Alert: It has come to my attention that Substack is not yet equipped to direct your replies straight to my inbox. Instead, they land in a general inbox and have to be manually forwarded to me. Yes, this is annoying. Anyway, sorry for not replying to your replies, I haven’t been intentionally ignoring you!
And now, our feature presentation…
Thinkin’ bout selection effects. In particular, adverse selection. The concept has been on my mind since February, brought top-of-mind by this Twitter exchange:
Toying around with an idea: Public "office hours" that anyone can drop in on. Whoever showed up could pitch me on a story, have a casual conversation, whatever. It'd probably be located at a coffee shop in SOMA. Thoughts?
February 7, 2018
I've tried to do something similar to meet with founders on weekends near my apartment. Potential problem is adverse selection: only people without important/interesting things taking you up on it
February 7, 2018Some industries have adverse selection effects. Journalism, for instance (writes the myopic journalist, obsessed with her dysfunctional industry). There’s a half-joke among reporters that you don’t go into media if you’re able to do anything else. And it’s true — if you have any common sense, along with the ability to put up with sycophantic corporate nonsense, then you’ll go make more money in PR or marketing.
It’s similar to the saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.” Those who can’t do, chronicle.
But of course there’s an “on the other hand.” The terribleness of journalism, as much as it repels competent professionals, also filters for people who are really passionate about reporting. (Plus those of us, myself included, who have a bizarre craving for attention from strangers.)
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