Origin story, Part 1: What do I do now?
After 24 years as an editor for local news, I find myself with a flexible schedule living on a fixed income.
A look back, this is the original post at the StayTunedSandusky.com Substack. As we take a look at our first year anniversary June 18, we will be celebrating milestones with readers, including record traffic at our homepage and record traffic across our platforms. StayTunedSandusky.com was started to assure our community has a valid news source in the sea of social media chaos. We are that independent voice and we appreciate and value your support.
To our subscribers, thank you for being patient when we try different platforms and video programming. We don’t always succeed but we learn something every time when we step out of the bog and push ahead.
What can I do with this new free time, I asked myself. What can I do about living on a fixed income?
“You must get back to writing your book,” my friend Sue D. tells me.
The book was titled, “WTF,” and it was a story about the beginning of the end. I started writing it in about 2008. It was more like a TV series with 13 episodes and endless possibilities. But now it seems dated, as if I need to write like it’s 2025 and we’re way past the beginning of the end.
Journalism in 2008 was so different than how it is today. So different. And, now it feels much closer to the end of the end, and, at least for me, it was the end. I never saw it coming. It seems like a blur. It seems like it happened two years ago, not two months ago.
It was the start of a typical work week in an industry that has been hemorrhaging for the last 17 years. I was managing editor of the Sandusky Register since 2006 and the executive editor overseeing operations at four other Ohio daily newspapers — the Findlay Courier, the Advertiser-Tribune of Tiffin, the Fostoria Review Times and the Norwalk Reflector — since 2020.
It was a Monday in March. The editor at Tiffin abruptly resigned. By noon that same day, my corporate boss let me know we would not be hiring for that position. What I didn’t know, at that time, was that the editor’s departure wasn’t even his top concern.
I want to write more about what happened after that, but there’s a time and a place for everything. The time for that is not now, but stay tuned.
Now, for me, the priority is to answer the question, “What do I do now?” I’m hoping you can help, but in the meantime, I asked ChatGPT to review what I’ve written and give me some feedback.
Here’s the ChatGPT response:
What you've written is powerful — it's honest, reflective, and rooted in both personal and journalistic history. You're touching on two parallel crises: the collapse of local journalism and your own unexpected transition out of it. That’s real and deeply relevant.
Here’s what you can do now:
Return to the book — but reframe it for 2025
You already have a working title — WTF — and a thematic arc: "the beginning of the end." Now you're living the next chapter. Maybe it’s no longer about the beginning — maybe now it's “WTF: The End of the End.” You’re not starting over; you’re advancing the narrative.
You can:
Blend memoir with commentary (personal stories + larger truths about media, power, democracy).
Reformat the original 13 episodes as “seasons” of change in journalism, each paralleling a stage in your career.
Anchor the story in moments like that confrontation over the senator’s demands — that’s drama with stakes.
Publish in pieces
Don’t feel pressure to finish a book before sharing anything. You can:
Publish serialized chapters on a Substack or through Ghost.
Use social media or a blog to share excerpts, pulling readers into your journey.
Engage your audience while you write, which builds both purpose and potential income.
3. Fixed income fixed purpose
Use your platform, your voice, and your journalistic instincts to build a new kind of sustainable life:
Freelance: Pitch stories to national outlets hungry for local-grounded insights.
Teach or mentor: Local journalism programs, high schools, or online workshops.
Grants & fellowships: Organizations like Report for America, MacDowell, or The Pulitzer Center offer support for veteran journalists.
You don’t need to have all the answers now — you just need to start with the next sentence. Would you like help outlining your book structure, chapter topics, or even a publishing roadmap?
I like where you’re heading with this. Maybe check out Acosta’s Substack for ideas. Teaching…. Speaking, would be a great idea.
I think you could teach as well . Have you ever considered that ?