Freelance writing’s unfortunate new model

With many outlets slashing pay scales, the well-written story is in danger of becoming scarce. The hustle is just beginning for new and seasoned freelancers.

Today’s reality is that much of freelancing has become all too free. Seasoned professionals have seen their income drop by 50% or more as publishers fill the Web’s seemingly limitless news hole, drawing on the ever-expanding rank of under-employed writers.

A low-key Tina Brown stares down a new beast, daily

A queen of old media resolves to profitably adapt it to what’s new.

…Tina Brown has never been one for self-doubt. A precocious magazine editor who breathed new life into the fusty Tatler (at age 25), Vanity Fair (at 30) and the venerable New Yorker (at 38), Brown’s success was notable for many things, among them the envy it inspired and her prodigious talent for self-promotion. And then came Talk, the magazine, book and entertainment venture that was supposed to secure her place in the cultural firmament, starting with the scandalously decadent launch party she threw at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in August 1999…

…For the past 15 months, she has presided over the Daily Beast, the newsmagazine-style website she created for her friend, Internet mogul Barry Diller.

The site’s growing readership suggests that she has been able to translate her trademark blend of intellectual depth and fascination with the shallows of pop culture to the Internet. But the big question looms: Can she help Diller figure out how to bring high-end advertisers to high-end consumers in a profitable way?…

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Someone over at Esquire thought it’d be cool to write about Mr. Empire State. Can’t fault them there. He’s coming off a big year. But then they went and gave the writer, Lisa Taddeo, the greenlight to cover him this way:

“Jay-Z is black black. He is old-school double-dark-chocolate-chunk black. He is black the way Labatt is blue. He is not white black, Barack black, like our president. Or the kind of black that doesn’t curse and deplores the n-word, the genteel black, like Oprah. He is, arguably, the first black-black guy to cross over into Oprah-land and Bill Clintonworld without making the Oprah-sized no-look-back forward flip that means you’re selling not necessarily your soul but perhaps something fleshier, a little more external.”

To make matters worse, they highlighted the above text for dramatic affect. Before you go thinking that it’s only black people who are thinking WTF other’s have sounded off on Esquire missing the mark.

Slate.com

The Unbelievably Bad Metaphors in Esquire’s Profile of Jay-Z

The Village Voice

On the Esquire Profile of Jay-Z That Is Making the Rounds Right Now

Oh and Happy New Year.

In her article Dickson refers to Public Enemy’s song “911 Is A Joke”. A copy editor unaware of the song and it’s discussion of the emergency telephone number, assumed 911 should have referred to the 9/11 terror attacks. The change in the article led to some confusion, and criticism of the reporter.

You can read about the fallout here. One of the things I find most interesting about this is as Dickson puts it, the disconnect between generations. She correctly states that the divide must be bridged, and that there’s a lot of work which must be done if we aim to have culturally sensitive reporting.

Also, what do you think of the Post’s policy of assigning collective blame for errors, which some say unfairly impacts those who don’t directly causes errors in the publication?

Journalist turned author Helena Andrews may have penned a black version of "Sex and the City"

Helena Andrews may be the latest journalist turned author turned screenwriter who makes it big, and this time Andrews could make it big in Hollywood.

A new Washington Post article highlights Andrews decision to take her personal odyssey with the dating life in D.C. very public. The article begins, “Helena Andrews is 29, single, living in D.C., and might be the star of a black “Sex and the City” — stylish, beautiful and a writer desperately in search of love in the city.”

So check out what Andrews told The Post about her decision to write her memoir “Bitch Is The New Black”, the impetus behind the endeavor, and how it’ll soon be turned into a movie by the creator of Grey’s Anatomy.

Of Color | Stylish Gifts

By SIMONE S. OLIVER

Somali fashion, do-it-yourself henna kits, children’s books that draw inspiration from the lives of Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor: it’s not hard to find gifts created for and by people of color this holiday season. Here are some possibilities.

This could be a case of when “keeping it real goes wrong”. Sure we all shop and knowing what to get for the holidays is key but making a separate list for people of color instead of incorporating it in the rest of the guide is a bit much…

After going under in June, VIBE was acquired by new investors , rebranded and relaunched in just a few months.

Yesterday, they debuted their cover - a split between new rap sensation DRAKE and problem posterchild Chris Brown.

What do you think?

“They told us it was downsizing,” says one Essence employee. “We’re very confused. We worked so hard for the relaunch.”

Another insider tells J’sticks: “This is normal practice. Companines relaunch with new [site] schemes that allow them to do more with less, then they cut staff.”

In addition to letting go of the web team, Essence also let go of some magazine staffers.

Update:

The site’s managing editor, Emil Wilbekin, is still on staff. Steven Psyllos, deputy editor for Essence.com remains as does the photo editor.

Otherwise the ENTIRE web team is gone, appx 12-15 ppl.

4 cuts from Essence staff include: Fashion Assistant,Work & Weath Assistant, one of 3 deputy editors and a special projects director who’s been with the magazine since the 70s.

“Seattle’s Only Newspaper” sent a self-proclaimed feminist reporter to cover the grand opening of a local Hooters Family Restaurant. Not surprisingly, she was appalled. Equally appalling, though, was the following analogy used to illustrate the restaurant’s offensiveness:

It’s like—a friend pointed out later—if someone opened a restaurant called Niggers, and the all-black waitstaff dressed like slaves and step ‘n’ fetched you platters of watermelon, and when it was your birthday they were all, “Jump-down-turn-around-pick-a-bale-of-cotton!” and brought you a cake in the shape of a bale of cotton. And racists could go! And indulge their desire to be publicly racist under the guise of a fun-loving theme restaurant! Niggers! It’s all in fun. It really is like that.⁷

Except it isn’t like that at all.  Other than that, the piece was OK.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/news-flash-i-didnt-like-hooters/Content?oid=2358440

(AP) – 3 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA — The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products.

It is the first time since 1980 that the commission has revised its guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and the first time the rules have covered bloggers.

But the commission stopped short Monday of specifying how bloggers must disclose any conflicts of interest.

The FTC said its commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the final guidelines, which had been expected. Penalties include up to $11,000 in fines per violation.

The rules take effect Dec. 1.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.