Your post reminded me of a tweet a few years ago. Jane Slater from NFL network tweeted about an unpaid internship and the twitter verse lost its mind. Along with a bunch of blogs etc
Deadspin & Gawker were always mean-spirited journalism equivalents of the most cliquish, vicious table at a middle-school cafeteria. And they only got worse once they really started moralizing.
You didn't do anything wrong or say anything off-base. Even if you had, I'd still rather a person offer heartfelt advice even if it was muddled or misguided than respond with a shrug and shallow snark.
I kind of can't believe you are doubling down on this.
I'm a former journalist and there is no way to "make yourself indespensible." I live in Chicago and the Chicago Tribune is an absolute husk of its former self. As the Atlantic wrote in its now-famous article, the Tribune's newsroom is "the size of a Chipotle." Will the paper be around in two years? Not clear. The Chicago Sun-Times never crosses my radar. Chicago is the third-largest city in the country — imagine what it's like in Peoria.
These mythical "small-town" newspapers you cite don't exist anymore — if they do, they have three reporters, use 80% wire copy, and are being eyed by a hedge fund that will cripple it. But let's say you do get hired there. Do you know how much they pay as a starting salary? Do you know how much student loans today's college graduates have? Your advice amounts to: Move to the middle of Kansas, take this entry-level job in a backwater town, work there while also putting out a podcast and a substack account and constantly tweeting (all things that add zero to your bank account), and also keep your eye out for an in to write a book that will make you a lot of money. (That last point ALONE is the thread that unravels the sweater, but let's just move on.)
How is this person going to save money for their future, let alone pay their bills? How are they going to start a family? They're working toward a goal that no longer exists. There are literally hundreds (thousands?) of top-notch writers who have nowhere to go because the journalism landscape is a desert. There are a few outlets — Pro Publica and Chicago's Block Club come to mind — that are privately or self-funded. Otherwise, the opportunities in this field are almost literally nonexistent, and it's getting smaller by the week.
Will Leitch's response to you and Tom Ley's post was very well-written, kind, and thoughtful (and about 1/3 too long — I like his stuff, but dude needs an editor). But his point was spot-on — the model you are espousing no longer exists. I'll let Leitch's quote speak for itself:
"Most of the work Pearlman is encouraging young reporters to do is not valued by their bosses, that it often leads to doing six jobs at once, that it will guarantee absolutely nothing, that no matter how good you are at something, if some middle-tier dipshit thinks cutting your job and eliminating all you worked so hard to make will impress his boss and his spreadsheet for about 15 minutes, he will do so and never think twice about it again."
These are the comments that I find valuable, as well as many responses to the Defector article. (I also think you take several unnecessary cheap shots at Defector — they've done a lot of important work. Just look at the output of Diana Moskovitz and Dave McKenna.)
Here's just one such comment on Defector:
"The problem above is the blanket nature of Pearlman's suggestion and a failure to recognize the enormity of the changes in journalism over the last 20+ years."
Your advice was very well intentioned and obviously came from a good place. I have no doubt you're a good person and you want to help people, and that's very noble. I totally respect that. I also think you're leading people astray here and it wouldn't hurt to take a look around and realize the world is very different from when you came up.
Here's the Atlantic article I mentioned, by the way:
“Make yourself indispensable.” I knew what you meant: You can only control what you can control, so deepening and broadening your skill set makes you more valuable to your employer -- and if you do get laid off, you'll have a better chance of landing a good job elsewhere.
I guess your sentiment comes across as victim blame-y to staunch pro-worker media folks. But like, what's the alternative? To not work hard to develop your skills?
What Ley does isn’t writing nor is it journalism. It’s graffiti and the best that can be said of it, well, it doesn’t deface landmarks and it doesn’t affect the ozone layer.
Ley is too busy staying employed to produce the sort of real work you do. Entitled losers like him will be actual BK managers at the rate they're going. A job is not an entitlement.
Couple things on Defector: 1) was a subscriber since inception (abt three years ago); 2) the site is very one-dimensional with viewpoints (in solidarity so to say); 3) Ley appears to censor comments and prevent people from commenting; and 4) Drew Magary still is amusing (best part of site) - Samer on the other hand...
This comment thread might be the most interesting one on of Jeff's sub stacks. Joe Shmoe (who I wished used a real name) as well as his counter-pointers was almost as interesting as Jeff's piece. My wife was in magazine journalism and I suppose a little like Jeff's advice had to pivot when magazines largely went tits up. She pivoted to freelance work and then when we need the health insurance, corporate communications. Journalism does give you transferrable skills even if they wind up getting used in less sexy ways. The decline in newspaper journalism is truly the saddest cut. There is still so much out there whether its on substack or Beehiiv but it's even harder to find and harder to pay for individually. Finally Jeff your post reminds me a bit of TR's Man in the Arena speech and I don't mean that negatively. Thanks all of you for the interesting piece and discussion.
Just realizing how little I'm enjoying the free version of your Substack. Maybe you save the best stuff for your paid readers, I don't know. All I do know is that your whiny ass weekly crap isn't worth the nothing I pay. See ya.
