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As someone who has been paid trash rates, years late, and had my work stolen by plagiarists and the outlets I was pitching, every ounce if this is necessary https://twitter.com/DefectorMedia/status/1338517775741046784
Tonight it's Zack is bitter about the working conditions in media instead of finishing the last 300 words he needs to write night
The year before taking my current job, I made around $12k freelancing and living in a spare bedroom in my parent's house. Now I get paid a living wage, but still get screwed around by editors.
I was talking to another reporter about an incident I had memory-holed today. An editor nearly guilt tripped me out of filing an invoice for $250 for an investigative piece they had just published, because they told me they had been hoping for more.
It was fucking $250 and I had done reporting. But I was insecure, because lots of people told me I shouldn't even try to be a journalist because the industry would never accept me in the first place and I was just looking for a breakthrough. And I felt shitty.
Meanwhile, this fucking year, I had editors at a major outlet openly steal a pitch. I won't name the outlet or editors because I can't burn the bridge with the outlet. But it was big and the pitch stealing was in my face.
It wasn't like a similar article appeared later. No, they straight up told me that they were assigning the thing I pitched them to a staff reporter. (Which happened to me previously when I was younger too w/ a big magazine I also won't name.)
Basically my byline was too small and/or I have too many opinions.
I'm still in the industry because I've had some wonderful editors who have taught me a lot and pushed me to be the best I can be. But the fact I even feel the need to say that shows the power dynamic. I do need to suck up a little because it's too costly to fully risk offending.
In fact, I think, behind the scenes and despite my public shit talking, I'm very cooperative and for the most part easy to work with, even for editors who do treat me like trash.
