Why I Got Fired

Newsletter 2019-01-21

Why I Got Fired

Fired. Laid off. Axed. Downsized. Cut. Not renewed.

Call it whatever you want. The IndyStar used to pay me to do a thing, and now they will no longer pay me to do that thing. My column that appeared in print on Sunday—and will show up online sometime this week—is my last. I wish I knew it was coming. If I had some notice, I would have slipped in an obscene secret message or obscure Star Wars reference. Okay, I totally get why they didn’t warn me.

My firing was nothing personal. Of course, that’s what the dumper always says to the dumpee. Unless they blast you in the face with pepper spray. I guess it depends on the breakup.

The IndyStar has been offering buyouts to longtime journalists for a while now. I saw their early retirements on my Twitter feed but didn't think anything of it. I was just a freelancer, and a cheap one at that. I gave them free advertising on social media that was worth ten times what they paid me for my articles. In terms of actual value, I was workin…