Creative self-destruction
It’s not like I needed anything else to further dash my hopes about the future, but this Atlantic article added some pretty significant fuel to the house fire. Basically, we’re screwed for a generation, although I’m lucky enough to be less screwed than recent graduates, Rust Belt families, and minorities.
Still, I get the additional fun of belonging to a profession that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists. If I were to return to the States to look for a job, I’d be competing with hundreds of thousands of laid off journalists with similar or greater experience than I have. I’d probably be reduced to taking an unpaid internship that only hints coyly at the possibility of full-time employment, all the while ruthlessly exploiting the vulnerable.
Meanwhile, I’d feed my family with food stamps.
As those are pretty much my options, I’m throwing a Hail Mary and starting a news Web site. Lat/Am Daily covers what happens in Latin America, with lots of links and a wee bit of commentary. It’s silly to think I can cover an entire continent, I know, but hopefully I’ll be able to whittle the site down to a poignant nub that gets some traffic.
There is almost no chance I will ever be able to make a living off of this, but it’s more fun than not making a living for somebody else. In the meantime, maybe I’ll pick up some useful skills.
Oh, and I’m looking for interns. No pay, but it’ll look great on your résumé.