Joe Coscarelli

doree:

fek:

Enjoy. I worked hard on it.

Nice.

Related: I got a call today from someone from a professional journalists’ association, asking if I wanted to write a feature for the magazine they’re publishing for their awards dinner in a few months. What did they want to pay me for the privilege? Why, nothing! I  explained that I don’t write for free, which the woman on the other end of the line did not seem to appreciate hearing. “Well, we’d feature you prominently in the list of  contributors, and we would publish your website’s address, and…”

“I’m sorry, I’m just not in a position where I can write anything for free right now.”

…

“It doesn’t really matter if it’s a long or short article,” I said. “I can’t write anything for no pay.”

“Well, it’s great that in this economy you have enough work to be able to turn stuff down!” she chirped.

…

I am nearly a decade younger than nearly everyone whose comments I have read about this. Still, I have occasionally been paid to write and report; I have more often done it for free. And in journalism classes and yes, even “for credit internships,” I have essentially paid to write.

I am a student and I am not financially independent, so until now, I am fortunate enough that this has not been about my own livelihood. But in six weeks I will no longer be a student and I will struggle to break into “what appears to be a dying industry.” I will exhaust three years of mostly tepid NYC media contacts and fire off Gmails with a wish, a prayer and some links, hoping to somehow transform overnight from disposable free labor to… someone’s assistant or fact-checker. “Welcome to the American working class.” 

I need a paycheck, and will do whatever it takes to find one, but I’ve already picked an industry and my skill set and experience are rather focused. And if in six months or one year, I’m back in my parents’ house or applying for graduate programs and for more student loans, I will also continue to write for free — again and again — because what else would I do? And because, for now, I’m green enough to believe that they’d pay me if they could.