The Youthful Face of Unemployment

Today's Press Enterprise (main newspaper in the Inland Empire, Ca) is running my essay (Op-Ed piece) in the opinion section. Originally titled The Youthful Face of Unemployment, the editors changed it to Tattoos Torpedo Job Interviews. The new title is more to the point, which is what an opinion piece needs to be, and I guess its the fiction writer in me that keeps trying to create mystery with titles, the exact opposite of what a newspaper whats to do. Its hard to switch gears sometimes. But I was a bit curious why they removed a paragraph with statistics from a source that gave support to my position. I can only conclude that an opinion editorial needs to be just that, opinion, not facts. Too many facts and it sounds to much like a news story.

Not sure if this is something to worry about, but the subjects of my essays, may indicate that I am in danger of becoming (or I am already) a grumpy old man. My last essay, Put down the phone and be a parent criticized young parents for being over involved in cell technology and ignoring their children. Kind of a grumpy old man point of view. Oh, well. Change happens. We grow, we learn, we age, and some of us become grumpy in the process.

Both essays are available online in Text and Audio

1. Tattoos torpedo job interviews May 27, 2009 - ... Tattoos torpedo job interviews. Download story podcast. 10:10 PM PDT on Tuesday,May 26, 2009. By KEVIN ANDERSON. ... Kevin Anderson is a resident of Menifee. ...
   
2. Put down the phone and be a parent Feb 14, 2009 - ... parent. Download story podcast. 09:06 PM PST on Saturday, February 14, 2009.By KEVIN ANDERSON. ... it. Kevin Anderson is a resident of Menifee. ...

There is a typo in this mornings Tattoo essay (first person to catch it gets a cookie) Even professional Copy Editors are human. And here is the missing paragraph from the Tattoo piece. Still not sure why they cut it.

But it is reversible, and when done, has measurable results. Clinic Officials at a North Hollywood Medical Clinic, offering laser tattoo removal, recently reported that 80% of those that have tattoos removed were able to get better jobs and were more likely to receive promotions at current jobs.

I think I found a topic for my next piece. Pet Piercing - pros vs. cons.