Despite the fact that I feel as new to this job as wet paint does to a wall, I can safely say in the 20 minutes that I’ve had this gig I’ve already learned quite a bit. The most important of those things being that ‘editor’ doesn’t really best describe what it is we do here. Granted, there is a bit of editing to do but the job title leaves out all the advertising, client liaising, office bearer wrangling, sub editor hiring, email forwarding, schedule making, InDesign learning and swearing at websites that I have had to do since I got here! Suffice to say gentle reader that I have been lied to. “Be an editor” they said, “you would be good at it” they said. I should have demanded a contract. But I didn’t, so here I am, editing away among other things.
Given this egregious deception that has been played on me you might think that I am – as the entirely believable tone of the above paragraph amply demonstrates – pretty damn mad about the whole thing. Well no, now it is me who is fooling you. I’m actually pretty happy to be here. There has been a lot of the unexpected happen over the break, spanners thrown into various works and time bombs exploded and what not but nothing that hasn’t been insurmountable with our powers combined.
More than being just an exercise for the inner challenge junkie though, it’s also an opportunity to put into practice the values and ethics that I have honed in response to a sometimes very depressing but always comprehensive education in politics and history. Being a leading partner of a media outlet and working with people who want to resist the comfortable allure of fear and casual bigotry is probably not something I’m going to get to do again. I’m finding myself really driven by this thought, and there is (spoiler alert) a well done article in this edition by Matt O’Rourke that really drove it home for me how important the media can be in society and the penalties we pay when we let it fall into disrepute or into the hands of those that would sooner dismantle it.
Thanks
– Our awesome layout person.
– Our awesome website person.
– Sailor Jesse spiced rum.
– Male figure skaters (for being unexpectedly gorgeous).
No Thanks
– Telstra (just a general fuck you)
– Scott Morrison (again, another general fuck you)
– Dinosaurs, for dying and becoming expensive fuel.
