Gratuitous beach photo: A woman views the sunset at First Encounter Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Copyright © 2010 David M. Lawrence)
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Anyone who has looked at this blog has noticed that nothing has been posted here in a long time. Some of you have e‑mailed me and asked “Why?”
I face the same problem that many freelance journalists do: These days, it “pays” to blog, yet it really doesn’t $PAY$ to blog. In other words, blogs are a way to become more visible and to do the kind of reportage we really want to do; but our blogs don’t — at least in the short run — generate the income we need to pay the bills, which includes paying for the blog.
In my case, I had some drop-dead deadlines to meet toward the end of last summer, then I was offered the opportunity to work temporarily for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution this fall. Given my advanced age (48), I can no longer work around the clock the way I could when I was younger. Something had to give, and this blog got axed (temporarily) from my schedule.
For example, the previous entry for this blog took about three weeks of nearly full-time-equivalent reporting — for which I earned exactly $0. Many bloggers struggle with finding a balance between the need to do a good job versus the income, or lack thereof, deriving from that good work. I obviously haven’t found the solution.
So, for those of you seeking news on the environment of the Mid-Atlantic the past few months, my apologies. I am now back and hope to do a better job of posting regularly to this site without sacrificing my journalistic standards.
In the meantime, if any of you hear of a job in the neighborhood, please let me know…
— David M. Lawrence
SEJ Environmental Journalism Today
Apologies for the hiatus
Posted by David Lawrence on 1/10/10 • Categorized as Commentary
Gratuitous beach photo: A woman views the sunset at First Encounter Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Copyright © 2010 David M. Lawrence)
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Anyone who has looked at this blog has noticed that nothing has been posted here in a long time. Some of you have e‑mailed me and asked “Why?”
I face the same problem that many freelance journalists do: These days, it “pays” to blog, yet it really doesn’t $PAY$ to blog. In other words, blogs are a way to become more visible and to do the kind of reportage we really want to do; but our blogs don’t — at least in the short run — generate the income we need to pay the bills, which includes paying for the blog.
In my case, I had some drop-dead deadlines to meet toward the end of last summer, then I was offered the opportunity to work temporarily for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution this fall. Given my advanced age (48), I can no longer work around the clock the way I could when I was younger. Something had to give, and this blog got axed (temporarily) from my schedule.
For example, the previous entry for this blog took about three weeks of nearly full-time-equivalent reporting — for which I earned exactly $0. Many bloggers struggle with finding a balance between the need to do a good job versus the income, or lack thereof, deriving from that good work. I obviously haven’t found the solution.
So, for those of you seeking news on the environment of the Mid-Atlantic the past few months, my apologies. I am now back and hope to do a better job of posting regularly to this site without sacrificing my journalistic standards.
In the meantime, if any of you hear of a job in the neighborhood, please let me know…
— David M. Lawrence
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