I graduated college with a degree in journalism in 2008. At that time my options for a job in journalism was non-existent. Online media had begun to shutter print publications and that was just the tip of the iceberg to where we would be today. Reeling off the news that over 1,000 journalists at Buzzfeed, Huffington Post and Gannett lost their jobs in the last week, with more to be laid off in the near future, it forces us to ask what this flooded market of job seekers is going to do to the industry as a whole.
In the freelance world it’s already a battle to find paying publications, let alone ones that are willing to pay enough to maintain a consistent income. One off articles here and there for $50, $175, $200 are not nearly enough to justify a full time job. As hundreds of people begin to battle for the limited full time opportunities remaining it’s likely more will land as freelancers, bringing decades of expertise and award winning bylines to an already scarce handful of decent paying freelance opportunities, in turn driving the remaining rates available even lower.
Just one year ago the local Denver daily laid off 1/3 their workforce, leaving small group of employees left to cover daily news for a community of over 2.8 million individuals. Today when you pick up a copy of The Post, most of the articles are syndicated from the Associated Press, losing coverage of local news and business nearly entirely. As a consumer, I have no problem paying for the paper if I had confidence there was going to be local, relevant news.
How can a barebones staff of 50 or so writers be responsible for producing enough content for an entire Daily newspaper? Their inboxes are flooded with press releases and calls for coverage from the local community but with only 24 hours in the day, most are left unanswered and who can blame them? This puts local businesses and non-profit organizations into a quandry. They need coverage and exposure but they can’t seem to obtain it without paying for advertising that we already know is being ignored.
As a nation built on the premise of free press, where are we supposed to get our news? Does free press in this era mean that the media are expected to literally work for free?
The result of dropping wages has forced many journalists to turn to payola, working brand mentions and SEO friendly backlinks into notable publications like Forbes or Fast Company in exchange for additional pay. If the ethics of journalism are thrown out the window, how do we know what or who to trust? Is there anything or anyone we can?
There is no solution in sight and the issue will only continue to be compounded over the coming months. Placing news behind a paywall has proven over and over again to be short term solution to a much bigger problem.
For decades before the internet, advertising was the backbone of the press, covering staff salaries, travel expenses and even buying products for the reporters to review them. Advertising is what subsidized the media, allowing for coverage free of both censorship and bias.
If we want to return to a world of effective and ethical journalism, as a society we need to help make advertising work again. Click on a banner ad, buy a product, tell a restaurant you saw them in a travel magazine. It sounds like an over simplified solution, but it’s not. We are in control of the free press and if we want truthful media coverage, written by skilled writers, we need to support the best ways to keep that press what it was intended to be, free.
There’s nothing more beautiful than wintertime in the mountains. The snowcapped mountains and fresh powder on the ground make for a fun day of playing outdoors followed by warm evenings by the fire. Getting together as a family is a wonderful reason to go up to the mountains for a weekend of fun (although there’s never any need to have a reason to go to the mountains when you live in Colorado).
Just a few weeks ago we headed up highway 36 from Denver to the YMCA of the Rockies, just outside Estes Park to celebrate my sister’s 16th birthday as a family. During the winter months traffic into the mountains can get a bit crazy, being able to enjoy the mountains without having to fight ski traffic is always a plus.
Even after a heavy snow, the trip from Denver took just an hour and half to get to the YMCA campus, perfect for a car loaded with teenagers in the backseat.
Now that we’re grown and out of the house, its hard to get all our schedules to align so we can get together as a family for a weekend away. When we do, having space for us all to sleep without having to do a ton of planning is the ideal time together.
The YMCA of the Rockies is the perfect place to get together as a family, especially since we could stay in a loge with a few rooms for us all to spread out. With 6 adults in the family the double bed rooms in Emerald Lodge are ideal for everyone having enough space and rooms near by one another. They also have cabins or vacation homes on property for bigger groups or those who want to have a more private gathering.
The cafeteria serves three meals a day so theres no need to cook and a full calendar of activities are available to keep you busy during your stay.
We started the day playing out in the snow and then warmed up in the Craft & Design Center where we could choose from t-dye, ceramics, mosaics, jewelry design and a whole variety of other projects.
After grabbing lunch we picked up some skates at the Sweets Memorial Building and went out to the frozen lake for outdoor skating before checking out some board games to enjoy by the Lodge fire after dark.
Staying together was the perfect family celebration for my sister’s birthday, giving us just enough of a break to really enjoy the time before we had to head back to Denver on Sunday. With no dishes to wash and everything we needed a short drive on campus, it was a relaxing adventure that everyone was able to enjoy.
Disclosure: The YMCA of the Rockies invited us to join them for a weekend stay in one of their lodge rooms. All opinions are my own.
Halloween parties are about costumes and fun, not spending the entire evening in the kitchen. We’re inviting friends and family over for a party the weekend before Halloween and I want to share some easy appetizers that are so delicious they’ll disappear – almost like magic.
Who doesn’t love a good reason to get together with your girlfriends. I’ve worked with the team at Denver Style Magazine and a few of my favorite companies to put together a fun shabby chic spring brunch to help inspire your next get together.
Vintage tables, furniture and chairs [Yours for Your Day], Shabby chic dishes, silverware and stemware [Patina Preferred], Model’s clothing [Patterns & Pops], Cheese platter, dried fruit and pastel mints [Hickory Farms], Floral arrangements [Flintwood Floral], Modern tableware, rocks glasses, and cutting boards [Hazel & Dewey], Fabric Bunting Banner [Blossoms & Bean], Candles [Candles By Tiffany], Photography by Noah Berg Photography.
