Journalists’ lives three times more likely to suck

That’s right, because most journalists are three times more likely to be out of a job. (Or into something else.) According to a study by UNITY: Journalists of Color, while the rest of the country is losing its jobs at an 8 percent rate, journalists are being shed at a 22 percent rate. I couldn’t help but wonder who UNITY’s 2009 Layoff Tracker Report was really tracking. I mean, was I tracked? Because if so, I most certainly was not notified.

Either way that means we have three times more the reasons to wallow and complain.

I especially enjoyed what Onica N. Makwakwa, executive director of UNITY, had to say about the study.

“These numbers confirm that the economic downturn has hit the news industry very, very hard.”

It has finally been confirmed officially, guys. We’ve been hit very, very hard. But wait, there’s more!

“As the news industry shapes a new future and companies battle the financial storm, it’s important to remember that it’s about people too,” said Makwakwa.

Oh my goodness, good point, brah! What about the families?

But before you get too worried about the people battling the raging financial storms, just know that in the end, I finally read down to the last paragraph of this UNITY story. I learned that the report was compiled using SEC filings and self-reported data from media outlets.

But I still kinda wonder how many lost journos there are out there, unrecorded…

And in case you’d like to read a copy of the report, by all means, knock yourself out.

Paper cuts can cause surprisingly acute pain

There’s nothing that online journalists love more than interactive google maps, so it makes sense that a multimedia and graphic designer from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Erica Smith, would take on the huge task of launching Paper Cuts, a blog tracking newspaper layoffs across the country. Click on the map to the left to search around the site. Zoom in, click on a city and get the numbers on individual papers. It’s even color-coded, but of course, by number of layoffs. So far the current count for the number of layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers is — get ready, y’all — 8,484+.

Did that seem like a large number to anybody? We’ve nearly completely the first 1/3 of 2009 and we’re up to about 8,500 layoffs in newspaper alone, I would love to see the numbers for other media outlets (like, let’s say TV, cough).

You can also browse layoffs from 2008 and about half of 2007 (Smith started the project halfway through that year). Additional listings include newspapers that have ceased publication, papers making the switch to “dot com,” and, but of course, layoff rumors. Make sure to contribute any layoff tips if you’ve got ‘em.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the corny headline comes from Wikipedia’s definition of a paper cut.

Are you even reading this?

TGIF — Thank God I Facebook. I don’t think people my age will ever be able to organize any sort of coalition, protest or any grassroots movement without it. And if we actually do figure out how to bring an issue to people’s attention without creating a group or event, well, chances are the cause will never be quite as successful.

Thanks to this Keep Richard Finnell at The Daily Texan Facebook group, all of us concerned Texan Exes were able to do something about Texas Student Media’s troubling proposal to consolidate positions and layoff six people in an effort to shrink TSM’s deficit for the year. Within a span of 48 hours the page was filled with our comments and encouragements to each other to flood the TSM board members’ inboxes with e-mails pleading them to vote no on a proposal that would get rid of an advisor that has molded so many of us into the passionate journalists we are today.

wuddup world.

i’d just like to say that joining a facebook group is akin to wearing a save darfur shirt and that everyone should take 15 minutes to write all these people a quick dissent.

When the board meets Friday we will discuss the projected revenue shortfalls and explore options for cost efficiency.

No decision has been made, or will be made without thoughtful consideration of all possible alternatives regarding the future of the staff members involved and the financial best interests of TSM and its ability to serve UT students.

Cash said it would be a great disservice to students if the board did not address the real challenges facing media industries.

“It would create an artificial world for the students,” Cash said. “I think a lot of this is consolidation, which makes sense from a business model.”

Cash did seem affected by our presence in the meeting. And while TSM director Kathy Lawrence laid out her layoff agena, Cash asked thorough, aggressive, tough question after thorough, aggressive, tough question. Just like she’d taught us in her infamous reporting class (self-proclaimed as the hardest course offered within the journalism school). In the end, Lawrence’s own lack of preparedness cost her the vote.

She had a powerpoint presentation ready to explain what the new positions would entail … but those descriptions didn’t match the agenda. After a good amount of discussion, Cash moved to postpone the vote. We’ll have to wait until April 24 to see if Lawrence can convince the board to make the cuts.

