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General state of the industry thread.

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by DanOregon, Aug 9, 2019.

Page 4 of 10
  1. SpiritedDebate

    SpiritedDebate Member

    I've had zero problems.
     
    SpiritedDebate, Aug 15, 2019
    #37
  2. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I also have to think most flaks by now don't depend on newspapers and other news outlets to promote their clients. Enough tools out there now, it's not worth the time or dignity.
     
    DanOregon, Aug 15, 2019
    #38
  3. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    Freelance. That's 3.5 years you can't get back from the suits.
     
    Fredrick, Aug 15, 2019
    #39
  4. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    I'm sure you are an excellent journalist. It's a sign of how bad our profession is that you are counting the months til you can get away from this woebegone profession. I wish the suits would realize what they've done to the business and start supporting the little guy/gal. Suits are so afraid of getting dressed down by the CEOs that they are terrorizing their staffs. It's one thing if it was a thriving business; it's another to terrorize people working 60 to 80 and getting paid 40.
     
    Fredrick, Aug 15, 2019
    #40
  5. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Less money, no health insurance, no paid vacation.

    And I haven't written for publication in three decades.

    Sounds like a winner to me.
     
    BTExpress, Aug 15, 2019
    #41
    maumann likes this.
  6. Bronco77

    Bronco77 Well-Known Member

    Not that I especially care for the "suits," but a few of the people who evaluated my work during a freelance copy-editing stint 10 years with Demand Media made even the most miserable managers I've encountered in newspapers seem like decent human beings. When I regained fulltime work and was able to ditch the DM gig, I actually emailed a farewell note to the nastiest "team leader" I dealt with and told him he'd better buy a good life insurance policy just in case I ever encountered him in person. It was one bridge I had no regrets about burning.
     
    Bronco77, Aug 15, 2019
    #42
    Slacker, Liut and maumann like this.
  7. Fredrick

    Fredrick Well-Known Member

    Interesting stuff. Usually the freelancers get treated a little bit better cause they are more apt to just not show up at the next assignment. Time to find some citizen journalists. Oh wait ...
     
    Fredrick, Aug 15, 2019
    #43
    Liut likes this.
  8. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I have made peace with it, working in university communications. One little piece of irony is that part of my job is pushing a platform called The Conversation, where professors and researchers write fact-based stories for a non-academic audience. The AP puts all of the stories on their news feed, and they end up in papers and websites all across the country because they're free and well-written (all the editors at The Conversation are ex-journos). The platform is thriving in large part because journalism is struggling and/or taking a narrower focus -- like the Washington Post, which has fortified its politics and investigations teams while cutting back on health and science staffing. So I can get a science professor to write a story that might land in the Post -- not in the op-ed section, but the news section. That would have been highly unlikely 20 years ago.
     
    playthrough, Aug 15, 2019
    #44
    OscarMadison, maumann and Liut like this.
  9. Severian

    Severian Well-Known Member

    I'm curious to know more about this process. Would be this a freelanced article?
     
    Severian, Aug 16, 2019
    #45
    Liut likes this.
  10. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    In a sense. Academics can't repurpose a journal article or something pre-written. They pitch (or I pitch) a story around their expertise that is tied to something in the news cycle or is a good evergreen piece, and the ex-journo editors review the pitches and if they like them, work with the academic to craft the article. It can get messy, some nerdy professors trying to write on a layman's level for the first time in their lives and the editors bluntly telling them what works and what doesn't. I listen to their complaints, then hang up and laugh. But some professors are great and might publish several articles a year.

    It's not directly paid work (some universities, like mine, will tuck a little something in their next check), but -- cough -- the exposure is great. And I can get away with saying that to them.
     
    playthrough, Aug 16, 2019
    #46
    Severian, maumann and Liut like this.
  11. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    What is the status of HS football coverage this fall. Looks like the Oregonian has thrown in the towel on tracking scores on Friday, let alone covering games.
     
    DanOregon, Sep 14, 2019
    #47
  12. Severian

    Severian Well-Known Member

    Not enough staff it seems.
     
    Severian, Sep 14, 2019
    #48
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