I spent the better part of 15 years working at the Dallas Observer and D Magazine. I became friends with many of the writers and editors who have since migrated over to Quick. It is truly a sad day for me to see yet another publication close its doors and have friends lose their livelihood.
Although the internet is an amazing thing and has created a wonderful creative space for bloggers like myself, I personally believe there is still a much needed place for quality journalists and news publications.
In the last year, I have been approached by pretty much every news publication in town to write for them (except Wick Allison at D Magazine because he fired me several years back, and I'm pretty sure he'd rather go bankrupt than ever admit he made a mistake and hire me back in any capacity).
Because of shrinking budgets, publications have been forced to lay off or downsize their editorial staffs and have looked to bloggers to utilize for cheap content. The going rate for an article is - wait for it - $20 a post. Which is laughable, yet there are many bloggers who have taken them up on their offer as a way to align themselves with an established brand for creditability.
You ever heard the old saying, "You get what you pay for." Yeah, I'm just sayin'.
And this is not a knock on bloggers. I am one, so I feel qualified to say that for the most part, people start a blog because they are passionate about a subject and it's a fun, creative outlet to talk about food or parenthood or fashion or whatever. But bloggers are not journalists. Our articles are not professionally proof-read and fact-checked for errors. They are merely opinions. And they are not always educated or well-researched opinions. Journalists are the meat and potatoes and bloggers are the gravy. We provide the tasty treats, but you need the meaty protein that a professional journalist can provide.
I hope you understand the difference. Because this trend is greatly affecting the quality of the "news" you are getting.
Best of luck to Kyle Kearbey, Sarah Eveans, Hunter Hauk and the rest of the Quick crew. I hope you find a place worth of your talents soon! None of us are better for having your voices silenced.
