Access Denied

“I think writers have always realized their own value; there just weren't a lot of options in the post-2008 recession for how to make good on it,” says Anne Helen Peterson, who writes the newsletter Culture Study. “But all of this feels very cyclical to me. The economy tanks, writers get laid off from their publications, writers go freelance, write... See more

An interesting theory: We’re entering an age where top-tier journalists are finally going to get paid what they’re worth by branching off and doing their own thing (like Bill Bishop)

- A top journalist at a publication creates more value than she can capture, but that changes if he/she has their own audience communication channel (through a website, newsletter, etc.)

Early on in my career, working at very traditional newspapers owned by corporate chains with no unions, I was struck by the sense of powerlessness that was drilled into us as cub reporters. We were supposed to be ruthless and fearless, hold the powerful accountable, while quietly sucking up the daily humiliations of our own workplaces. Don't questi... See more

Ugh, I can’t believe I had to live/work through the deaths of both print media AND online media and now possibly television and film too?? Can I just have a job?! Like, no offense to my beloved Butt News subscribers, but there’s no way that selling direct-to-consumer humorous movie reviews at a freelance tax rate and paying $600/month for my own in... See more

And you have to wrestle with the paywall and its very unfortunate trade-off. You want to share your work with the widest audience possible. But to any publication that’s too small for ads, free readers are simply not that valuable. For these reasons, I’ve always struggled with the paywall. Asking people to pay for writing is not a great way to make... See more