I’ve worked for Firedoglake since April 2012, but tomorrow will be my last day. As FDL’s publisher Jane Hamsher just announced, unavoidable and unfortunate issues require that we bring an end to MyFDL, the site’s open blog. Instead of a site where anyone can post, it’s going to become a more standardized WordPress blog with a limited number of authors. This also means there is no longer a need for a dedicated MyFDL editor — my weekday, full time job.
Jane worked hard to make sure I still had a position at Firedoglake if I wanted it, and I’m very grateful to her offer. Instead, I’ve accepted a position as Web Editor with Mint Press News. I’m already helping to launch MyMPN, the site’s new open blog. Starting tomorrow, I’ll also be temporarily in charge of Mint Press social media.
I can’t say enough about how important Firedoglake was to me these last two years. They took a chance hiring a citizen journalist and writer without formal industry experience, based primarily on my work with Occupy Austin. In a very real way, FDL let me launch a new career and taught me so much about journalism, editing, and the field as a whole. The other editors and staff at the site were, without exception, a pleasure to work with. I’ll still be dropping into that community to participate in discussions and book salons.
If I’ve talked to you in the past about becoming a blogger, I’d still like to see your writing — I’ll just be publishing it on MyMPN instead. Get in touch if you have opinions and want to see them in print, or want to share your local news and activism reports on our site: http://www.mintpressnews.com/MyMPN
Overall, I think the transition will be good for me. My work at Mint Press has already been very rewarding, and I think this change means I’ll be able to write more often. I’m hoping to revive this blog, too. Now that I will no longer be making nightly Watercooler posts on Firedoglake, I’ll share some of those videos and links here. I hope this will also encourage me to give Approximately 8,000 Words a much needed visual overhaul.
Here’s a list of my recent articles for Mint Press News by way of re-introducing my work:
- Block #HB2: Austin Banner Drop For Texas Abortion Access (on MyMPN)
- Exposing Breitbart’s Lies at ALEC 41
- Exposing ALEC’s “Corporate Sausage Factory” In Dallas
- 5,000 Texans March For Gaza (w/ Video!)
- Missourians Fight ALEC Over Big Agriculture’s “Right to Farm”
