Jeff here. And I wanna thank you, Will. First, because you had the decency to give me a heads up that this was coming. Second, because it REALLY made me think and consider. So, thanks, thanks, thanks. Great stuff.
Great article. The theme could apply to many other professions. As an old guy, I appreciate the point that we should try to see things as they are now, not only the watt it was for us.
A lot of wisdom here! And getting laid off does feel very personal no matter the reasons behind it. In the early 90s I bitched and bitched about the boring tasks I did as a junior copywriter. When the ad agency lost a big account and let me go, my reaction was ridiculous--as if I’d lost the greatest job ever. I’m cracking up thinking about it now. But you’re so right--when it happens, you don’t want to hear some version of “it was your fault.”
Yeah, Pearlman's advice was ... ill-advised. And it's a great example of why people, maybe, you know, shouldn't just toss up quickie videos about an important subject.
Post more on Twitter? Start a Substack? Ugh. That's superficial (and I would assume that most writers young and old are already doing that stuff, and it hasn't helped). Apply to a million smaller newspapers? That's great advice, if it's 1998. (Also, I would write that book about the uncle with diabetes! Instead of yet another book about a popular sports figure.)
The best advice for a journalist is the same now as it was 20 years ago: marry someone with a good job who makes good money.
I like Pearlman’s video that started the controversy, but I also appreciated some of the backlash. I think a factor in the disconnect is that his intended audience for that video was not people who just got laid off from Sports Illustrated or the Los Angeles Times. His intended audience was kids in college who haven’t had a chance to be laid off yet.
This was great. I love that your truest “advice” features the phrase “I don’t know” multiple times. Admitting to not being an unfailing authority models adulthood well.
When pressed for advice, I aim to use as many question marks as possible. That way anything I suggest is calibrated to the one seeking it, if not a thoughtful restating of their own thinking. I know only my experience definitively—and even that can be shaky!—so I aim to generate tips collaboratively with them rather than pretend I know something I most definitely do not.
Jeff here. And I wanna thank you, Will. First, because you had the decency to give me a heads up that this was coming. Second, because it REALLY made me think and consider. So, thanks, thanks, thanks. Great stuff.
Great article. The theme could apply to many other professions. As an old guy, I appreciate the point that we should try to see things as they are now, not only the watt it was for us.
A lot of wisdom here! And getting laid off does feel very personal no matter the reasons behind it. In the early 90s I bitched and bitched about the boring tasks I did as a junior copywriter. When the ad agency lost a big account and let me go, my reaction was ridiculous--as if I’d lost the greatest job ever. I’m cracking up thinking about it now. But you’re so right--when it happens, you don’t want to hear some version of “it was your fault.”
Yeah, Pearlman's advice was ... ill-advised. And it's a great example of why people, maybe, you know, shouldn't just toss up quickie videos about an important subject.
Post more on Twitter? Start a Substack? Ugh. That's superficial (and I would assume that most writers young and old are already doing that stuff, and it hasn't helped). Apply to a million smaller newspapers? That's great advice, if it's 1998. (Also, I would write that book about the uncle with diabetes! Instead of yet another book about a popular sports figure.)
The best advice for a journalist is the same now as it was 20 years ago: marry someone with a good job who makes good money.
Pearlman always came off as a guy that was a little too online to me, but man his books are great. Sweetness is my favorite biography, period.
I like Pearlman’s video that started the controversy, but I also appreciated some of the backlash. I think a factor in the disconnect is that his intended audience for that video was not people who just got laid off from Sports Illustrated or the Los Angeles Times. His intended audience was kids in college who haven’t had a chance to be laid off yet.
Pearlman's Football For a Buck - The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL is a must read. Hilariously entertaining.
This was great. I love that your truest “advice” features the phrase “I don’t know” multiple times. Admitting to not being an unfailing authority models adulthood well.
When pressed for advice, I aim to use as many question marks as possible. That way anything I suggest is calibrated to the one seeking it, if not a thoughtful restating of their own thinking. I know only my experience definitively—and even that can be shaky!—so I aim to generate tips collaboratively with them rather than pretend I know something I most definitely do not.
Very well-written contra to hit piece at the Defector.