Daily Texan’s editor Leah Finnegan and managing editor Vikram Swaruup made some comments after Lawrence’s powerpoint went bust. They expressed a deep concern over the lack of transparency and communication between the board and the students who are running The Daily Texan. They said they heard the news about Richard Finnell’s potentional layoff from the man himself, not from the board. Swaruup said he thought the two most influential students running the paper should have a chance to see the proposal on paper before it becomes a part of the meeting’s agenda.

The two then brought up the fact that there are board members who have admitted to not reading the Daily Texan regularly. Finnegan pleaded with the members to spend some time in the basement and learn what the publication is really all about. She said that nothing rang more true than the opening line of Swaruup’s opening to his progress report to the board: “Everytime I write one of these, I end up wondering how many people actually read it.” If they’re not even reading the Texan, who’s to know?

Are you ready for a layoff?

Yes.

I was reminded of a piece I worked on back in October 2008 called “Are you ready for a layoff?”

Hmmm….

So glad about that nest egg I’ve saved up over the years.

Laid off at 22

Bust out your tissues. This post contains sensitive material.

Last night I had a thought — it went something like “omigawd I haven’t blogged in like four days and I have no clue what I should write about next!!!!”

Well, have I got a doozie of a blog post topic now.

Today I got laid off. Or, rather, my “position was eliminated.” To be completely honest, I knew it was coming. Last week we gained word that web producer positions had “been eliminated” in Dallas and D.C. If those two cities were down to three web producers, there was no way Austin would get to keep four.

I guess I should back up for those who didn’t know, but I worked at the local FOX TV station here in Austin. I was a web producer. I LEARNED TO READ A LOT OF SCRIPTS, E-MAILS, ETC. IN ALL CAPS THERE.

I learned a lot of other things, too. But the all caps thing was definitely a big adjustment for me. It’s all about being flexible.

The real kicker for me, though, is that I feel like I taught a lot while I was there, too. I was the official AP Style guru to one of my close colleagues, I created a Facebook account that began generating about 20 percent of our daily page views, oh yeah, and I taught the reporters how to use Twitter. Now I already know what it will feel like when I teach my child how to ride a bike someday.

When we heard about the layoffs last week, a colleague and I went into states of complete shock and paranoia, but he kept telling me (ever so sincerely) that I deserved to stay because I was smarter, more skilled, more attractive and generally cooler that he was. I hope he knows how much I appreciated those comments, and I’m glad that all the hard work I put in went noticed by my superiors, but those who mandated the layoff on the national level didn’t know me — I am just the entity that fills a position — and I was the newest one on the team. The “position elimination” was solely decided by the fact that I was most recently hired. And that’s fair, I guess.

But you know what wasn’t fair? I worked so hard to become a journalist since the day I switched my liberal arts major over to multimedia journalism. I did everything I could to gain experience, learn new skills and become a concerned, involved and accurate journalist and citizen. I went from general newspaper reporting to web editing to radio reporting looking for a way to become a part of the media. And once I got my job as a web producer I felt like it all paid off. I’d always thought of myself as a jack of all trades but master of none in the worst way. But when I was hired as a web producer everything clicked — all that I’d done had perfectly prepared me to be where I was.

But now here I am at home. At the end of December I had two jobs — my web producer job and another freelance editing job with a local magazine. Now it’s March 9th, and I have zero jobs. The magazine folded and my position was eliminated.

I’ve worked so hard to keep ahead. I graduated a year early and put myself out into the industry as fast as my little feet could take me. I wanted to succeed and grow as a professional as fast as I could, but you know, maybe I jumped the gun. After all, I SHOULD STILL BE A SENIOR IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW! (Oh my gosh, I guess the caps lock skill really DID stick!) But instead, I’m laid off. Laid off at 22.

SPRING BREAK 09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, really though, I have come up with a few options for my future, and I’d like some feedback, so please read this list of possible jobs/ventures I will be looking into over the next few days and tell me which one I should choose.

1. I could become a full-time snarky Gawker commenter. My cynicism index has recently broken through the glass ceiling, and now that I have become “just another statistic” I can really relate to their daily (soon to be hourly) posts about media layoffs. So that’s an idea.

2. I could put myself up for sale on eBay like this Austin family did. (Sorry, I have this bad habit of shameless linking to myfoxaustin.com to generate more page views. I need to stop doing that!)

3. I could go live with my parents in Katy!!!!!

OK I can’t really think of any other options at the moment.

Um, SPRING BREAK!