Free as a Breeze

By Jim Hagarty

A writer in the U.S. recently released a book about how the creative class (artists, authors, singers, speakers, photographers, etc.) need to stop giving away their arts and crafts for nothing.

Stop working for free, was the gist of his effort.

My favourite news blog, The Huffington Post, called up the author’s agent and asked if he would write a review of his own book for the news aggregator.

“How much are you willing to pay my client?” asked the agent.

“Nothing,” came the reply from Huff Post, without a trace of irony.

So the author went and told his story of being offered nothing to a Huff Post competitor.

No word yet on what, if anything, the competing blog paid him for his story.

My guess is they matched the Huff Post offer, dollar for dollar.

The Huffington Post is estimated to be worth $1 billion.

Author: Jim Hagarty

I am a 72-year-old retired journalist, busy recovering from a lifelong career as an unretired journalist. This year marks a half century of my scratching out little fables about life. My interests include genealogy, humour and music. I live in a little blue shack in Canada and spend most of my time trying to stay out of trouble. I am not that good at it. I also spent years teaching journalism. Poor state of journalism today: My fault. I have a family I don't deserve, a dog that adores me, and two cars the junk yard refuses to accept. My prized possessions include my old guitar and a razor my Dad gave me when I was 14 and which I still use when I bother to shave. Oh, and my great-great-grandfather's blackthorn stick he brought from Ireland in the 1850s. I have only one opinion but it is a good one: People take too many showers.