What an interesting week it has been. As I may have mentioned, after my contracts with Patch and Scrubs & Suits ended, I’m happy to be back on the freelance road.
In addition to picking up some new clients, I’ve resumed my post as the St. Louis Family & Parenting Examiner and picked up a couple of new titles, including St. Louis Celebrity Headlines Examiner and National Crime Examiner.
But the really exciting news this week isn’t directly related to me at all–it’s related to CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
How I got schooled by Anderson Cooper
Yep. I got schooled by @andersoncooper examiner.com/article/i-got-… 🙂
— Angela Atkinson (@angieatkinson) April 22, 2013
So here’s what happened. A friend I’ve known for years who also happens to be a naturalized citizen of the U.S. recently complained that Cooper made a comment that could be considered derogatory to naturalized citizens, in regard to the Boston bomber who was captured Friday night. After a quick interview, I published an article that expressed her opinion. Then, as I typically do, I tweeted the piece. Shortly thereafter, a Twitter-storm the likes of which I’ve never seen (at least, not on my account) was in full force. I got insulted and attacked, personally and professionally, by so many people that I had to stop reading the tweets (who needs all the negativity!), but in my opinion, it was all worth it–because the initial tweet came from Cooper himself.
.@angieatkinson get your facts straight. You quote somebody who admits she may have misheard me. She did mishear me. Check transcript. — Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) April 20, 2013
Yeah, he called me out. And yeah, it could’ve been pretty embarrassing. But I didn’t let it bother me–instead, I did a little research and wrote a followup article, to which he responded kindly.
@angieatkinson appreciate the correction. Truly. I’m sorry that others tweeted mean things to you.That’s not right. — Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) April 22, 2013
In the end, it worked out well. I received several positive comments afterward from Anderson Cooper fans and fellow journalists, calling my followup “gracious” and “professional,” among others.
@andersoncooper @angieatkinson this was such a gracious correction. kudos! — Joyce Yu (@joycemyu) April 22, 2013
@angieatkinson @andersoncooper You are both true professionals 🙂
— LSHarter (@L_SHarter) April 22, 2013
And, hey, Anderson Cooper noticed and reached out to me personally. That’s pretty cool.
As one fellow tweeter said:
@angieatkinson @andersoncooper That’s actually kinda cool. I’d put that on my resume:-)
— LSHarter (@L_SHarter) April 22, 2013
Related articles