Your post reminded me of a tweet a few years ago. Jane Slater from NFL network tweeted about an unpaid internship and the twitter verse lost its mind. Along with a bunch of blogs etc
Deadspin & Gawker were always mean-spirited journalism equivalents of the most cliquish, vicious table at a middle-school cafeteria. And they only got worse once they really started moralizing.
You didn't do anything wrong or say anything off-base. Even if you had, I'd still rather a person offer heartfelt advice even if it was muddled or misguided than respond with a shrug and shallow snark.
I kind of can't believe you are doubling down on this.
I'm a former journalist and there is no way to "make yourself indespensible." I live in Chicago and the Chicago Tribune is an absolute husk of its former self. As the Atlantic wrote in its now-famous article, the Tribune's newsroom is "the size of a Chipotle." Will the paper be around in two years? Not clear. The Chicago Sun-Times never crosses my radar. Chicago is the third-largest city in the country — imagine what it's like in Peoria.
These mythical "small-town" newspapers you cite don't exist anymore — if they do, they have three reporters, use 80% wire copy, and are being eyed by a hedge fund that will cripple it. But let's say you do get hired there. Do you know how much they pay as a starting salary? Do you know how much student loans today's college graduates have? Your advice amounts to: Move to the middle of Kansas, take this entry-level job in a backwater town, work there while also putting out a podcast and a substack account and constantly tweeting (all things that add zero to your bank account), and also keep your eye out for an in to write a book that will make you a lot of money. (That last point ALONE is the thread that unravels the sweater, but let's just move on.)
How is this person going to save money for their future, let alone pay their bills? How are they going to start a family? They're working toward a goal that no longer exists. There are literally hundreds (thousands?) of top-notch writers who have nowhere to go because the journalism landscape is a desert. There are a few outlets — Pro Publica and Chicago's Block Club come to mind — that are privately or self-funded. Otherwise, the opportunities in this field are almost literally nonexistent, and it's getting smaller by the week.
Will Leitch's response to you and Tom Ley's post was very well-written, kind, and thoughtful (and about 1/3 too long — I like his stuff, but dude needs an editor). But his point was spot-on — the model you are espousing no longer exists. I'll let Leitch's quote speak for itself:
"Most of the work Pearlman is encouraging young reporters to do is not valued by their bosses, that it often leads to doing six jobs at once, that it will guarantee absolutely nothing, that no matter how good you are at something, if some middle-tier dipshit thinks cutting your job and eliminating all you worked so hard to make will impress his boss and his spreadsheet for about 15 minutes, he will do so and never think twice about it again."
These are the comments that I find valuable, as well as many responses to the Defector article. (I also think you take several unnecessary cheap shots at Defector — they've done a lot of important work. Just look at the output of Diana Moskovitz and Dave McKenna.)
Here's just one such comment on Defector:
"The problem above is the blanket nature of Pearlman's suggestion and a failure to recognize the enormity of the changes in journalism over the last 20+ years."
Your advice was very well intentioned and obviously came from a good place. I have no doubt you're a good person and you want to help people, and that's very noble. I totally respect that. I also think you're leading people astray here and it wouldn't hurt to take a look around and realize the world is very different from when you came up.
Here's the Atlantic article I mentioned, by the way:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/alden-global-capital-killing-americas-newspapers/620171/
"I defy you to name something from Defector that has had consequence."
Spicy! But true!! I'm on sports social media all day, and the next Defector story/video/podcast that goes viral will be the first.
“Make yourself indispensable.” I knew what you meant: You can only control what you can control, so deepening and broadening your skill set makes you more valuable to your employer -- and if you do get laid off, you'll have a better chance of landing a good job elsewhere.
I guess your sentiment comes across as victim blame-y to staunch pro-worker media folks. But like, what's the alternative? To not work hard to develop your skills?
What Ley does isn’t writing nor is it journalism. It’s graffiti and the best that can be said of it, well, it doesn’t deface landmarks and it doesn’t affect the ozone layer.
Ley is too busy staying employed to produce the sort of real work you do. Entitled losers like him will be actual BK managers at the rate they're going. A job is not an entitlement.
Couple things on Defector: 1) was a subscriber since inception (abt three years ago); 2) the site is very one-dimensional with viewpoints (in solidarity so to say); 3) Ley appears to censor comments and prevent people from commenting; and 4) Drew Magary still is amusing (best part of site) - Samer on the other hand...
Great stuff as always, Jeff.
The Burger King comparison is an epic putdown.
This comment thread might be the most interesting one on of Jeff's sub stacks. Joe Shmoe (who I wished used a real name) as well as his counter-pointers was almost as interesting as Jeff's piece. My wife was in magazine journalism and I suppose a little like Jeff's advice had to pivot when magazines largely went tits up. She pivoted to freelance work and then when we need the health insurance, corporate communications. Journalism does give you transferrable skills even if they wind up getting used in less sexy ways. The decline in newspaper journalism is truly the saddest cut. There is still so much out there whether its on substack or Beehiiv but it's even harder to find and harder to pay for individually. Finally Jeff your post reminds me a bit of TR's Man in the Arena speech and I don't mean that negatively. Thanks all of you for the interesting piece and discussion.
Just realizing how little I'm enjoying the free version of your Substack. Maybe you save the best stuff for your paid readers, I don't know. All I do know is that your whiny ass weekly crap isn't worth the nothing I pay. See ya.