The job of sales staff should be to sell the content/voice journalists produce, not the other way around.

I can see the logic of some reporters just shrugging their shoulders and taking it as a means of survival. As one commenter on the story put it – and I’m paraphrasing – adapt or wait for your layoff notice.

It’s a sad – but apt – commentary on how things work now in the journalism ‘industry’.

I got my layoff notice – one of one! – four months ago from the online arm of a community newspaper publisher whose major way of earning money was ‘we sell ads (for considerably less money because nobody looks at our websites because they aren’t properly ‘fed’ with content because editors are ridiculously overworked as it is and reporters don’t want additional tasks involving no additional compensation).’

I could see the writing on the wall months before I finally got my pink slip.

I’m lucky that I was able to find a ‘corporate’ job a month later, but I can’t help but feel bad for the 20-year journos who are going to be out on their butts in the next few years as newsrooms shrink again.

Love the blog, Mark. Still using the stuff you taught me even though I’m currently not in the industry.

It’s interesting to watch the debate unfold on this. There are more people taking the this-might-not-be-a-bad-idea approach than I first suspected their might be.

Mark