" ... scandal begets Pulitzers."

Well, I didn’t win anything in the last NC Press Photographer clip contest. I dunno. Maybe I should stick more to the standard photojournalist fare of cute puppies/kids.

Instead, I gave them a picture of me getting nailed by a football. I gave them a picture of a Bengal tiger walking into and striking my lens. Heck, on my online gallery, http://www.shelbystar.com/Portal/Photo_gallerys/johnderrick.htm, I’ve got an African elephant kicking a heavy beach ball straight into my lens/camera/face. That left a mark.

So I have to ask myself – what sort of picture do I have to take to win an award? Judging from the winners, I need to catch someone crying.

Maybe I just don’t want it enough. Maybe I need to use pepper spray.

And scandal begets Pulitzers. So which is better for my career – catching a politician in bed with a live boy or a dead girl?

And a cute puppy.