Digest 9/7/2021

Giving up on the full-time media job, Defector's year of success, and more.

IS IT WORTH APPLYING TO MEDIA JOBS ANYMORE?

I was laid off this spring with three months of severance. It was one of the biggest feelings of relief I’d ever experienced.

As the pandemic progressed, I realized media (and moreover, capitalism) had screwed up my value system. I had spent five years locating my self worth in clicks and Twitter engagement (media’s fault), and overworking myself in the false hope that this sacrifice would be rewarded by a company (capitalism’s). I subsequently found myself in spring 2021 hating myself and completely burned out. 

After reading Jenny Odell’s How To Do Nothing, I decided to spend the three months of severance doing just that. I’d reset my brain and go back into media with more self awareness. The three months came to an end, but the thought of jumping back into full-time work still felt debilitatingly soul-crushing, so I’ve pushed it off a bit more, taking on freelance gigs (like this one!) to allow myself a bit more breathing room to heal. 

The recent layoffs at VICE confirmed my growing suspicion: maybe I actually don’t want to go back into media. Not full time, anyways. 

“My life improved DRAMATICALLY when I went full-time freelance or worked retail while writing on the side,” author Pete Croatto said in a Study Hall listserv about this topic. In fact, I was surprised to see just how many people felt similarly:

“It’s exhausting. Only took me two layoffs. Right now my main goal is to either find one more solid content marketing or non-profit comms anchor client or a writing heavy full-time job outside of journalism. I plan to continue writing arts and culture stories on the side, but I can’t make it work full-time,” said Ilana Novick.

“The realization that I legitimately cannot hack it in this world was one of the most liberating and freeing realizations I’ve ever had,” Jaya Sundaresh said. “Now I drive a van for a living… I listen to podcasts all day, while making the rounds in the suburbs. There is time in the day AND mental energy left over in the day to write, to read, to cook, to be a good friend and family member. I finally am *just beginning* to write things that I actually really feel good about.” 

People’s reasons for their realizations went beyond mental health and creative stamina. For those looking for financial stability, it just doesn’t make sense.

“My background is in tech/ad copywriting, but I recently interviewed for a FT staff position at a local metro mag,” Sophie He said. “Writer friends kept telling me it was a rare opportunity, but it was hard to justify the $70k+ pay difference.” 

For others, like Ilana Masad, the job they want no longer seems to be out there.

“The kind of job I wanted and still want, of staff critic or book section editor, just doesn’t seem to exist anymore, and where it does, it’s a legacy job or else is only available to people who’ve already been in the industry for a long time,” she said.

Up until now, I’ve definitely been guilty of viewing freelance writing as a bridge between full-time jobs, believing those to be the superior option. But if I’m not happy in the ecosystem this industry currently fosters, what is superior about forcing myself back into just to appear more successful? I make less money right now than I did in my last job, but I also usually finish my work for the day at 3pm. Then I go for walks, get coffee with friends, head to the pottery studio. I’m still fighting inner critics that tell me if I don’t have enough work to keep me at a desk until dark, I’m not working hard enough. It’s just my brain trying to replicate the familiar but toxic structure I’d been operating under for my entire post-grad life. 

I don’t know if this is forever. In fact I’m almost certain there will be a day I’ll come across a full time opportunity that fits with my work-life balance and leaves me creatively fulfilled. So this isn’t a goodbye letter to media. It’s more an opportunity to relieve myself — and hopefully you, as well — of the burden of thinking a full-time media job is the only way to find happiness in this industry. 

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LORIN STEIN QUIETLY JOINS NEW MCNALLY JACKSON PUBLISHING ARM

I mentioned this news in last week’s newsletter, but the lack of coverage around it prompted me to spend this week digging a bit deeper. First, the basics: In December 2017, Lorin Stein resigned as editor of The Paris Review in the middle of an internal investigation into his conduct towards female employees and writers. Stein appeared on the Shitty Media Men list that circulated following the accusations against director Harvey Weinstein. The New York Times spoke with women who said Stein “made unwelcome advances and that they felt he took advantage of his role as a gatekeeper to one of the world’s most important literary outlets.” The Paris Review’s legal council also reportedly received at least two complaints against the editor. The complaints to both the Times and the Paris Review’s legal council included accusations of unwanted touching and retaliation after a sexual relationship ended. 

“At times in the past, I blurred the personal and the professional in ways that were, I now recognize, disrespectful of my colleagues and our contributors, and that made them feel uncomfortable or demeaned,” Stein wrote in his letter of resignation. “I am very sorry for any hurt I caused them.”

He has laid low until now, four years later, when he appeared in the Publisher’s Weekly write-up about McNally Jackson’s new publishing arm, McNally Editions, distributed by Simon and Schuster. Stein is joining the imprint as general editor.

“McNally Editions is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive space for all employees, characterized by mutual trust and the absence of intimidation and exploitation,” Sarah McNally tells Study Hall in an email. “We tolerate no harassment or discrimination from anyone on our team, whether they work offsite or in our office.”

Simon and Schuster did not return a request for comment.

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COMINGS AND GOINGS

— Makeda Sandford is departing as photographer and social editor at Jezebel.

— Maddie Crum joins Joyland Magazine to edit stories for the Northeast section. 

— Casey Parks is heading to The Washington Post to cover gender and family. 

— Lara Bassett is taking on the role of editor-in-chief at Jezebel after Julianne Escobedo Shepherd’s departure.

— Meilan Solly joins Smithsonian Magazine as associate digital editor or history. 

— Lauren Strapagiel is leaving BuzzFeed News to join Shopify as senior writer. 

— Jacy Topp heads to Wine Enthusiast as assistant editor of print. 

— Rosa Cartagena is the new senior editor of Bitch Media.

— Ramin Skibba joins Wired as space writer. OoooOooo.

— Jerry Portwood was laid off as editorial director at Rolling Stone after six years. 

— Elana Rubin was laid off from E! News and is now seeking new media opportunities. 

— Summer Cartwright joins StyleCaster as e-commerce shopping editor. 

— Elena Saavedra Buckley joins Harpers as an associate editor. 

— Stacy-Marie Ishmael is headed to Bloomberg as managing editor of cryptocurrency coverage. 

— Erica Moody has joined Philadelphia Magazine as deputy editor of lifestyle. 

— Jamilah King is leaving Motherboard after four years to join BuzzFeed News as deputy inequality editor. 

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EVERYTHING ELSE

— After one year, Defector — the subscription-based publication launched by former Deadspin writers — is officially a success story. A recent Recode Media podcast episode reveals the outlet has over 40,000 subscribers, a $3 million run rate, and zero ads. 

— The New York Times did a behind-the-scenes look at Politico’s sale to Axel Springer, confirming that this whole thing will only be interesting to me if it’s later dramatized in a Succession-style HBO show. However, it did include this quote from Politico’s publisher, Robert Allbritton, claiming that unions are not for “smart folks who are using their minds.”

— Unionized Fortune staffers planned to picket the company’s upcoming Fortune CEO Initiative conference on September 13-14 at the Park Hyatt in Washington, D.C. due to stalled contract negotiations with management. Fortune ultimately postponed the event in hopes of avoiding bad publicity, per The Daily Beast.