Winter and spring of 2009 upended two Sacramento journalists. Just ask Sena Christian, 28, and Walter Yost, 61. The employers of both working reporters fired them this year. Christian covered the environment. Yost’s beat was education. Their unemployment is part of a newsroom trend across the country. Layoffs in journalism rose at a rate of 22 percent per month in the one-year period which ended this August, reports Unity: Journalists of Color, Inc., “a strategic alliance advocating fair and... Sethsky Bloggerbabe32 comment-17801 2009-11-15T23:40:30Z 2009-11-15T23:40:30Z You are defiintely not alone. My experience is similar yet just as painful: http://oflifeandlayoffs.blogspot.com Bloggerbabe32 2009-11-15T23:40:30Z ahirsch comment-16785 2009-10-30T03:57:13Z 2009-10-30T03:57:13Z Would like to hear more about Chomsky and how economics effect newsroom culture. ahirsch 2009-10-30T03:57:13Z Ali Tabatabai comment-16727 2009-10-29T21:47:51Z 2009-10-29T21:47:51Z UGH.... tell me about it. Not for lack of trying, the only job offer I could get in the field was at newspaper in a small market. It was fulltime, and a great beat, but they could only pay me 8 bucks a hour, no benefits, and said I'd be the first one out when layoffs hit... as if they were expected. I suppose if i were a real bad-ass i would of taken it, but the thought of making more money down the street flipping Double-Doubles was demoralizing. :-) It's a shame really, because most papers are still profitable, despite the impact Craig Newmark and the rest of the internet have had. At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves how valuable journalism is in our society, what are we willing to pay for it, where has it failed us, and what innovative things can we come up with to fix it. I think websites like this one show us there is hope. But lets not just hope, lets ensure it thrives. Thanks for the article Seth. Ali Tabatabai 2009-10-29T21:47:51Z JT Long comment-16723 2009-10-29T21:19:31Z 2009-10-29T21:19:31Z Thank you for the article. Sacramento is home to a lot of great journalists, full-time, freelance and otherwise. Sacramento Press and the unrelated Sacramento Press Club are great resources for finding places to sell articles, fine tuning your research skills and sharing best practices with other journalists in the same situation. Best of Luck. We are all figuring out this thing together. JT Long 2009-10-29T21:19:31Z Rhonda Erwin comment-16685 2009-10-29T16:54:23Z 2009-10-29T16:54:23Z Thank you Seth for writing this article. I appreciate both Christian and Yost shared their experience and I appreciate their strength- "down but not out" . Seeing the survival spirit they both possess is an inspiration. I know it is hard for them and I truly wish them the best. You did a great job - much respect Rhonda Erwin 2009-10-29T16:54:23Z