Chasing for answers

When I was a Photo Editor, I used to regularly get emails from lots of people wanting work. Because of the sheer number I would only reply if one of them really struck me. Some photographers, agencies and PRs would follow their emails up with phone calls to check I'd seen it, at which point I'd scroll through my inbox, wondering if I'd deleted it. At any one point, even with deleting about 100 a day, I regularly kept around 1500 emails in my inbox.

Now I'm on the other side of the fence. I've submitted something to both the Guardian and the Telegraph and its me who is having to do the chasing for answers. I was having a meeting with Kysha from www.musiomusictv.com today and we were discussing how you could tell who the people were that wouldn't call you back. 'I'll give you a call next week.' 'I just need to have a meeting with my Editor and I'll let you know then.' 'I'm sorry I'm right in the middle of something can I call you back?'. I'm getting very familiar with all these phrases.

To name one of the good guys (yes I know she's a woman) Kate.Day@telegraph.co.uk has been very helpful. I've written something about the irony of learning to love photography again after getting made redundant from my job as Deputy Photo Editor. Kate runs the photography blog for the Telegraph and has returned emails and forwarded on my work to other departments and then given me the names of the people to chase. For that I'm very grateful. I got hold of Kate through an old friend called Martin Beckford who has been doing the good work of exposing the MPs who have been fiddling their expenses. Here's one of his stories with one of my favourite headlines.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5293199/MPs-expenses-Two-lavatory-seats-in-two-years-for-John-Prescott.html

Knowing Martin got me to Kate which might lead somewhere; it proves that its often who you know that counts. Its bank holiday weekend and Portobello pubs are already starting to hum. I've got a mate coming in to town from Bristol and we're heading to All Star Lanes. See you on the other side.