What is a Writer today or Change Happens

The Association for Women Journalists (AWJ) listserv had an interesting thread recently that discussed what online publications pay for writing as compared to what freelance writers get for print articles. There is a the apparent disparity of pay between print and web. One of the long-time freelancers who is writing online and in print, sent a link to this article, in which

“People on the Web side of things get paid less and work harder than their print counterparts. That’s a given,” said a 35-year-old online editor at a major magazine. “And if you want to move back into print, it’s harder. People think of you as ‘Webby.’”

The story had a strange tendency, noted in the comments to identify over 40s by name, but quote younger folk without names, as in

This editor, who is 24, continued, “It’s weird, because I feel like there are certain people I’ve met who are young and super into magazines still, which is always surprising to me, because I don’t know why anyone who wants to be involved with the media would want to turn their attention to magazines.”

The story by Doree Shafrir, was published online at the NYObserver, as "Freelance Fizzle" and it touches on issues that are driving some of our graduation seniors crazy these days. The online comments reflect some of the same sentiments that students express. Basically, imagine you are 20 something, and you are completing four expensive years at college, for which you no doubt owe lots of money. You pursued Journalism, rather than English or Poetry, because it seemed to offer more of focus on employment.

Well, the whole profession is in flux. Look to McLuhan's writing on the effects of technological changes on any established order and organizational structures for some of the "why" beyond "technology is disruptive."

Gay Talese claims the younger writers spend too much time at the computer or doing Q & As they record and transcribe. They ought to be out living and writing about the real world. I agree with Talese's assessment that one of the big problems is that young writers don't realize what they don't know unless you spell it out for them. Somehow the idea of researching topics is not natural to lots of students.

It is expensive to use your life as research, especially if you don't have an expense account, so the article brings up some ideas, but settles none of the questions it raises.