by Regan McMahon (Observations from the On- and Off-Ramps at Mommy Track'd)
Last fall, when I wrestled with the decision to take the voluntary buyout my offered by the newspaper where I had been an editor, book critic and feature writer for many years, I figured that the severance lump sum and unemployment checks would carry me through for almost a year, and there was no way it would take me that long to find a job so I’d make a tidy profit. I’m a hustler, used to taking on freelance work above and beyond my day job. I’m an optimist, too. I knew I would tackle this challenge the way I tackle a Page One story: with in-depth research, intense focus and indefatigable energy. I’m a go-getter who would just go out and get a new job.
However, as I detailed in my series of Off Ramp posts about taking the buyout and the emotional aftermath of the decision, when I took my leap I landed in the tightest job market since the Great Depression. And, as it turned out, it wasn’t only the economy that was in trouble, my entire industry was on the ropes. I was bombarded with virtually daily news stories—in my own paper and on news and media websites I subscribe to or browse—about the death of newspapers and the shrinking magazine market, with young upstarts and media heavyweights alike outdoing each other to declare the cause of print journalism’s demise, naming and blaming those responsible.
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Regan McMahon is the author of Revolution in the Bleachers: How Parents Can Take Back Family Life in a World Gone Crazy over Youth Sports.
