JanineWrites

Freelance writing in the digital age

2012-01-30T21:07:00.003-05:00

I, like most freelance writers, find it very hard to make a decent living solely by writing.

There was a steady stream of paying work coming out of Demand Studios for years.

Despite how many writers complained about the boring assignments and constantly changing guidelines, many freelancers made 60 to 80 percent of their wages through Demand.

Unfortunately, that work has dried up. Now many of us are left scrambling for paying work.

I write for several websites, like Examiner and Suite101. However, the payment formulas of these sites is somewhat foggy. I am not sure that any writer understands exactly how the formulas work.

The long and short of it is this - writers are paid a percentage of ad revenue, which fluctuates depending on page views.

What it means to writers

We have now gone from a system (Demand Studios) in which we were in control of exactly how much money we made - i.e. flat rate per article = dependable money - to a system that makes no guarantee of any money - i.e. the pay per click = who knows.

Even writers with thousands of articles and hundreds of thousands of page views per month have no guarantee of income from one month to the next. What is hot one month may be totally flat the next month.

Not to mention, Demand paid us twice a week - very nice when you need extra cash FAST. Other sites pay only once per month, assuming that you reach the minimum payout amount.

What we can do

Write quality articles.

Quantity might earn you a few extra cents a day, but it isn't going to lead to anything bigger.

Focus your efforts on writing quality articles. These articles will help you build a portfolio of work that might land you a paying gig or even a staff position.

If you have a niche; learn it, live it and love it. You may soon find yourself an established expert, which can lead to speaking gigs, television appearances and even book deals.

A new venture...

2010-06-26T14:37:00.003-04:00

I have recently decided to take my writing in a new direction.

I will still be writing for the web, Suite101, Examiner and Demand Studios are paying the bills after-all.

However, I have always wanted to write a book. Granted my dream was always to write the next great fiction novel, but any book will suffice at this point. So, I have begun to write a non-fiction work about parrots.

In addition to my writing I also own and operate a parrot supply company. Because of my experience with parrots, their vets, breeders and owners, I have acquired a great deal of knowledge. The proverbial "they" always say to start your writing career by writing what you know, and I know parrots.

Re-united and it feels so good...

2010-02-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

About two years ago, I signed up to be a writer for a site called Demand Studios.

At the time, I was pregnant, working full time and a full time college student, not exactly the best time to add content writing to my plate.

I had all but forgotten about the Demand Studios site until I returned to yet another old web friend, AbsoluteWrite.com. Many of the freelance writers on the forums at AbsoluteWrite make damn near a full time living writing for Demand Studios.

So, I have decided to return to Demand Studios and give it a go. So far, so good. I have claimed two articles, and one has already been approved. The writing is not terribly creative or interesting, but it pays, and I set my own hours.

Besides, I have been a journalist long enough that I know that most jobs in writing that pay are boring. You always have to write what someone else wants you to, unless you are one of the lucky few who can make a living selling your novels.

Taking care of ME

2010-02-04T11:16:00.001-05:00

I have instituted a new policy for myself.

I am taking more time to do the things that make me happy, outside of my husband and son. Things that are just for me, like painting my nails, dying my hair and even going out once in a while.

My son is a year and a half old now, and he doesn't need me around as much. It is time I start letting the grandparents do their god given duty and baby-sit.

So, I have electric blue nails, a new hair cut and I managed to get out of the house several times in the past month. I went to Parx casino and did a bit of slot playing with some family, went out to dinner and then dancing with a friend and even managed to catch Avatar at the local Imax 3D theater.

The ultimate question is this...how has this renewed sense of self affected my writing?

I am pleased to report that, despite my new activities, productivity has gone up. I attribute this to my over-all sense of relaxation and wellbeing.

By giving myself permission to relax and enjoy life again I have become much happier and, in turn, I have been able to focus on my writing better.

Sometimes we forget that you can not write for the world unless you are a part of it!

Why write...

2010-02-01T11:50:00.001-05:00

I have been thinking about why I choose to pursue writing as a career.

I love it.

Harvey MacKay, a business man and author, said “Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life.”

This is both true and false for me.

I love to write, I love to form words in to a cohesive story, taking complicated ideas and turning them in to an elegant sentence. However, it is very hard to make a good living as a writer.

Dare I say, it is just as hard to make a good living as a writer as it is to make a good living as a rock star?!?

Case in point...

