I am officially a journalist [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

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Yerdaddy

06-16-2005, 09:00 AM

My, (our), first story was just published on the web today. I have a buddy here who actually wrote the piece and I did all the research. We're going to do some stories like this, retarded Woodstein style, and some on our own, but this is the first story either of us had written.Here's the deal: I wrote a story, (the one posted in my travel thread), for the crappy Yemeni English newspaper here. I met a girl who was writing stories here for IRIN, the United Nations news service, and she was leaving for India. She told me to look into taking over for her when she left and I did. My buddy at the other paper was interested too, so we're both doing it. For the story I met with the communications director and the doctor in charge of the polio program at UNICEF here, then with the director of the program with the Ministry of Health. They were all great to me and very generous with their time. They explained the whole program, faults and all, and I was working on a long piece including the stuff in this article along with a story about how the original polio vaccination campaign was delayed by a global vaccination shortage which probably allowed the virus to spread into Yemen in the first place. Big story ther! But my editor called us two nights ago and wanted the story the next day. So we had to give her this one right away - really only half finished - and the other story I'll work on over the next few weeks.I'm finding the job much easier and more interesting than I thought it would be. Most of the people I've met with have been really easy to meet with and have given me much more of their time than I expected. I have met with the Ministry of Health director of the HIV-AIDS program and she was extremely guarded, giving me the party line that everything's okey-dokey when I know it isn't. But that, in itself, is interesting and will make it kind of fun to dig that story out from under the government here. I think this is the first job that I've had that's really demanding, (I've been working it pretty much every waking hour for the last week), but doesn't exhaust me. So far I'm really enjoying it and it's really rewarding. And, for Yemen, the pay's good. Can't beat that with a stick.I should be doing about two stories a week soon. Done patting myself on the back. Now I'll give you all a chance.BYLINE: BonesteinOh yeah, here's the story: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47664&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=YEMEN" target="_blank">YEMEN: Polio vaccination “highly successful,” say the health ministry</a><img src="http://scripts.cgispy.com/image.cgi?u=bonedaddy5" border="0" /> Fuck it from behind.

This message was edited by Yerdaddy on 6-16-05 @ 1:01 PM

Reephdweller

06-16-2005, 09:53 AM

I'm reading it now....YD this is great, congratulations and best of luck with it.

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curtoid

06-16-2005, 10:17 AM

Congtrats - this is very, very exciting. That is an exciting feeling to be working really hard on something and at the same time not feeling like you are because it's work you love, and think about all the time.I really liked that first article you did too, btw.

FUNKMAN

06-16-2005, 10:30 AM

CONGRATS Budday! and Stay Safe!

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Tall_James

06-16-2005, 10:35 AM

This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United NationsPussies.Congrats on joining the 4th Estate.

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TheMojoPin

06-16-2005, 12:17 PM

Polio vaccination?!?  WATCH OUT FOR THE AIDS!!!Way to go, YD.

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Yerdaddy

06-17-2005, 02:53 AM

Thanks guys. I actually hadn't read the final version when I posted this and when I read it I barely recognized it. I don't actually understand the edits they made. So I have a favor to ask: I'll post the original that we wrote and anyone who's willing, read the two and tell me which one's more coherent. Of course I'd also like my friggin name on it, but they are paying me hush money for that, so I'll keep my trap shut. 16 June, 2005: SANAYEMEN: health ministry - polio vaccination campaign "a great success".  The Ministry of Health (MoH) in Yemen said that it discussed with NGOs in the capital Sana yesterday morning the success of the second round of the immunization campaign to eliminate the "wild polio type" virus from Yemen.The figures, according to al-Mudhwahi, the Director General of Family Health at the ministry, point to a "highly successful campaign".The MoH launched its second nationwide campaign on May 30 this year, by which time the number of confirmed polio cases stood at 179 in 11 Yemeni provinces. The latest available figures show 220 confirmed cases. The carefully prepared second vaccination drive was conducted by the MoH, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and other authorities. The first case of polio in Yemen was discovered on February 25 and confirmed on 20 April.The delay in confirmation was due to the nearest available test laboratories being in Dubai and Cairo and the signs of polio being symptomatic of three other possible diseases.The as yet unreleased statistics in the possession of the Yemeni MoH are said to point to a highly successful campaign, have reached between 85 and 103% of all Yemeni children under the age of five. The apparent disparity is explained by the problematic geographical nature of Yemen and demographic difficulties. "The lower estimate is based on data gathered from the first vaccination round (in April 2005), and the higher figure corresponds to the census conducted at the end of 2004," said al-Mudhwahi. The reliability of the census itself was widely questioned at the time.Aspects of the vaccination drive have, however, been open to question. Local press reports have claimed that hundreds of families in the areas of Hodeidah and Sa'ada have been refusing immunisation. In Hodeidah, a western coast region of Yemen and one of the worst areas to be hit by the outbreak, it has been have claimed that locals believe that the first vaccination round, from April 11 to 14, was the original cause of the polio cases. In Sa'ada, a governorate in the north of the country and which has also been the scene of an ongoing anti-government uprising, religious clerics are said to have issued a decree warning locals not to accept immunisation, which they say is part of an American/Israeli conspiracy which will render their children sterile in later life.The UN battled against similar circumstances in Nigeria in 2003 and the resulting delay in implementing vaccinations is said to have been the cause of the current outbreak. The virus was said to have spread to Yemen from Nigeria via Sudan. Saudi Arabia has also registered cases, and began its own vaccination campaign ahead of time on June 11, targeting 400,000 children under the age of five. The Saudi campaign has allocated two million doses for western and southern provinces, areas that border Yemen. Indonesia has also been afflicted. UNICEF has been made aware of press reports saying that two local doctors from Hodeidah are leading the counter campaign to vaccinate children. According to the reports, one of the doctors, named as Mohammed Abu Anas, did not vaccinate his children saying that the vaccines were not properly checked before use. He was quoted as saying: "The Ministry of Health's pr

