I've been fired from the Niles Bugle
In the sense that my position has been terminated. Along with at least one other staff reporter. And the chain-wide sports editor. And an assistant editor who doubled as the primary reporter for the Plainfield Enterprise, the oldest paper in the Enterprise Newspapers chain. And those are just the firings I know about.
To be honest, I can't say I didn't see this coming. And not just in the general "working for a newspaper in this day and age means a Sword of Damocles is constantly hanging over your head." Back in April 1, the chain fired a design assistant and a long-time sales rep for the Niles Bugle coverage area (and yes, they really fired people on April Fool's Day). Since then, I couldn't help but notice that a number of ads in the paper has been dropping, which was worrying, since, as I've written before, revenue from ads and classifieds/legal notices is the print newspapers' bread and butter. The fact that it had way less ads then other newspapers in the chain made it more worrying still. It meant that, if the company was going to drop any papers, it would naturally look at the weakest link. But recently, I got word that the chain hired another reporter, and I thought that things were getting better....
At around 6:20 PM, I just came back to the city from an assignment at the burbs. I went to Volumes Bookcafe for an Open Mic Night, and just as I settled down with my tea, I got a call from... Well, his title isn't technically "publisher," but it was basically what he did. And I knew right away something was up, since he never called me before. Heck, we barely exchanged any e-mails.
He told me that since the firing of the aforementioned sales rep, Niles Bugle hasn't been bringing in much profit. Hometown Publications, which owned the chain, wanted him to do something about that, and that meant he had to cut my staff position. He emphasized that the whole thing had nothing to do with the quality of my work, that he's always been happy with it, and he hoped to bring me back to staff position once the paper becomes profitable again. Until then, they might be able to have me as a stringer, but he made no promises. And, if I had any further questions, I should contact my editor.
It took me a while to reach him - and he told me a slightly different story. He said that he was asked to choose which two of the four reporters would be fired. That he tried to defend everyone, heated words were exchanged, and he wound up resigning effective this Friday. He said that he was sorry things turned out this way, and that, if he ever lands somewhere else, he would try to bring me on board, and that he would be happy to be my reference.
I would still get paid for last week and maybe half of this week, but after that...
Thing is, even if they do bring me on board as a stringer, I know how much they pay freelancers - and it's not that much at all. I would have to look for something more permanent anyway.
In the meantime... I have an article that I've been working on that I'll still turn on, but I have no real incentive to write anything else I was assigned. I still write for Austin Weekly News, but even now that I have more free time, I don't imagine I'll be writing that much more then what I usually write (there is only so much room in the paper, and so much money Wednesday Journal Inc is willing to spend on freelancers), and as I said before, what I get from Austin Weekly News covers about a fourth of my regular expenses. I haven't had any assignments from 22nd Century Media since June, and I haven't really checked to see what was going on with that. They were never terribly consistent about how much stuff they would assign, since I became a staff writer for the Bugle, I treated that income as extra money. It wouldn't hurt to at least contact the editors and see if they are willing to assign stuff.
I will do the math later, but as it stands, I should have enough money to cover next month's rent and other necessities, but after that... Things are going to get dicey.
My mom is optimistic that I would be able to find something thanks to my social network. I wish I shared her confidence.
If you want to help - leads to freelance gigs and more permanent jobs are always appreciated. My LinkedIN profile is here. And this LJ does have a tip jar, so if you like what I write...
Tomorrow, Chicago Reader reporters are going to have a rally at the Sun-Times building to advocate for better working conditions. I was already planning to go there, but now... it seems especially fitting.
To be honest, I can't say I didn't see this coming. And not just in the general "working for a newspaper in this day and age means a Sword of Damocles is constantly hanging over your head." Back in April 1, the chain fired a design assistant and a long-time sales rep for the Niles Bugle coverage area (and yes, they really fired people on April Fool's Day). Since then, I couldn't help but notice that a number of ads in the paper has been dropping, which was worrying, since, as I've written before, revenue from ads and classifieds/legal notices is the print newspapers' bread and butter. The fact that it had way less ads then other newspapers in the chain made it more worrying still. It meant that, if the company was going to drop any papers, it would naturally look at the weakest link. But recently, I got word that the chain hired another reporter, and I thought that things were getting better....
At around 6:20 PM, I just came back to the city from an assignment at the burbs. I went to Volumes Bookcafe for an Open Mic Night, and just as I settled down with my tea, I got a call from... Well, his title isn't technically "publisher," but it was basically what he did. And I knew right away something was up, since he never called me before. Heck, we barely exchanged any e-mails.
He told me that since the firing of the aforementioned sales rep, Niles Bugle hasn't been bringing in much profit. Hometown Publications, which owned the chain, wanted him to do something about that, and that meant he had to cut my staff position. He emphasized that the whole thing had nothing to do with the quality of my work, that he's always been happy with it, and he hoped to bring me back to staff position once the paper becomes profitable again. Until then, they might be able to have me as a stringer, but he made no promises. And, if I had any further questions, I should contact my editor.
It took me a while to reach him - and he told me a slightly different story. He said that he was asked to choose which two of the four reporters would be fired. That he tried to defend everyone, heated words were exchanged, and he wound up resigning effective this Friday. He said that he was sorry things turned out this way, and that, if he ever lands somewhere else, he would try to bring me on board, and that he would be happy to be my reference.
I would still get paid for last week and maybe half of this week, but after that...
Thing is, even if they do bring me on board as a stringer, I know how much they pay freelancers - and it's not that much at all. I would have to look for something more permanent anyway.
In the meantime... I have an article that I've been working on that I'll still turn on, but I have no real incentive to write anything else I was assigned. I still write for Austin Weekly News, but even now that I have more free time, I don't imagine I'll be writing that much more then what I usually write (there is only so much room in the paper, and so much money Wednesday Journal Inc is willing to spend on freelancers), and as I said before, what I get from Austin Weekly News covers about a fourth of my regular expenses. I haven't had any assignments from 22nd Century Media since June, and I haven't really checked to see what was going on with that. They were never terribly consistent about how much stuff they would assign, since I became a staff writer for the Bugle, I treated that income as extra money. It wouldn't hurt to at least contact the editors and see if they are willing to assign stuff.
I will do the math later, but as it stands, I should have enough money to cover next month's rent and other necessities, but after that... Things are going to get dicey.
My mom is optimistic that I would be able to find something thanks to my social network. I wish I shared her confidence.
If you want to help - leads to freelance gigs and more permanent jobs are always appreciated. My LinkedIN profile is here. And this LJ does have a tip jar, so if you like what I write...
Tomorrow, Chicago Reader reporters are going to have a rally at the Sun-Times building to advocate for better working conditions. I was already planning to go there, but now... it seems especially fitting.