Fired New Yorker writer fires back

Dan Baum, a journalist who I believe lived and worked in California before moving to Colorado, is Twittering in 140-character dispatches about his departure from the New Yorker staff. At least, the account looks to be his:

People often ask why I left the New Yorker. After all, I had a staff writer job. Isn’t that the best job in journalism? Yes....

Nobody leaves a New Yorker job voluntarily. I was fired. And over the next few days, I’ll tell that story here, in 140...

Character chunks....

First, a little about the job of New Yorker staff writer. “Staff writer” is a bit of a misnomer, as you’re not an employee,

But rather a contractor. So there’s no health insurance, no 401K, and most of all, no guarantee of a job beyond one year.

My gig was a straight dollars-for-words arrangement: 30,000 words a year for $90,000. And the contract was year-to-

Year. Every September, I was up for review. Turns out, all New Yorker writers work this way, even the bigfeet. It’s

Just the way the New Yorker chooses to behave. It shows no loyalty to its writers, yet expects full fealty in return.

Via Mark Glaser of PBS MediaShift.