Writing crappy stories and cars with flamethrowers

Yesterday I was sent out to do an absolutely beyond shitty story. Some guy here in Cape Town is marketing a new security system that sprays people with pepper spray. One of the editors got the idea after seeing the ad for it in the newspaper. After going out there I found out that the system is actually fairly well designed, but it's just another example of how freaked out people are in this country about home and business security. So I had to write the story real quickly, since I didn't get back from until 2:30. I've never written a story like this before - basically about a somewhat hairbrained product - so I wrote about as straightforward a story as I could. Today, one of the editors told me the article was too straightforward. So I rewrote it and poked fun at the pepper spray system. Then it got totally changed again by another editor. And then once more time this afternoon, another editor, reading it yet again, said the original version was too much like an advertisment. And then I was told, "Don't be surprised if this doesn't run."

Wow, what I can say. It sucks being an intern. The whole reason I was sent out on this goofball story was that back in 1998, some guy out here in South Africa devised a car that had a flame thrower on it to help stop carjackings. That would have been a much better story to say the least.