Ever been censored or told to write or report a story because your boss demanded it? I have. What about just working for someone who was shilling infotainment? I’ve done that, without knowing. But it turned out well.

I was a new mother and looking for some PT Journo work when I happened upon a cute little “news” magazine in Southern Calif. I actually really wanted to work with them and was quickly hired upon proving my experience at other print media outlets. But what I didn’t know was they were advertorials in disguise. In other words, we were writing stories about local businesses who advertised in the magazine.

I thought I was going to get to do restaurant and movie reviews, which I did, but mostly I was writing their ads. It didn’t last long because as soon as I started to notice what was up, I quit. But here’s what I learned, I can easily write :30 spots now! When you have to write a couple pages or several columns about a local yogurt shop or the latest Der Wienerschnitzel opening up, a :30 or even :60 spot is a piece of cake (Ice Cream cake of course;)).

What have YOU done that you didn’t like, but you turned into a positive?