Aggie

06-17-2005, 05:32 AM

Congrats Daddy! I majored in journalism and decided to go into marketing. Go figure. Don't forget us little people when you become a famous writer. 

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A.J.

06-17-2005, 10:56 PM

Your writing is as good as Penthouse Forum.Congrats.

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Yerdaddy

06-30-2005, 03:26 AM

Don't forget us little people when you become a famous writer. <img src="http://scripts.cgispy.com/image.cgi?u=Aggie" border="0" />Show me something little about you, Dollface! No, really, show me!  This is the first story completely researched and written by me to be published by the UN news agency. Again with the edits though! "...suffered the more than anyone else.."??? My editor actually inserted that little fuck up. Eh well. The rest of the shittiness is mine, pretty much. Anyhoo, this one's all me, Baby! And, what's more, the money's all mine! Mine! Mine!  Mine!  Getting that phat UN bling!   It's actually only good money if you live in the Third World. But, hey, I do.My favorite part of writing this story was when the Vice-Minister of Fish Wealth, (tee hee), began the interview with a veiled threat because I haven't registered as a journalist with the Ministry of Information, (so they can more easily spy on me, intimidate me, tie me up with red tape [hot!] and require me to take "minders" - spies/official pains-in-the-asses - in an effort to keep me from practicing journalism, basically. Fuck them. I'm getting escorted to the airport before I put up with that shit.) Then he proceeded to lie his ass off to me. The only reason he even confirmed the basis of the story was to blame the other ministry, (probably because it has a normal sounding name). It was just like petty authoritarian lackeys in the movies. Probably just bitter about being the Vice-Minister of Fish Wealth! I fucking love this job!<a href="http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47875&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=YEMEN" target="_blank">YEMEN: No assistance for tsunami victims</a>[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]SANA, 29 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - I never actually thought these stories could happen to an average guy like me, but the other day these three lesbian nuns and their spider monkey knocked on my door asking to borrow some cucumbers and a turkey-baster... Wait. Wrong story.No relief has been provided in Yemen for victims of the December 2004 tsunami, neither has there been any attempt to assess or repair damage to the country's marine environments according to government officials.Independent fishermen in Al-Mahrah and Socotra suffered the more than anyone else from the tsunami, yet most of them "are still waiting for the government to do something," said Abdulkhaliq Al-Ghaberi, Director General of the Environmental Emergency Unit (EEU) in the Ministry of Water and Environment.He said insufficient funds, poor coordination among agencies and a lack of human and technical capacity have prevented Yemen from recovering from the devastating tsunami.The tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake killed between 200,000 and 310,000 people. Over US $3 billion in relief aid was pledged by the international community.Yemen suffered far less damage than the worst affected countries such Indonesia or Sri Lanka with just two confirmed deaths and damage estimated to be in the region of $1 to $2 million.However, for Yemen, the greatest impact has been on the loss of livelihood suffered by local fishermen, according to a preliminary assessment conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the EEU. In the words of their report, aid to the fishermen in Socotra and Al-Mahrah is "critical for them to recover and resume a normal life."Al-Ghaberi said that local authorities are doing their best to aid the fishing communities but that they had not received any funds from central government or foreign donors.Deputy Minister of Fish Wealth, Mahmood Ibrahim Al-Saghiry, confirmed that no aid had yet been provided to fishermen who were victims of the tsunami. He said that the ministry, along with the Food

Bulldogcakes

06-30-2005, 05:58 PM

Congrats Dude!And be safe. I remember you saying in a post once that the Yemeni Gov't is not into the whole "Free Press" thing.  

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Yerdaddy

07-01-2005, 11:02 AM

Naw. I'm a westerner so I'm above the whole imprisonment and beatings thing. But that was the point of trying to get me to register with the MoI - they want to tie me up with red tape. But the worst thing that'd happen to me is they'd drive me to the airport. I certainly want to stay here and do this job, but really, It'd just be something cool to write about if it happened. Then I'd go to Syria and keep doing the same thing.

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Fuck it from behind.

Yerdaddy

07-03-2005, 05:03 AM

Hoo Baby! I have hit the bigtime now! My tsunami story made it all the way to <a href="http://www.veryoldbird.com/fishingequipmentdirectory/fishing-equipment-repair.html" target="_blank">Mr. Smith's Fishing Equipment Repair Resources</a> website. Who's Yerdaddy now biotches?!

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Fuck it from behind.