Professional courtesy: The Sarah Palin Linked In story

By GottaLaff

Every writer takes pride when they put out an original story or a when they have a real scoop. When I broke the "Should Obama be killed?" Facebook poll story, very few outlets linked back to TPC, not even fellow bloggers. And when they did, they had to be prodded into it, not even mentioning the name of the blog. Kudos to CNN, NPR, and the Washington Post for their attribution. And of course, to David Shuster and Angie Coiro of Green960 radio for picking up on the story.

I posted another story last night after reading a reference by Taegan. It's the story about Sarah Palin's plea for work on Linked In. I posted it last night. Today, everyone has it, and each is date stamped with today's date. Again, Taegan provided a one-liner that led to my post. I provided the images and mockery. Taegan deserves full credit for his sharp eye.

This is about professional courtesy and credibility... and feelings of accomplishment. When someone like Rachel Maddow breaks a story, nobody complains when she takes credit. Same with New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox reporters. The few times when I've tried to wave my hand and say, "Look over here! I had it first!" (in this case, Taegan Goddard led me to the source) I get accusations of wanting 15 minutes of fame.

Wrong. I don't like "fame". I've had it in spurts and it's not all it's cracked up to be. If I wanted glory, I'd use my real name, and I'd knock on doors and ask for it. Believe me, I know how to do that after a career in TV. I've had stalkers, I've had negative attention. It is not fun.

Anyway, the point is, please, if you're going to use a TPC story, at least link back to us (and in this case, Taegan too) and give us some credit, some readership, and some respect. If we do the work, the least TPC can get is some acknowledgment for that.