Most every author that you meet will also have a "day job." Writing and publishing a book - or even several books - doesn't guarantee that you will make even a full year's salary from your efforts. We can't all be Stephen King or JK Rowling.

Just like we can't all be the Beatles.

There are many writers out there who support themselves, and their family, based solely on funds created through their writing. I am one of them. But, unlike what Mr. MacKay said, I work hard at it.

As part of my writing career, I write for websites like Suite101.com. This, like Mr. MacKay says, is hardly work. I get to pick and choose the topics that I write about on Suite101.com, I get to write about what I want to and what I am passionate about. The down side - Suite101.com doesn't exactly pay the bills.

So, I also hold down a "real job." Granted my day job is as a writer, but it's still work. I write and edit stories for Times Publishing, Inc. - also known as the Doylestown Observer and New Hope News. Here, I have a specific format and ideal that I must stick to. I must follow someone else's vision, write about what they want me to, and adhere to their time line.

It is in this daily grind that the once shiny allure of a writing career begins to lose its luster.

The dreams of a big novel deal seem very far away when you can't even find the time to check your email on most days.

Making the jump to psychology...

2010-01-28T11:35:00.002-05:00

I have been an "amateur" counselor for most of my life. So, for those who know me well, my recent decision to pursue an advanced degree in psychology came as no real surprise.

For others, however, it seemed like a shock.

It appears that most people can't understand the connection between journalists and psychology degree holders. They seem to forget that everything that they have ever read about psychology, emotional development and even self help, were all WRITTEN.

In order to help people, you must first understand them, then you must be able to make them understand you. This is where the journalism background can come in handy.

As a journalist, you are routinely asked to take a complicated or cumbersome idea and translate it in to something that the public at large can understand.

Can you think of anything more complicated or cumbersome than psychological theory?

Corsets and boy shorts...

2010-01-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

I was recently talking to some folks from my area in Lower Bucks County and they wanted to know why my friend and I are not cocktail waitresses at the newly constructed Parx Casino.
Both of us are shy (all be it just shy) of 30 years old and in fairly good shape. We could both easily "rock" the corset and boy shorts uniform.

So, that got my gears turning...why am I against taking that job. Some of the girls boast that they can bring home four digits a week...more than many college graduates with a "real" job make in a month.

For my friend, it is a matter of principle. She finds the skimpy outfits degrading and doesn't want her three daughters to see her resorting to provocative clothing in order to make a decent living.

She also believes that the amount of money she could potentially make as a cocktail waitress might tempt her to forsake her chosen profession, for which she is currently in completing her degree.

For me, well, I'm not really sure it is that cut and dry.

I would like to think that I am secure enough in my own self image that I do not identify myself with my profession. But on the other hand, I have worked very hard to be taken seriously as the intelligent and professional woman that I am.

I think that Christian Bale said it best in Batman Begins..."It is not who I am inside, but what I do that defines me."

As much as I don't want to believe that statement is true...it really is. No one looks at us any deeper than what is on the surface and that is what they base their snap judgments about us on.

We are only as we are perceived.

Back in action

2010-01-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

The wait is over....

I am back online - with the idea that I will again update this blog on a regular basis.

Things have been hectic in my little world, but I am re-dedicating myself to my goals and one of those goals is to be my own and only boss in 2010.

Right now I am my own boss, but I also have another boss at my "real" job. The idea is to sustain myself on my writing and parrot toy businesses. This is of course a difficult task, compounded by the fact that I also have a family to support, but I think that I am up to the challenge.

I have already gotten the ball rolling toward a return to school to complete my BA in Psychology at Penn State, which is a personal victory in and of itself.

You might be thinking, "what does a BA in Psychology have to do with bird toys or writing?"

Well, you have to understand people in order to market to them, and, well, I just have a strong interest in the field of Psychology.

2009-12-25T13:22:00.001-05:00

Merry christmas everyone!

Time to reflect...

2009-12-22T10:01:00.001-05:00

We are quickly approaching then end of another year, this one marking the end of another decade.

As I take time to reflect on the last 10 years of my life it is absolutely astonishing to me how much things have changed.

Over the new year in 1999 I was working for an I.T. company and, as such, spent the new year on-call for the impending doom that was "Y2K." I didn't really mind though, after all an I.T. gig was a good job for a high school drop out.

In 1999, I lived in a small home in Fairless Hills with a man who I had been dating for a couple of years. We had been living together for about six months and already things were not going well.

