你现在到底清楚了吗？

Friday, February 19, 2010

So this is how it feels to hear "It's very unprofessional." It got me so distracted that I had to make my interviewee - he's a celebrity (not some bigshot, but still), mind you - repeat what he just said. You can't imagine how upset I was when I heard that because never in my life have I got a person telling me that.

Okay, you see, I was at the press conference for a play. In the media invite, it says it's an hour-long session. I was surprised when it was over in about 15 mins, and after that it was all the one-to-one interviews. I should have known better when nobody really asked questions during the "actual" press conference - because everyone wanted to keep the "good" questions to themselves so they can score a scoop. And the questions that were indeed asked, didn't give "juicy" answers, if you know what I mean. So I decided to grab whoever I could after the press conference ended to get a few more decent quotes.

The PR people had already started to usher the actors into different rooms for interviews, and only the lead actor was still hanging around, having tea and tarts. I saw that the people who were going to interview him were still setting up their equipment, so I quickly walked up to him and asked if I could ask him a couple of questions. He said okay, and so I continued.

Then from the corner of my eye, I saw this lady standing beside me. I thought she was just your usual artiste manager or some PR person who hangs around just to note what the journalist is asking and make sure everything is within the boundaries. Well, yes she's a PR, but she doesn't only hang around.

Our photog asked if she could take another photo of the actor (the PR was standing opposite the actor, I was on his right). And she said, "You guys shouldn't be doing this, it's very unprofessional." I was stunned cos I didn't know what that was for! After I wrapped up with the actor, another PR came up to ask where I'm from, and said, "You didn't ask for an one-to-one interview right?" I said, "Ya." She said, "Then it's not very appropriate for you to do that, so maybe next time...." I said, "Okay okay, thank you (don't know why I thanked her!)."

The second PR was nicer - I was less offended - but I was just as puzzled. Hello, just because I don't have an one-to-one interview slot, I cannot even go up to a celeb and shoot off a few questions meh?! I mean okay la, if you want to stay on schedule, you can come up to tell me that oh, he needs to finish up the arranged interviews and rush off for rehearsal or something like that, and I would stop! Get what I mean? Don't have to be so harsh la. You are PRs you know, aren't you supposed to know how to por people?! "Unprofessional" is such a big word to use for the small thing I did. If I had stood around while other media channels were doing their interviews and took down notes, or blatantly replied my SMSes during the press conference and showed no interest in being there, then maybe you can call me "unprofessional". But for this?! WTF.

I was just trying to do my job and get something here - I had to do it because your press con was only 15 mins (and I was under the impression that it's going to be an hour) and there was nothing exciting to write (in the end, there was still nothing exciting to write)!! I only used 3 pages of my notebook - a first for me at a press conference!

Okay, enough of ranting. Now a more clear-headed me wants to say something.

Although I was VERY upset, I learnt a lesson. Things are definitely different now, they're no longer the same as those days when I was still an innocent intern at the entertainment desk. This is a timely reminder to myself - things change, so stop being complacent and keep thinking that I have more experience and am better than my peers. I nearly screwed up this time man. And I thought I could get by relying on other people to ask questions, BIG mistake. Come back down to Earth, layming.

But omg, I'm still upset that I was actually being called "unprofessional". OMG. Too bad I can't remember how that PR looks like now. rahh.

Alright alright, maybe some of you would think that I'm just kicking up a big fuss over nothing, but hey, you are not me, you don't know why I feel this way. So just read, and keep the comments to yourself. Pui.

Labels: rants, work

posted @ 12:26:00 am |