On our way out of earthcore, I did what I always do as a journo… I stopped to ask the ambos how the weekend had gone. I got the tantalising tidbit that they’d “lost one”. Dead? Not sure, they said. He was missing.
Now, if I was still working for the Age, I would have phoned that in to ‘bags it’ the second I got back into phone range. I would have phoned police on the way, tried to get quotes, written up a piece and e‑mailed it in when I got home.
As it is, looks like the Age has had to rely on an AAP story, so if I had phoned it in, I would have been the only one.
Instead, I kind of filed the information away. I was tired and had had a great weekend. I didn’t even think about calling the Age and giving them the heads up. Reading the story today, it seems so ghoulish and I hate the idea that the only coverage earthcore will get now is his death…
Today was good. Proofreading is somewhat mindless, so I charge less for it, but it’s solid, enjoyable work. It was the programme for the Deaflympics in January, so it was a good cause too – well, apart from my political objections to sport and competition in general, but you know what I mean.