Sunday Bloody Sunday

Well, this was a nice way to start my vacation.

The Free Press has halved the contributions of many of their freelancers, myself included. So instead of being weekly, I am now only twice a month.

I'm a little unhappy at this, especially after seven years of writing a column, and of doing it weekly for the last four years or so. I think after all that time, I warranted more than just a group email. I think we all did. But that's how things operate in today's newspaper world.

Then again, it's probably for the best. I've been wanting to focus more on other writing projects, since I never set out to be a newspaper columnist at all. The problem with a weekly column--at least with me, since I'm unsure how others see the process--is that it takes up a fair amount of headspace: trying to come up with something original each week, and if that's impossible, at least presenting the material in a way that's amusing. I've never found the process easy. It's always been a challenge each and every week--and when you're holding down a full time job on top of freelancing, some nights the energy really isn't there. But I've done it, and have only not submitted a column once , and that was because a good friend had died.

Sometimes, the column would be the only thing I would write all week. And that ain't gonna buy me any satisfaction, either creatively or financially. It's a hard road for a freelance columnist these days: you either parrot the political line of the paper you're working for, or you present some bullshit homily that everyone can agree on, or you don't get the gig. I've been fortunate in having editors who allow me to do what I want--especially with a very conservative, blue haired paper like the London Free Press. But it's time to move on.

Cutting the freelancers this way is the equivalent of a bar owner flicking the lights at three am. It's time for us to unplug our amps, and let the elevator music take over.