At that time though, I really thought that this was the path that my life would take. I would work in an I.T. office and come home everyday to my common-law husband. We would go out drinking on the weekends and come home to fight over stupid little things before passing out.

The next morning we would pretend that it never happened and start the cycle all over again.

Flash forward to today - I have a college degree, a journalism career, a large home in Bristol Township, a husband who doesn't drink, just loves and respects me, I own my own business and best off all - I have the best, most beautiful little baby boy in the world.

So much has changed in the last 10 years. That life I had in 1999 seems so far away. It seems more like something that I read in a book than my own past.

Some things, of course, have remained the same. I still have a friend or two from those days, though we don't talk as much as we should, and I still hold on to the lessons that I learned during that time.

Your life - no matter where it is now - is only what you make it.

If you want a better life, you have to go out and make one. There are tough decisions that have to be made and scary amounts of change to push through, but it can be done.

Everyone has it in them to achieve their dreams.

A new subject...

2009-12-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

My goal was to write 10 articles in three months for Suite101. With my deadline fast approaching (early next week), I have written eight articles.

This means that I have to knuckle down this weekend and bang out two more decent articles.

It shouldn't be too much of a problem, as long as I can come up with an angle for the articles.

Thus far, I have only written parrot and pet bird related articles for the Suite101 website, but I think it is time to expand my horizons with them. There are only so many topics that you can cover when addressing a novice pet bird owner.

I just have to tap in to my creative genius side to come up with a new subject matter. This, of course, is where I am hitting the metaphoric wall.

As a jack of all trades - and master of none - I find it hard to narrow down the field. I can honestly say that, outside of parrots and pet birds, I don't have any one topic that I feel most comfortable writing about.

My interests range from spirituality and world religions to psychology and forensics. Yet, I am by no means an expert in any of these areas.

It is, by the nature of our profession (journalism), that we dish out information pertaining to a wide variety of subjects - subjects that we may or may not be familiar with.

I both accept and embrace this side of journalism. It is one of the greatest things about our profession, the constant push to learn new things and discover different views.

However, when writing for an outlet such as Suite101, there is very little pay off for your time investment. In order to profit from your work, you must be able to provide the highest quality work for the least amount of time invested.

Whether or not this new turn in the profession is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen...I will dive deeper in to my views about this later.

Run, Run, Rudolph...

2009-12-07T12:13:00.000-05:00

Boy have things been busy around here.

I haven't been able to get a minute to to write lately. Between my parrot
supply business, my "real job" as a newspaper editor and my family I have
been running ragged for the last couple of weeks.

I don't suspect that things will get much better with the holidays
approaching. At least we have come to the end of the parrot show season,
which will at least afford me a small amount of relief.

It just seems as though there is always something to do - something
demanding my attention right this minute.

But, on a bright note, I was able to steal away a couple of minutes to write
this, so there might be hope for me yet!

Moving out and moving up

2009-11-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Internet issues have been causing me quite a lot of trouble in the last two weeks or so. It's hard to write for an SEO website when you can't (reliably) get to the web.

On the bright note, I have moved my laptop from the dinning room table to the office.

My (mostly) wonderful husband cleaned out his (our) office and made space for me at my desk. Immediately upon learning this I moved my laptop in to the afore mentioned space. I didn't want to allow him time to swallow the space back up.

It is very important to have your own work space. When you are working at home you need to make a clear divide between home and work. One of the major components of this divide is a separate workspace.

When I am sitting at the dinning room table, in the center of the house, it is hard for my family to think of me as "working." There is a natural inclination for them to talk to me and interact with me. Ironically, they are doing this to keep from being rude.

There is also the manner of my 15-month-old son. No matter what I need to get done - no matter how important my task - if I am in his reach I will not get anything done. The dinning room table is well within his reach, making it a very bad work area.

So here's to a new life in the comfort of an actual office, with a closing and locking door!

Wish me luck, and more importantly, productivity.

Commit to a plan...

2009-10-26T11:10:00.002-04:00

It goes without saying (or at least it should) that goals are important when pursuing a freelance writing career.

We are on the eve of November and I have already begun working on my list of goals for 2010.

I have my rough outline of three major items that I would like to accomplish. Now, over the next two months, I will review them, add to them and outline them until I have a steadfast and detailed plan for accomplishing them.

I know some people might find this process a bit hokey, or even borderline crazy, but over the years I have found that it really works.

