A reset

On getting laid off and covering the pursuit of a creative life

A tornado hit St. Louis on Friday. Lucky for us, the only damage we had was this plant. It had been ripped out by its roots. Read into that what you will.

Everyone loves a list. That’s probably why Substack suggests a list for your first post. Why not tell your audience all about you and what you have to offer using a style that they love? So I’m going to listen to Substack and give you what you want. Here’s my list:

1. I got laid off last week. Now I’ve got time.

It started like a normal Thursday. I was going to have my typical catch ups and reporting calls. I’d ready the next weekly marketing newsletter for Digiday’s readers. But that all came to a grinding halt when I was laid off as part of a company-wide restructure.

Like most reporters and editors who find themselves back on the job market right now, I recognize it’s a shit time. The job market is brutal. Our industry is contracting. Ad revenue is drying up as marketing budgets are squeezed. That nebulous uncertainty that marketers are dealing with has consequences for people. So it’s probably going to be a minute before I find my next gig. I can hope for the best while also being a realist.

While I’m looking, I want to keep writing and figure out what I love about reporting and editing again. That means I want to keep telling stories — and I’d love for you to help me do that.

2. Creativity in the age of AI, oh boy.

Every other week, I swear there’s some viral post from an AI hype guy seeming to celebrate the death of a creative industry because of some new AI update. I’m sure you’ve seen these posts, too. They’re annoying. And they’re wrong.

I’m not naive and I certainly recognize that every creative field is rapidly changing because of AI. Whether or not those changes actually help or hurt creatives, depends on who you ask. There’s a common refrain now, “AI won’t take your job. The person using AI will.” I don’t know if I believe that. It could be true. It could also be a clever branding campaign. Why not fear monger and make creatives feel as if they’ll be left behind without using AI? That way you keep the conversation going and, ultimately, get more people to use it and train it.

I believe that this moment calls for more reporting, discussion and examination of creativity in advertising and beyond. Will we actually see the death of the creative agency? Does a creative agency brand matter? (Holding companies seem not to think so.) Or will this be another moment like the ‘08 recession or even early Covid where new creative agencies were born? What makes for a successful career as a creative today? How do you sell the Big Idea when everyone is thinking so short-term? How far can entertainment companies stretch their IP for brands?

I’ll be sending a weekly newsletter that covers those questions and more.

3. It won’t just be about advertising.

Everyone contains multitudes. This newsletter will too. I’ve spent the last decade plus covering the advertising business for publications like Digiday and Adweek. If I were to actually tally the amount of time I’ve spent on the phone with CMOs or agency execs, I’d probably be afraid of that number. It’s a lot of a time talking about advertising. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to do it. Advertising is a crazy business that is endlessly interesting. But I also want to give myself the freedom to open the aperture of what I cover and how I cover it.

To that end, I want to talk to people in lots of different businesses about their creative process, how they balance creativity and business needs and how they continue the pursuit of creativity in all aspects of their lives. There are so many ways to be a creative person. To bring play and wonder back into your every day life. To tap into what truly makes us human. Imagination is everything. So that’s my cheesy little way of saying that some newsletters may go outside the typical bounds of advertising coverage but I think they’ll still be worthwhile.

4. Why you should talk to me about your creative pursuits.

In my life, I am not just a reporter and editor. I’m also a filmmaker. Over the last 13 years in the media business, I’ve used my time off to write and direct four short films. The latest, Lillian’s Oven, just got accepted to its third film festival. I’m really excited about that. I’m also intimately familiar with the pain of putting yourself and your ideas out there and getting rejected over and over again. My experience as a filmmaker has given me a bit more insight into what goes into the production process, how something always goes wrong (and sometimes you’re better for it) and how necessary it is to be able to change your idea on a dime. Basically: I’m also a creative and that will inform the questions I ask you and how we talk about them.

5. Let’s wrap it up already.

The first thing I did after getting laid off was go see a new friend’s short film set. It just so happened that he was going into production the next day and I’d have time to see him start to bring his ideas to life. Rather than wallow at home, I wanted to see how he ran his set and shadow him (ever so briefly) to learn how he manages his cast and crew. Do you know how cool it is to hear about an idea for months and then see that idea become a reality? It’s so freaking cool.

It takes so much to make a creative idea into a reality. It’s truly a miracle every time. Sometimes I think we forget about that when we’re wrapped up in the myriad menial tasks that need to get done to make something happen. I hope I can use some of this newsletter to marvel at the majesty of the creative process. And yes, I know how that sounds, but just go with me.

That’s all for now!

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