The Decline of Journalism Continues
James Rainey’s January 6th LA Times piece about the plight of the freelance journalist, “Freelance Writing’s Unfortunate New Model,” is worth a read, if you can handle a little more depressing news about the news. Among the highlights:
- “An estimated 31,000 writers, editors and others have been jettisoned by newspapers in just the last two years.”
- Web publications are trawling Craigslist for writers who will work for bread crumbs, or for everyone’s favorite: “recognition”
- Writers are learning to act more like small business people and less like artists
- There’s no telling the important stories that have been missed, or the ones that will be missed, as journalists leave the profession.
- Some hope is offered by new approaches to online journalism: ProPublica; Spot.Us; and True/Slant
We know the trouble that today’s newspapers and magazines are in isn’t a new story, but it’s worth taking a moment to think about it from the perspective of our fellow creative professionals. Personally, we know that a nationally-known trade magazine is offering $500/month for blogging 5 days a week, including writing regularly scheduled columns.
