~~~
Day’s Verse:
The stuck-up fall flat on their faces,
but down-to-earth people stand firm.

Proverbs 11:2
~~~

Yesterday evening I got the following email:

Hi Katie,

My name is [Omitted], and I am working on a documentary entitled “Get Schooled: You Have the Right” for MTV Networks, Viacom, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The documentary will air on September 8th at 8pm, and will feature three young professionals working with celebrities and is all about how the professionals’ education helped them achieve their current career success.

One of our three professionals, a White House staff member named Sarah, grew up in Wayland, MA and attended Claypit Hill School. I found your photo of the school on Flickr, and wanted to ask your permission to use it in our documentary. The photo would be used in a montage of Wayland as supplementary material to accompany Sarah’s story. We would credit you for the photo, of course.

Due to our fast approaching airdate, if you could let us know if we can use the photo within the next few days, it would be much appreciated. If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to email me or give me a call at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Thank you for your help,

[Name]

MTV Networks
1515 Broadway, 4-24A
New York, NY 10036

Here is the picture in question, which went from having 0 views to 16 views in one day:

Clay Pitt Hill School

I have the picture because I met a couple other bicyclists there earlier in the summer.

Anyway, I have had a few people ask to use my pictures in the past — usually small things like somebody wants a picture for a blog or a church bulletin or web site newsletter. This is by far the biggest viewership (however brief) any of my pictures will ever have gotten. According to the gal, you can see my picture and my name on screen on September 8th at 8pm/7pm central on any Viacom channel (MTV, VH1, CMT, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, etc.). I’ll be credited in the “Footage Provided By” section of the credits.

Now if only it was one of my good pictures.

KF quality

4 thoughts on “15 (or Fewer) Seconds of Fame

  1. Yeah, but I’m sure it’ll be on screen for literally 2 seconds. I’m not going out of my way to see it, either. 🙂

  2. FYI, When someone asks to use one of my flickr photos I always make a distinction between non-profit organizations and for-profit business. I have no problem letting non-profits use my photos as long as they give me credit, but a profit-making business should pay a reasonable fee. The woman that contacted you sounded like she was from a non-profit, so I probably would have done the same thing as you…

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