Saturday, 16 May 2009

• Desperate times & desperate measures

  In case you haven't heard, the current economy isn't doing too well these days. What jobs are challenging in these times? Too many to name. If you've been affected, then I feel for ya. Definitely on the same boat here.
  
  I often wonder where the evolution of journalism will take us in years to come. I also think it's hilarious when people can't comprehend why the media is suffering in so many ways. First of all, traditional journalism has been floundering in the past few years all because of the internet. It's simple - our generation does not follow radio/tv/print like how they used to. Everything is obtained from the internet and when audience numbers decline, so do advertising dollars. Media outlets are scrambling to keep up with the net in order to hold on to viewers. Remember, audience numbers equal money. And news, essentially, is also a ploy to sell. That's why you see a lot more junk on the news that "catches your attention" rather than what's newsworthy. But anyways, I digress.
  
  Second of all, we're sitting at a shakey time where the global market is being affected. Advertising dollars aren't exactly pouring in like how it used to, coupled with companies closing, budgets slashed, and marketing strategies re-vamped? The future of journalism isn't looking all too bright. I predict an even more enhanced internet world with nothing but  Huffington Posts and Salon.com. It'll be new generations of blogging, twittering, Facebook and more.
  
  Which can be hella convenient on one hand. Total and utter information overload! I mean, nobody barely knew what google meant only 15 years ago. And these days, it's practically a verb. Any Tom Dick & Harry can be a blogger. And information can be distributed in a matter of mere seconds.
  
  But I honestly fear that the days of traditional journalism are trailing behind us. Investigative journalism will be but a distant memory. News networks are scraping by as it is, never mind the budget to hire reporters to spend time on a lengthy piece. Woodward and Bernstein didn't expose Watergate overnight. I always grew up with the idealistic notion that journalism is a gatekeeper in funnelling out to the masses what the public is supposed to know.
  
  

  
  

  
  But this post is getting long-winded and serious. I initially had an anecdote to tell and it had to do with tough economic times!
  
  Right. So a friend of mine who's also in the media got laid off from work. I empathize and sympathize because I know that media road all too well. She's filling me in on her immediate plans, which is to get any random job just to pay the bills. So she's been creeping around Craigslist for random work, which is a total hit-and-miss, because with CL it's luck of the draw.
  
  "So I saw an ad to be someone's assistant and it seemed legitimate," she began. "I called them and this lady picked up. Her name was Alexa, and we agreed to meet at a Starbucks downtown for a brief interview."
  
  She tells me that she shows up expecting it to be some high-powered executive, or at least somebody with a ton of cash to burn and WANTS a personal assistant. Instead, it was a tiny little Asian girl who was a few years younger than her.
  
  "A young, little Asian girl named Alexa wants you to be her assistant? Are you sure she's not a hooker or something?" I inquired promptly. In all honesty, I really had no basis for thinking she'd be a hooker. Sometimes I just throw in a hooker jab because it just rolls off my tongue swiftly.
  
  Alas, that's exactly what she turned out to be. And I guess in some weird, alternate universe? "Assistant" is also code for prostitution. But to Alexa's defense, it sounded like she was running a pretty successful business. You get to pick your own clients, work out of home, charge $480 an HOUR (usually two hours), and live in a pretty dope part of downtown.
  
  My friend was so sweet. I asked her if she booked it out of there asap, but the trooper in her stuck around and chatted for a bit. Maybe its the reporter in us that's always inquisitive before all else. Heck, if I had coffee with a hooker? I'd be taking notes for future blogs, articles and story ideas. What kinds of questions would you ask a prostitute? I know I'd wanna know how they have relationships, because wouldn't work get in the way? You know, since the career is so messy and all. I know I definitely had trouble with separating career and love in the past. Ah, look at me and the things I have in common with Alexa!
  
  Apparently Alexa fell for a client while on the job, which is frowned upon I think. Then, I thought again and was like, hey! Didn't this happen on a movie called .. PRETTY WOMAN? Although I guess it makes sense to aspire to be rescued like so. I mean, everyone has heroes and role models. For me, I look up to Ann Curry and Christiane Amanpour. For Alexa, she could very well look up to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Or Madame Cleo!
  
  

  
  

  
  So I'll spare additional details regarding Alexa's whore life. And to wrap up this story, my friend politely declined and went about her merry way to the unemployment lineup. But to put all hooker jokes aside, we've all at one time or another, condemned others based on our judgement and preconceived beliefs. But when it's an honest day's work, who really has the right to judge you for what you do? You have lawyers and authorities (not all, but some) doing some of the dirtiest, filthiest work possible that could make Alexa seem like Mother Theresa in comparison.
  
  Desperate times indeed calls for desperate measures. It's always perspective that gives me hope and faith in life. The past half year has been nothing short of a tumultuous whirlwind, and some patches have felt only slightly higher than rock bottom. But despite all the crap thrown at me, I always had a piano to turn to if I needed make a quick dollar. And stories like this is a reminder that other less fortunate girls wouldn't have that talent to sell to make the same buck.
  

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