In this industry, we always try to help each other. I was able to pass on the work I can’t cover to a couple of buddies and they are grateful. But I have also reduced my rate on some projects, just so I have work, rather than scare the customer away. I’m not saying you should take on a gig you can’t do just so you can make some money. I’ve hired guys to program a particular console only to hear later that they spent the majority of their programming time reading the manual and calling other operators while punting through a show. I got a call from a friend last month in desperate need of someone to program a particular media server I knew little about. I’m sure I could’ve figured it out, but I passed rather than jeopardize his show. Instead, I gave him the phone numbers for a couple of other people even though I could’ve used the cash.
—Nook Schoenfeld, from “LD at Large,” PLSN, Feb. 2009
