Here's a fun and inspirational diversion for aspiring writers on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Maybe this story of entrepreneur-super writers will get your gumption going? Or, maybe it will leave you even more depressed, depending on how you read it? Sarah Ellison of Vanity Fair highlights News Disrupters, those super writers who leave "cushy jobs at established news organizations," to create "their own fiefdom(s)."
Who needs a boss anymore? The latest vogue in journalism is to leave cushy jobs at established news organizations—or else establish an autonomous power center within one. In the spirit of Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher (No. 40 on this year’s New Establishment list), who created their own fiefdom at Re/code earlier this year, this new breed of journo-entrepreneurs strike out on their own, cutting to the chase and influencing the masses without (much of) a filter. Below, a collection of News Disrupters who have done it most successfully.
Ellison then offers of biographies of Andrew Ross Sorkin, 37, Andrew Sullivan, The Dish, 51, David Pogue, of Yahoo Tech, Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight, 36, Jessica Lessin, the Information, 31, Matt Taibbi, 44; Glenn Greenwald, 47; Laura Poitras, 50; First Look, Ezra Klein, Vox, 30, and Sam Biddle, Valleywag, 27.
Does Ellison reveal a slightly sadistic streak by listing the ages of all of these "wunderkinds?" Or, are this age listings intended to "inspire" us that even relatively "elderly" writers like Sullivan and Pogue can still "stick it to the man" and break free at 51?
Ellison fails to mention Nate Silver left Daily Kos before leaving the New York Times.
Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight, 36
Initially a baseball statistician, Silver became a mathematical rock star for his nearly infallible predictions for the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign on his blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. After a stint at The New York Times, where Silver’s blog was one of the site’s top draws, he became convinced of the limits of traditional journalism and moved his blog to Disney’s ESPN, where it grew to a 20-person staff. He launched the site with this statement: “It’s time for us to start making the news a little nerdier.”
Do you feel like a "slacker yet? We learn Andrew Sullivan took The Daily Dish to Time, then the Atlantic, and then the Daily Beast, before leaving all beyond to start the The Dish which charges a $20 a year subscription.
Jessica Lessin, 31, who started the Information, after a stint as a tech reporter for the Wall Street Journal charges $399 a year for a subscription for her "highbrow technology news."
And. here's an inspiring tidbit, despite his advancing years, Ezra Klein, 30, still has enough spunk left in him to start Vox, after languishing so long at The Washington Post's Wongblog.
Klein’s geek status was cemented earlier this year when he name-dropped Vox.com’s publishing platform, Chorus, as his main reason for leaving The Washington Post’s Wonkblog, which he had created and edited. Vox.com publishes explainers on all manner of news—with its mission being the dismissal of an “eat-your-vegetables”-style, joyless journalism and Klein as its self-styled “head vegetable chef.”
I guess one lession we learn is an aspiring super-writer has to have a special angle, like this "eat your vegetables" thing Klein has going - even thought it is not really clear to me what the heck this is supposed to mean. At least we know what Night Owls, Top Comments, and Kitchen Kibbitzen mean. I think an angle, ought to make sense.
Hey, maybe my angle could be "geriatric canines" for those hounds and other dogs that are trying to break into writing in our late 50s?
Keep a lookout for our new super-blog, "Howling At the Moon" that my beagle friend Zippy, shown above, 52 (in dog years), and I, 57, are going to start to show "even old dogs can learn new tricks."
Woof, woof, aaaawwwwwhhhhhoooooo!