I get now why “service journalism” is called that. As a writer, it’s basically unfulfilling so you genuinely have to bring a sense of service to the task to care enough to write half-decent things. You’re not learning/surprising yourself enough to make it personally fulfilling.
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The last few issues have definitely been in this category. It’s not journalism, but it is service writing. Felt I had to have a decent 101-gigwork-basics series. Regular programming on the newsletter is me figuring stuff out for myself or just having fun. Ideally both.
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Reminds me of the idea of “service courses” from grad school teaching days. Teaching intro fluid mechanics or linear algebra was mildly useful as a refresher, but basically not fun. It was service work. Designing and teaching my one 600 level course otoh was a huge amount of fun.
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