Your Unemployed Daughter

photo credit: Jeremy Brooks

Here’s an interesting piece, on Gawker today, about the fate of those print journalism types who haven’t been laid off. And while I don’t think it’s as dire as all that—things change, and people need (after their fair share of wallowing boozily, semi-conscious in private miseries) to hop on board and adapt or just go ahead and retire—it’s telling.

Who has it better? Maybe it’s actually us unemployeds.

From the piece:

A senior editor at a glossy Conde Nast fashion mag in his early 30s … summed it up like this: “Look, I have a wife. There’s no way I’m gonna quit. Who in their right mind would quit right now? And hopefully, I’m not gonna be fired. But honestly, a little part of me does sort of hope that I’m next. At least that way, I’d be forced to explore other options.”

I do, for the record, think that writing and editing are skills, and that those who possess such skills and use them well are going to continue to be in some sort of demand. The landscape will evolve, but people will still want to read good writing, whether it’s on a Kindle or blog or website or tea-stained parchment. Right?

Anyway, the moral of this story is, be kind to your employed friends. They need you right now, perhaps more than ever. And rewind.