss who wouldn’t roll out a reporter every time someone got knee-capped.
There are plenty of bad news operations out there and there’s lots of good ones. Pissing and moaning ain’t changing a thing.
There’s a new CBS affiliate opening up in Bend, OR….the nations 192nd biggest market. Come one, come all. We’ll start a new homegame.
Is it ok that I still giggle when I hear the name Dick?
Thanks for the shout-out to my blog, “friend of a friend.” My stats show your blog has some heft. Way to go.
Meantime, I’d like to respectfully ask CJ: Please show me the “lots of good” TV news operations. I find even the best of them to be craven and pandering.
The Newsroom When People Aren’t Getting Killed:
Caller:
Hey, ya’ll know there’s a big pothole on Pleasantburg?
Newsroom:
Thank you sir.
Assignment Editor to reporter and photog:
It’s raining. Go interview the pothole. You’ll be live at 11. We’ll need at tz for six.
But from time to time, you get to see the cows run free. It makes it better, sometimes.
CJ, you’re so CJ. I guess that’s why we love you.
That was a damn good read.
And speaking of reads, the book arrived today. Thank you!
Powerful, I guess I never saw the perspective from the other side of the lens.