A Columnist of the People?:

October 30, 2001 4:08 PM

A Columnist of the People?: "Many people have told me they consider my writing a breath of fresh air. The question is whether a year of fresh air is worth the price of a music CD. I don't know the answer to that question, but this is my attempt to find out. My proposal is a modest one. Whereas some Post writers earn $750 per column, I am proposing to write a weekly online column for $600 dollars Canadian (see U.S. dollar equivalents). This means I would be paid, over the course of a year, $31,200 for two days work per week."

I guess this is sort of a twist on the honor model, but wouldn't people possibly be more likely to go with something like a micro-ad, where they get some tangible ROI?
(via e-media tidbits)
posted by owillis (20 comments total)

I swear, the first three times I read that, trying desperately to make sense of it, I thought that said "a waste of fresh air". it wasn't until I clicked through that I could see it right.
posted by rebeccablood at 4:12 PM on October 30, 2001

Not exactly an admirable trait in a columnist, huh? Ha
posted by owillis at 4:14 PM on October 30, 2001

A worthy idea but one that is bound to fail. The Internet is full of opinions and professionally written and researched ones are a dime a dozen.

She wants 31K for two days a week! What a giggle. I can't blame her for wanting it, but it's a bit rich considering all she does is give her opinion.

I know people who would be happy to work for the same amount for a five day week.
posted by skinsuit at 8:17 PM on October 30, 2001

She wants 31k in Canadian dollars. That's about 19.2k or so in US dollars.
posted by websavvy at 8:25 PM on October 30, 2001

Many people have told me they consider my writing a breath of fresh air

Sorry, she's not getting my $10 U.S. ($55,126 Canadian) if she keeps using stale cliches like "breath of fresh air."
posted by ljromanoff at 8:47 PM on October 30, 2001

I live in Australia where around 19k$ (US) converts into a reasonable wage. Sad, isn't it?
posted by skinsuit at 9:09 PM on October 30, 2001

It's sad but brave of her all the same. I fear she's in for a big disappointment. People read columnists as part of a package - the context of the rest of the paper/mag is crucial. The "right-wing woman surrounded by liberal men" formula has been flogged to death, anyway.
Besides I don't think anyone would buy $10 of unselected columns when you can buy a top collection, in paperback, for that sort of money.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:35 PM on October 30, 2001

i like how she's just collecting checks, cashing them, and if she doesn't make as much as she wants to, she promises to give them to charity.

yeah, me too. send me checks, i'll cash them, and then if it's not as much money as i want to earn for publishing a weekly update to my website, i'll, um, donate them to the human fund.
posted by palegirl at 11:18 PM on October 30, 2001

No, no, send it to me. I will put it in one of these worthy funds.

Which is the whole argument (I think) against just putting a hand out. As the end user, you want more than just the words she's outputting - the perceived value of that is relatively low (even if it isn't really).
posted by owillis at 12:09 AM on October 31, 2001

I don't know her work but everything about her plan seems completely crazy. She doesn't seem to have that much experience of the Net.

One thing I know for sure is that only a tiny percentage of one's audience is ever willing to pay. Secondly, the perceived value of a website post is lower than the perceived value of a newspaper column. Thirdly, she's providing no online payment facility even though Amazon or PayPal would have taken seconds to set up. Finally - as most of you have mentioned - the arrogance of demanding a $30,000 salary from her site's users is extraordinary.
posted by skylar at 1:45 AM on October 31, 2001

Unlike most of you , I actually READ some of her writings before posting this comment .

Ms Laframboise : You don't get it . Nor does Joe Sobran ,
John Stossell and an ever-shortening list of journalists
who seek to 'enlighten' their readers.

The Truth don't pay . Ain't no market .

Give them clowns and circuses .

Refer to Revelations 18 .
posted by ojsbuddy at 2:28 AM on October 31, 2001

Unlike most of you , I actually READ some of her writings before posting this comment.

Ouch!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:40 AM on October 31, 2001

I've read back her solicitation for $ and come to the conclusion that she, like many journalists, is a writer not a business person. An obvious point but many a writer has failed in the quest to become a successful, independent publisher.
posted by skinsuit at 4:22 AM on October 31, 2001

Yeah, but aren't there people you would pay to read monthly/weekly columns from? I would.
posted by talos at 4:57 AM on October 31, 2001

i got paid 5$ for a poem that took me 10 seconds to write. Thats 1800$ ahour. peanuts willis.
posted by clavdivs at 5:41 AM on October 31, 2001

Speaking as a recently laid off writer, I think she should have to wait tables in a seedy redneck bar.

Misery loves company, you know.
posted by jennyb at 6:51 AM on October 31, 2001

There are certainly people I'd pay to read monthly/weekly columns from -- and I do. But I usually pay for them only occasionally, or as part of that "package," because even my favorites are usually not worth an individual, regular advance commitment. I'd bet that most people only subscribe to a magazine, etc. because it regularly features multiple writers one likes.

She sounds pleasantly earnest but not very bright about economics. What I found funny was her claim that she's "politically incorrect" -- her columns seem to me to be rather tepid and middle-of-the-road.

Actual non-rhetorical question: Is there anyone who is known as a big-deal, national/international draw as a writer who has been able to build a substantial subscription/donation base for a web column? My guess would be "no" but maybe I'm missing someone obvious?
posted by BT at 7:04 AM on October 31, 2001

This reminds me of what sports columnist Skip Bayless did when his paper, the Dallas Times-Herald, was bought and shut down by the Dallas Morning News. The Web wasn't around yet, so he sold a twice- or thrice-weekly fax newsletter on the Dallas Cowboys and other topics of his column. It was successful enough for him to hire additional writers for a few years, though he eventually got another sportswriting job and moved on.

Finally - as most of you have mentioned - the arrogance of demanding a $30,000 salary from her site's users is extraordinary.

Only if you think there's something wrong with the desire to make a decent wage writing columns.

$30,000 is low for a columnist, even if she's talking about U.S. dollars. These journalists are the most marketed writers at any large paper, and many of them are earning salaries that are several times what she's hoping to make.

Calling her goal a "demand" is like saying that McDonald's demanded $2.99 for a Big Mac. She has a price. What's the harm in stating it up front, instead of quitting the project later because she didn't make enough money to sustain it?
posted by rcade at 7:17 AM on October 31, 2001

I admire her moxie, but this is a doomed enterprise. No columnist of her type stands alone and has her readers support her. Especially one who's not particularly witty, engaging or insightful, at least not in the four columns I read from her Post page.

Average opinion writing is everywhere on the Internet. There's even some ripping good reads you can click on, some of it linked here. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
posted by sacre_bleu at 7:55 AM on October 31, 2001

She's naive and ignorant. However, right-wing, self-described "politically incorrect" columnists are selling for pennies per hundredweight (like how I avoided the cliche "a dime a dozen?"), and if one gets purged, no biggie.

Did someone up there mention Joseph Sobran and "the truth" in the same sentence? Ha ha ha ha ha.
posted by nance at 10:57 AM on October 31, 2001