It’s three years and counting working for myself, and that’s amazing

It’s three years and counting working for myself, and that’s amazing

Posted inRandom Musings, Writing
Now entering four years. Should have posted something about this in October, but forgot to. In mid-October 2014, I quit my full-time job in marketing to start working for myself. It was a decision I had long pondered. A few years prior, my work situation has changed drastically and suddenly after 13 years with the same company, and while at the time I was blindsided, it was a good thing. Kicked me out of a rut. I had been deeply unhappy and seeking change, and suddenly change was forced on me. It was a blessing. Almost got caught in a…
Why journalists hate their life, redux

Why journalists hate their life, redux

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants, Uncategorized
A few days ago I shared why journalists hate life, namely, the sheer ineptitude of management that seems hellbent on driving papers to extinction, kicking employee morale in the face while doing it. This is an industry-wide problem that is killing newsroom after newsroom and making reporters, frankly, not really give a damn about their job anymore. Well, here's another story, courtesy of KC Confidential: The Kansas City Star has told reporters Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann that one of them has to leave the paper, and they — not management — have to decide who goes. “Dillon has seniority,…

Do not pester the editor!

Posted inRants
As some of you may know, I am an editor in my day job. That means I get plenty of letters, emails, faxes and calls from people who want to see their stuff in print. Press releases from marketing firms, mostly (I work in local newspapers), but other items, too. Let me share with you my least favorite call in the world: "I'm calling to confirm that you got my email?" Do not do this. I could go on a bitter tirade about why it's irritating and why it's unnecessary and why it defeats half the purpose of email, but…