This Week in the Mercury
Monday, October 13, 2008
Media Help A Blogger Out
Posted by Matt Davis on Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 2:35 PM
As someone happened to ask me on the weekend, "What the hell is happening to all these journalists getting fired everywhere?" At the time I bluffed some answer like, "they're going to have to get more creative and fill a new niche" or something. But the truth is rather sadder: they're lost. They're utterly, utterly lost, and it's sad.
Jim Hopkins, 51, was a writer and editor at the Gannett group, which publishes USA Today among other titles, where Hopkins worked for 20 years. Lately, Gannett has been firing everybody. Hopkins among them. So he's started a blog about Gannett, selling Google ads and soliciting "voluntary subscriptions" through paypal.
Today, Hopkins set himself a challenge: Make $24,000 from blogging by the end of the year, or "all bets are off." So far, he's raised $315 through voluntary subscriptions, and about 15 cents from Google ads, which really do pay appallingly. He writes:
My experiment opens a window on the reality of today's journalism finance: Can this blog generate enough revenue to support its continued publication? We're going to find out! Relying on two revenue streams -- ads, and a voluntary subscription fee -- I'll share embarrassing details of how much I earn in the months ahead. Starting today, you've got front-row seats to the launch of a 51-year-old journalist's second career.
It's like reading The Old Man and the Sea. The worst part is the "related articles" tag at the end of his post: "Why recessions are actually good times to start a business." You go for your life, Jim. Poor chap.
1
He'll probably get kicked off of the Google AdSense campaign for sharing his earnings. Pretty sure that violates the agreement you sign to start using the service.
2
Oh jeez stop being the f@cking hall monitor.
I'm so old I remember when the Linotype operators were slowly canned from the Oregonian. One by one they stumbled out into the sunlight, kicked the lead-splatter off their boots, lit a smoke and walked into the future.
A couple tried to convert, got some training and tried to surf the wave, but got lonely for their kin and eventually drifted off. The last out of the building begged us to keep his machine and efforted for several years to have OHS come get it. We eventually sold it for scrap.
I'm so old I remember when the Linotype operators were slowly canned from the Oregonian. One by one they stumbled out into the sunlight, kicked the lead-splatter off their boots, lit a smoke and walked into the future.
A couple tried to convert, got some training and tried to surf the wave, but got lonely for their kin and eventually drifted off. The last out of the building begged us to keep his machine and efforted for several years to have OHS come get it. We eventually sold it for scrap.
3
Jesus, Matt. This is the exactly the same attitude of the recordings industry execs that think they're morally entitled to $20 a CD because "that's the way things have always been".
Your people will adapt or perish, Matt, just like everyone else. To refuse progress is suicide, and I for one will be giggling like a school-girl when you find your job extinct. You (and they) have brought this upon themselves; stop getting all maudlin about it.
Your people will adapt or perish, Matt, just like everyone else. To refuse progress is suicide, and I for one will be giggling like a school-girl when you find your job extinct. You (and they) have brought this upon themselves; stop getting all maudlin about it.
4
hey A-Cat, I don't think anything in this post suggests moral entitlement. You're right that people have to adapt and this is an interesting look at someone trying to do that. I myself wonder how people will find information about their communities if no one is there to cover it and distribute it--or if no one can make a living doing it.
And what about the "I saw you" section?! Wouldn't you miss that?
And what about the "I saw you" section?! Wouldn't you miss that?
5
SCG, I'm not sure what I would do without the "I Saw You" section. Perhaps I was wrong when I said moral entitlement, I guess I was thinking of more generally "intertial" entitlement.
From what I could tell in Matt's post, he was saying that certain journalists are becoming obsolete, and that's "sad". Me, I disagree. I think that if people want to do something that there isn't a demand for (and this causes them to be unable to pay their bills), this is much more stupid, lazy, and entitled than it it sad.
You, on the other hand, seem to be wondering "how people will find information about their communities if no one is there to cover it and distribute it--or if no one can make a living doing it." Do you really think that certain members of the old media being laid off will prevent these stories from being covered and distributed? Really? I 'd be very surprised if you really felt that way, but I'd love to hear about it.
I also like to hear more about Matt's thoughts, but he seems to have taken a recent policy of not responding to any critical comments. Weird.
From what I could tell in Matt's post, he was saying that certain journalists are becoming obsolete, and that's "sad". Me, I disagree. I think that if people want to do something that there isn't a demand for (and this causes them to be unable to pay their bills), this is much more stupid, lazy, and entitled than it it sad.
You, on the other hand, seem to be wondering "how people will find information about their communities if no one is there to cover it and distribute it--or if no one can make a living doing it." Do you really think that certain members of the old media being laid off will prevent these stories from being covered and distributed? Really? I 'd be very surprised if you really felt that way, but I'd love to hear about it.
I also like to hear more about Matt's thoughts, but he seems to have taken a recent policy of not responding to any critical comments. Weird.
7
Journalism is changing, for better or worse. The advent of blogs is fun but they are not reliable and are often very, very biased and rarely carry a full gamut like a daily does.
I hope all the large newspaper sink and what we end up with is larger versions of weekly like ventures. Only daily. Owned and operated by the journalists themselves who pride themselves on correct, accurate reporting that benefits the community - not necessarily readerships number per say.
I hope all the large newspaper sink and what we end up with is larger versions of weekly like ventures. Only daily. Owned and operated by the journalists themselves who pride themselves on correct, accurate reporting that benefits the community - not necessarily readerships number per say.
8
I asked Jim these questions, yet for some reasons, he is afraid to answer then for me> No I do not work for Gannett. Jim, before ANYBODY, SHOULD SEND YOU ANY MONEY> I believe that their are a few questions, that you should answer. 1,How much, money already, have you put into this blog? 2, Where did you come up with the 24 thousands, dollars figure you said you will need? 3,How much time, per day, do you spend on this blog? 4, Any money that come in to your blog> How are you going to set it up? Are you going to keep it as part of your personal living expediencies? Are you going to set up a separate sets of books,? Are you going to maybe set up any kind of legal no-profit deal? 5, What other income do you have(IRA, royalties from pass writing, a trust fund)? Outside of Google, ads, what other funding have you tried to obtain?
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