For me it is not so much the physical act of writing down my goals that helps me. As a matter of fact, I rarely revisit the list when it is completed. For me it is more about the thought process that is induced by writing down my goals.

When you commit a plan to paper, you are acknowledging that this act is not only worthy, but plausible.

I think that everyone has an ultimate goal. We must or we wouldn't bother to get out of bed in the morning. But how many of us really take the time to define that goal.

For instance, most people probably have the goal to save more money. Ok, so what are you going to do today, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year to help you save more money?

If you can't answer those questions off the top of your head, then you haven't committed to a plan, and more than likely, you will not take any real steps in the next year toward your goal.

Everyone has heard the expression "stuck in a rut." It is lack of a plan that gets us there.

Happy Halloween, sniffle sniffle

2009-10-23T12:52:00.000-04:00

Halloween is a touchy time for me lately.

It is – hands down – my favorite holiday. I love and embrace everything about Halloween. I dress up every year and even go trick-or-treating with several children.

My front porch is a testament of my devotion to Halloween, were corn stalks, spider webs, pumpkins and skeletons abound.

But, alas, Halloween has changed for me as of late. Over Halloween 2007, I got pregnant. So, come Halloween 2008, I had a 3-month-old baby to take care of instead of partying like a rock star. We did go trick-or-treating though.

This year, I have a 15-month-old baby, and again there will be no partying, just trick-or-treating.

Don’t get me wrong, it is immeasurably cool to see the holiday I love come to life all over again in the eyes of my child, but I am still sad whenever I hear about super scary hay ride trips and dance your costumed butt off parties.

The thing that gets me through is the knowledge that in about 5 years, my son is going to have the best Halloween parties on this side of the Mississippi!

The news media gets called out...

2009-10-19T10:10:00.003-04:00

OK - so I can't call myself a journalist and not talk about this thing with FOX News.

Lets start off by saying....Hahahaha, it's about damn time we had a political leader with the guts to call the mass media out on their clearly bias reporting. Not just FOX News, but every so called news organization that endorses a candidate or declares a winner in a political debate or just simply neglects to report the other side of the story.

The Society of Professional Journalists has a published Code of Ethics for journalists. They are not a set of universal rules, but rather a voluntary guide to remind us of our commitment to a fair and balanced story.

These are just the highlights of the Code:

Seek Truth and Report It
Minimize Harm
Act Independently
Be Accountable

Now, looking at the above list, how many news agencies can you think of who abide by this Code of Ethics.

The sad part about it is, most consumers don't even realize that they are only getting one side of the story.

For the most part, John Q. gets up in the morning and turns on Channel X News. Later, after dinner, he again turns on Channel X News. Maybe sometime in between he reads the newspaper too.

More than likely, John Q. is only reading his local news in the paper and is getting all of his national news from Channel X. If Channel X is only reporting one side of the story, than that is all that poor John Q. knows about the issue.

Gone are the days of "Fair and Balanced." Today you have to treat news agencies as you would fighting siblings. Read his side, read her side and know that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

The Starving Artist

2009-10-15T14:40:00.001-04:00

I have somehow found myself surrounded by “starving artist” types.

At nearly 30 years old I have more people in my life who are unemployed (or only semi-employed) than I did when I was fresh out of high school.

In the mean time, I work a part time job, write freelance and own my own business. Oh yeah, and I have a 1 year old.

It may go without saying, but I am finding it hard to relate to these people.

My schedule makes it hard for me to carve out time for a social life and for the most part these friends just don’t understand. And why would they as they have no responsibilities themselves.

Where is the drive?

How can these people sit around and complain that they are broke or that they need this or that to “make it.”

I try to get these same people a little bit of paying work and what do I hear…”I’m to busy with blah blah blah”…non-paying projects are a great way to gain experience and fill up your portfolio, but 10 years is a long time.

Wake up – no one is going to just up and start paying you for work that you have been doing for free.

New at Suite101

2009-10-12T09:05:00.003-04:00

Well, I have made the jump in to SEO (search engine optimized) writing.

Good, bad or indifferent, it is done।

I have set up shop at Suite101।com as a parrot and pet bird writer.

Since this is my first major foray into the SEO world, I figured that I had better stick to what I know। I own a small business that produces pet bird toys, perches and play stands, making the pet bird topic a natural choice for me.

