The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Hard Times Spreading Just Like the Flu …

Posted on | August 27, 2011 | 8 Comments

. . . Watch out, homeboy, don’t let it catch you:

In the occasionally prickly world of media reporting, it’s hard to find anyone who does not love, respect and, yes, slightly fear Jack Shafer.
So widespread is the love that American Journalism Review published a valentine to him earlier today, devoting 2,500 words to figuring out just what makes him so much better at writing about the media than everybody else.
Then, just minutes later, Adweek broke the news that Slate had laid him off, along with several others.
“These are tough times for publications,” Shafer told POLITICO. “They had to let some people go, and I was one of them.”He said he would continue as a contributor.
Slate held a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to inform staff about the layoffs, which affected four people. Staffers said there was no mention of any reason for the cutbacks beyond the tough economic times.
“We did a small reduction in our full-time staff and in our contractors, and we are, like everybody in the business, constantly looking at the competitive landscape and trying to be as responsive and agile as we can,” David Plotz, Slate’s editor, told POLITICO. “The goal of Slate is to produce intelligent and witty and innovative-in-the-medium kind of journalism, and it’s our belief that the changes that we’ve made today, plus some investments that we are making in other editorial matters and technology, are going to help us be competitive.”
Timothy Noah, author of Slate’s “Chatterbox” column, confirmed that he was one of the four editorial staffers laid off, and will now become a nonstaff “contributing writer.” He’s been on book leave since April writing a book about income inequality, based on a series he wrote last year for Slate.

Kind of ironic to be working on a book about “income inequality” when you get laid off from your day job. But the fact that they are making such cutbacks at Slate, one of the original online publications, and cutting front-page names like Shafer and Noah, should tell you something about the state of the industry.

Instapundit quoted something wise yesterday: “The way you get a job as an online journalist is that you show you can write and get traffic. . . . You should also start your own blog. That is your real resume. If you want a job writing online, any employer will say ‘Why aren’t you doing it now if that’s what you want to do?’ And it’s a decent question. No one is stopping you from writing right now. You don’t need to be paid to write something good. Just write it and put it on your blog.”

What’s weird to me is that so few downsized journalists even try their hands as independent bloggers. Most bloggers dont’t come from a journalism background. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of newspaper staffers have been laid off in the past decade. How many of them are are now blogging? Not many, so far as I know. And that’s weird.

And hey, how’d you like that Old School hiphop reference in the title?

Category: Economics, Journalism

Comments

8 Responses to “Hard Times Spreading Just Like the Flu …”

  1. Zilla of the Resistance
    August 27th, 2011 @ 11:45 am

    LOVE the Run DMC reference! I come from STRONG ISLAND and listened to as much rap as I did heavy metal, which means a LOT! My older brother and his friends used to lay cardboard out in the middle of our street and break dance, only stopping to let cars pass! 

    Yeah, these are some hardassed times we’re living in. I had to bleg just to get batteries for the likely power outages we’ll have when Irene hits in just a few hours, and I got trolled for it too.

    As far as I am aware, Stacy, you’re the only real journalist who blogs, in addition to being the last REAL American reporter that we have who is worth a damn. I guess the media muckity mucks are too good to rub elbows with us lowly bloggers.

  2. Dave C
    August 27th, 2011 @ 12:34 pm

    What’s weird to me is that so few downsized journalists even try their
    hands as independent bloggers. Most bloggers dont’t come from a
    journalism background. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of newspaper
    staffers have been laid off in the past decade. How many of them are are
    now blogging?

    Maybe that’s a feature, not a bug..  

  3. rosalie
    August 27th, 2011 @ 1:42 pm

    I assume that running a blog like this requires a lot of work and expense – not to mention knowing the latest technology.   Not everyone’s up for that kind of challenge.

  4. Dave C
    August 27th, 2011 @ 2:30 pm

    They can always start out with Blogspot or WordPress account for free to get their feet wet..  Blogspot is pretty idiot proof too with lots of helpful videos..   If they handle formatting MicroSoft word they could handle the free from of blogging and what little technical know how there is to run a successful blog.. 

    Prof. Jacobson of Legal Insurrection just switched over from Blogger to his own dedicated site..   Our gracious host did the same toward the beginning of this year. 

    But start out with a simple blog and move on from there.. Baby steps..  If they are any good, they might be able to find a trusty blog sidekick like Smitty to help them along with more of the technical stuff. 

    Most of it is highlight with the mouse then press a button.   No real knowledge of working with HTML is required..   Highlight the phrase you want to bold then press the bold button..  Or italic.. and so on.. 

    It’s what Daryn Kagan did when she was let go by CNN..  She does Oprah type feel good stories and interviews people by Skype.. 

    http://www.darynkagan.com/index.html

    it’s what I thought Dan Rather would do..  But Danrather dot com is just a resume site..    Instead, he’s regulated out to HD.NET which has less viewers than Oblermann at Current TV.. 

  5. Anonymous
    August 27th, 2011 @ 3:13 pm

    It’s not the writing that makes a problem for them starting up a blog.  It’s all the other stuff.  They need to read Stacy’s “rules.”  Then break them.

    By the way,  SCOAMF.  Google it.

  6. TC_LeatherPenguin
    August 27th, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

    Grandmaster and the 5, and Sugar Hill are “Old School.” Run needed Aerosmith to shore up record sales.
    NOW GET OFF MY SHAOLIN ROCK!

  7. Daily Pundit » Sleeping With the Enemy: Why Journalists Don’t Become Bloggers
    August 27th, 2011 @ 12:07 pm

    […] Hard Times Spreading Just Like the Flu … : The Other McCain What’s weird to me is that so few downsized journalists even try their hands as independent bloggers. Most bloggers dont’t come from a journalism background. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of newspaper staffers have been laid off in the past decade. How many of them are are now blogging? Not many, so far as I know. And that’s weird. […]

  8. rosalie
    August 27th, 2011 @ 5:16 pm

    Thanks for the Kagan blog.