So my January was a bit of a failure. I didn’t do much reassessment of the journalism and other writing I do. The cancellation of the Patch Monday podcast and my Linux.conf.au coverage killed off income. And I spent too much money. Sigh.
If you’re not interested in my personal thought processes, skip this post. I know I would.
Linux.conf.au first. While I did think about ways to generate funding for coverage at the same level as last year, the time was too short. If I got to Canberra somehow, I could still pitch stories to editors as usual, but cashflows were tight. Then Pia Waugh invited me to interview Sir Tim Berners-Lee for iiNet as part of their sponsorship of the TBL Down Under Tour. Two nights accommodation were offered. So hey, I went to Canberra for a couple days.
I ended up filing just one story. Instead of a solid income-generating week to counteract the December-January slump, it was a loss-maker.
Want a picture? I’ve added January to my chart of stories written, and I’ve changed the title to “media objects” because I’ve added the Patch Monday podcast to the ZDNet total. I’ve also added a mysterious black line. The recent slump is clear.
So, the current status of my thinking-about-writing thing since my last update?
ZDNet is sorted. The Full Tilt column replaces the Patch Monday podcast, and I’ve been warned that a cut to the discretionary budget means fewer stories overall. Not the happiest result, but it’s clarity.
CSO Online is sorted too, inasmuch as it continues to be two 500-word articles per month, and Crikey continues to be its usual ad hoc thing. That’s really a lack of thinking on my part than an actual plan.
As for the rest, well, the editor of Technology Spectator is only just returning from holidays, my commissioning editor at the Sydney Morning Herald has departed, and I haven’t met the new editor of ABC’s The Drum.
So overall my existing outlets are pretty much the same, and I’ve done bugger all about the new ideas. Go me.
[Update 25 February 2013: Added link to Sir Tim Berners-Lee interview.]