Also, a frustrating work thing
Feb. 21st, 2024 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amado12021:
Boss: Hey, we need a freelance writer to write a book for us. I'll give you the names and numbers of these people, and you'll interview them and write a 1,000 word story for each person, okay?
Me: OK. Do you have consent forms for these people?
Boss: They all consent.
Me: OK...
2022:
Me: Hey boss, one of those people we interviewed ... well, I re-wrote her story as a newspaper spotlight like you asked, but she wrote into the newspaper saying she never consented to the story and she doesn't like her story being used as an advertisement.
Boss: OK, shit. She's in the book?
Me: Yeah.
Boss: OK, I need you to contact everyone in the book and ask for their permission to use their stories. And get them to read the stories and approve them, okay?
Me: OK. I'll need everyone's phone numbers and emails.
Boss: I can't give that information out to you.
Me: ...But...you've done it before. So I could interview them.
Boss: I cannot just give these people's contact info out to anyone.
Me: How am I supposed to contact them...
Boss: Just contact whoever you can. Just whoever you already have the contact info for, contact them.
Me: O...OK. And do we have, like, actual consent forms that I can send them, or do you just want me to ask if it's okay and ... I don't know, mark it down in a spreadsheet somewhere??
Boss: We do not need consent FORMS, just get permission and write it down. And make them approve their stories!!
2023:
Me: Hey boss, about half of the people I contacted NEVER got back to me. And there's still a huge fraction of the people that I just don't have contact info for. What do we do? Do we take the stories out for the people who never approved their stories?
Boss: No, we can't do that. We're keeping all the stories.
Me: Without consent?
Boss: They gave consent when they agreed to an interview.
Me, mentally calculating all the hours I spent hounding people to review their stories and give consent again: :^) OK.
2024:
Me: (No longer in marketing, blissfully free of this book)
Boss: Hey! How are you, how's school, how's your cat? Hey so about this book.....did we ever get ✨consent forms✨ for all the people in it?
Me: Oh no.
Boss: Hey, we need a freelance writer to write a book for us. I'll give you the names and numbers of these people, and you'll interview them and write a 1,000 word story for each person, okay?
Me: OK. Do you have consent forms for these people?
Boss: They all consent.
Me: OK...
2022:
Me: Hey boss, one of those people we interviewed ... well, I re-wrote her story as a newspaper spotlight like you asked, but she wrote into the newspaper saying she never consented to the story and she doesn't like her story being used as an advertisement.
Boss: OK, shit. She's in the book?
Me: Yeah.
Boss: OK, I need you to contact everyone in the book and ask for their permission to use their stories. And get them to read the stories and approve them, okay?
Me: OK. I'll need everyone's phone numbers and emails.
Boss: I can't give that information out to you.
Me: ...But...you've done it before. So I could interview them.
Boss: I cannot just give these people's contact info out to anyone.
Me: How am I supposed to contact them...
Boss: Just contact whoever you can. Just whoever you already have the contact info for, contact them.
Me: O...OK. And do we have, like, actual consent forms that I can send them, or do you just want me to ask if it's okay and ... I don't know, mark it down in a spreadsheet somewhere??
Boss: We do not need consent FORMS, just get permission and write it down. And make them approve their stories!!
2023:
Me: Hey boss, about half of the people I contacted NEVER got back to me. And there's still a huge fraction of the people that I just don't have contact info for. What do we do? Do we take the stories out for the people who never approved their stories?
Boss: No, we can't do that. We're keeping all the stories.
Me: Without consent?
Boss: They gave consent when they agreed to an interview.
Me, mentally calculating all the hours I spent hounding people to review their stories and give consent again: :^) OK.
2024:
Me: (No longer in marketing, blissfully free of this book)
Boss: Hey! How are you, how's school, how's your cat? Hey so about this book.....did we ever get ✨consent forms✨ for all the people in it?
Me: Oh no.
