I've personally known violators of the "don't get involved in politics" rule. I've been amazed they haven't been caught. I knew some managers had knowledge of what was going on. Either they pretended not to know, or didn't care. Both are dangerous.
A weekend morning news anchor for WLS in Chicago was fired for failing to show up for work. It was hit third infraction. Three strikes. You're out.
Let's get back to the first case. Politics in intertwined in our lives. Many people in the biz pride themselves in their voting records. I've never missed an election in which I was eligible to vote. I love talking politics with the movers and shakers I meet out in the road. The inside information is fun, and it helps you cut through the morass that is political advertising. You can also pull these tid bits from the memory bank when you're doing election day and night coverage.
As for this blog, I learned a long time ago, while I was doing a radio talk show, there there is distinct difference between opinion and analysis. We've come close to opinion a lot of times. When I'm discussing politics, analysis is first and foremost.
In the Chicago situation, I can understand sleeping in once in a great while. It's happened to just about everyone who has to work an early morning shift. Most of us have double alarms, and phone call back-ups. Still, it can happen. Fatigue gets the better of you. I hope the fired anchor finds better work, on a better shift. I also hope he finds better work habits.
How do I handle it? Extremely strict "get to sleep" times. I don't care what's happening. Scarlett Johansson is at the door and she wants to meet me? Too bad. I have to be in bed at least eight hours before that alarm is to go off. The dark curtains are drawn. The phone is turned off. Some pharmaceutical help (legal) is thrown in. If you get to sleep on time, you'll get up on time. Luckily, I have few distractions (a.k.a. children) to disrupt the routine.See you Saturday morning... I hope.
