Must be doing something right

A couple days ago, I got off the phone at work with someone who wasn't too happy about some of the reporting I've been doing lately. This whole CIC thing has some people pretty worked up. This guy told me I'd better be careful, since people (including him) were looking for reasons to get me fired.

About five minutes later, our editor walked back to my desk and congratulated me on the job I've been doing. He told me he'll be putting a bonus in my paycheck and to keep up the good work.

A day later, I spent about 10 minutes on the phone with a man who told me I was "a great American and a patriot" for these same stories that the other guy told me I should be fired for writing.

I figure you must be doing something right when you can elicit that strong of feelings from both sides on any issue. Really it's the best compliment a journalist can get.

Another way of looking at it came from a source, who hasn't been too thrilled with some of the things I've written lately. He told me the other day, "I don't like what you've been writing, but it's always been accurate and unbiased. So I have to give you that much."

I had some concerns when I got out of sports and back into news that I might not be able to do the "hard" stories. Apparently I worried for nothing. Now I'll just have to see if I can keep my job long enough to do something that matters...

Just to clarify: I'm not worried about losing my job. I'm mostly flattered that my ability to uncover some level of truth is enough to make people wish I'd go away. My boss asked me to document these "threats," just in case, but I'll just tuck them away as backhanded compliments instead.