Visit my Suite101 page at:

Janine Logue

A lack of inspiration

2009-10-02T11:49:00.001-04:00

Staying inspired to write is a constant struggle for any writer, whether you are a journalist novelist greeting card writer whatever.

I am finding that, as I re-enter the web writing and freelancing market, gaining inspiration is a bit harder than it was in years past.

My first tour in freelance writing was during a time when I had very little responsibility in my life. Today, I have a home, a husband, a child, pets, a full-time job and a side business.

Adding a freelance career on top of all my other responsibilities is proving to be quite difficult. Not only do I need to find my inspiration, I must find the time to harness that inspiration.

I try to set aside time to write, but my son, who is just 14 months old, just doesn’t agree with my decision to stare at my laptop instead of playing with him. Even when I lock myself in my office, I can still hear him whining for me down the hallway.

On top of that, I run in to the same roadblocks as many freelancers who work from home, constant interruption from friends and family who just don’t “get it.”

They believe that because you are home, you should be available to them. The whole concept of “work from home” is lost on them.

Working from home means just that WORKING.

But alas, it all comes back to me. What I should do is lock the office door and put out a “do not disturb” sign. If that doesn’t work the next best thing to do is go to the library or coffee shop to get my work done, though this option requires me to get dressed and lose the slippers.

Entering SEO...

2009-09-21T10:00:00.003-04:00

I have officially entered the realm of SEO web writing by accepting a contributing writer position at Suite101.com.

The pay is not great compared to a staff position at a newspaper, but it will get me in to SEO writing shape. The format for SEO writing is a bit different than the standard journalistic approach.

You can check out my profile at: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/janinelogue

I hope to get my first few articles up there by the end on this month (Sept. 2009).

Who knows, maybe I'll get really good at it and actually make something of it?

Time will tell.

Just a little bit of respect...

2009-09-10T13:05:00.001-04:00

If I have a fatal flaw it is this: I expect professionalism from the people around me.

Whether in an office setting or ordering a sandwich at the local WaWa, I expect people to handle themselves with a certain level of composure and professional grace.

Everyday I am witness to the unprofessional, and even demeaning nature with which people treat each other.

The truth of the matter is: if you want to be treated with respect, you must treat others with respect. YES, your mother was right – do on to others as you would have them do on to you.

I had to write a short story for one of my classes in college, and it had to have a moral.

As a professional, I take every assignment seriously, even the non-paying kind. As such, I spent a good deal of time thinking about the moral I wanted to pass on to my classmates. Putting myself in their young, inexperienced shoes, I thought back to the lessons that I had learned at that age. That’s when it hit me; I had the perfect moral, now I just need to write the story.

I wrote about a young man who, fresh out of college, was on his way to his first big job interview. On his way to pick up his new suit, the young man stops for a cup of coffee. To make a long story short, the new girl behind the counter takes longer than he likes and he make a big scene, yelling and screaming until she bursts in to tears. Later that day, the young man, confident that he will land the job, arrives at his interview.

As he approaches the owner’s office, he hears a young girls voice. She is recounting the events of the day and they include the young man’s outburst at the coffee shop that morning.

It turns out that the owner of the company has a daughter who recently got a job at the local coffee shop.

The young man doesn’t get the job.

You never know just whom you are talking to, or who else is watching. If you treat every encounter with a bit of professionalism, you never have to worry about it.

Of course, I understand that you can relax around your friends and goofing off is important to maintaining a healthy psyche, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to be rude to the people you encounter outside of your friends.

Obviously expect professionalism from everyone around me, but even more so from those I work with on a professional level.

It annoys me to no end to witness unprofessional behavior in an office setting. I am infuriated by anyone in a position of professional power that engages in school-aged banter in the office or airs their dirty laundry for all to see.

Publicly pointing out the mistakes of others is another unprofessional behavior that sends my blood pressure through the roof. That type of correction is counter-productive and does nothing but make the other party feel uncomfortable.

So, think before you act. Show a bit of professionalism in the way you interact with people, you might find that it improves the way they treat (and see) you.

Stumbles in time...

2009-09-09T12:47:00.000-04:00

Everybody stumbles.

No one makes it through life with out making a few mis-steps. No matter how hard we try to hide them, we have all made mistakes.

Sometimes we can catch our balance and sometimes we land flat on our face.

I landed on my face once, and I stayed there for almost 10 years.

For the first few years, I didn’t even realize that I had fallen. For the next few years, I denied that I had fallen. For the last few years, I struggled to get up.

Now, 15 years after my initial fall, I still deal with the aches and pains.

I have pulled my self up and regained my full stride, but my knees are weaker and my back sore. I am much more weary of potholes and I meet cracks in the pavement with a cold diligence.

Know your subject...

2009-09-04T10:28:00.001-04:00

When you are a professional writer - whether it be freelance, news reporter, magazine or even public relations – one of the most important things that you can do to prepare yourself to write is: KNOW YOUR SUBJECT.

You can’t always pick your assignments. There will be occasions when you have to write about a subject that is outside of your comfort zone.

It may be an interview with a politician you dislike or with a musician you’ve never heard of. No matter the subject, you must take the time to prepare for your story by researching it.

Most famous, or even want-to-be famous people have their own websites. Check them out, read them thoroughly. If they have a blog, read that too.

If you are dealing with a musician, or other artist, check out their work.

If your story doesn’t center around a person, but an event or place, seek out and talk to the people who are knowledgeable about it.

Most importantly, NEVER pretend to know something that you don’t. Ask questions if you don’t understand something. You might feel a little dumb when asking the question, but if you print misinformation you will feel really dumb, and worse still you will mar your reputation.

Ask questions and do the work before you write, it will show through in your work and solidify your credibility as a journalist and not just another hack writer.

Jumping in...

2009-09-03T11:40:00.001-04:00

I have decided to return to my roots as a freelance writer. This is a decision that I have been wrestling with for over a year now, and certainly not one I have taken lightly.

As I contemplated a jump back in to the uncertain world of the freelancer, I was forced to take a long hard look at both my life and my goals.

When first I became a writer, and a freelancer, I had very little responsibility in my life. I needed only take care of myself, pay my bills and have enough left over for a case of noodles.

Today, as I take yet another step toward a full time freelancing career, I out my office door at a living room covered in a fine coating of baby toys. I hear the squeals of a toddler, my toddler, as he plays in the back yard with his father, my husband.

My life, my responsibilities have come a long way.

Noodles have given way to proper family dinners and a small studio apartment has evolved in to a nice family home.

My life is no longer just my own. Every decision I make today will affect my family tomorrow.

For me, the decision to freelance while trying to support a family means that I must work harder and better than ever before.

It will be up to me to prove to my editors that I am the best choice for their projects, and I welcome the challenge.

So you move on...

2009-08-31T11:49:00.000-04:00

When I decided to quit my (fairly successful) job as an office manager & network administrator to enroll in journalism school I had no idea what I was in for.

All most every other student in the program was 18 years old, or close to it. They had little real-world experience. Many of them enrolled in college simply as a means to stave off the inevitable plunge in to the daily grind of adulthood.

Coming from a rather difficult background and with my life suddenly spinning in a new direction, I was easily annoyed by the trivial problems these teenagers.

However, I did find that we all basically shared one common goal when it came to journalism, to seek out and publicize the “truth.”

We, in all of our naivety, thought that we would leave our J school and change the world.

Even I, with the cynicism of a poor adult student who has seen the ax fall on many a good person, fell in to this fairy tale of journalistic integrity.

Our instructors pounded home the “code of ethics” and showed us films about journalists who have fought the good fight (i.e. Woodward and Bernstein - Watergate).

We learned that objectivity was the life-blood of the journalist and that without it you were just another PR rat.

Ahh, those were the days.

Today, of course, I know better.

After tenures at a two large regional daily papers, a conglomerate of local weekly papers and now a set of eight monthly community papers, I know better.

I have learned many things, but mostly I have learned that money talks.

Advertising is what keeps papers alive, and so advertisers are the real publishers of newspapers.

The bigger the advertiser, and the smaller the newspaper, the more say they have in your content.

It doesn’t take long before a steady stream of “fluff” assignments and killed stories dashes the aspirations of a wide-eyed college student.

What are the chances that your editor is going to run a story exposing the lies of a political candidate, when the week before the paper officially “endorsed” said candidate.

So you move on. You take a job as an editor at a smaller place, maybe a weekly community paper.

Before long, you find yourself getting an earful from an advertising manager because, apparently the story you wrote about the school board president getting a DUI made an advertiser mad.

Suddenly, you are forced to run your “negative” stories past the advertising manager for approval.

So you move on. You take a job at small community newspaper, maybe a monthly.

This time you figure, at least if you are going to have to curb your writing, you can be upfront about it instead of pretending to be an objective news source.