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The First Few Publications to Fall Prey To AI Slop

I know that’s a harrowing headline, but stick with me here.

I’m not sure if you saw this story from earlier this week, but there is so much about it that makes me uncomfortable, both as an editor and a freelance journalist. 

Wired, (of all places), and a bunch of other high-profile outlets had to pull down a number of stories by a freelancer named Margaux Blanchard, because they were completely generated by AI—from the pitch to the story itself. It’s unclear whether Ms. Blanchard is actually a real person (if you look her up, as I did, you’ll see that all her digital profiles have been deleted) or a “journalist” someone cooked up with AI–but either way, they have done some serious damage. 

Unfortunately, in the era of AI Slop, I fully expect these incidents to become much more frequent–just look at the enshittification of search and the decline in page views, ad revenue, and subscriptions thanks to AI. 

While it makes me nauseous to think that a publication that publicly touts itself as standing up to, and comprehensively covering this kind of stuff (looking at you, Wired), while cashing in (in the form of subscriptions) on the current political environment, turned around and published AI CONTENT when I know there are hundreds of pitches that sit in their inboxes from real, live, human journalists with stellar bylines and experience, I actually see a big opportunity here for talented, skilled, and deeply experienced freelance journalists like you and I.

Here’s why:

The more publishers experiment with AI content, the more valuable human journalists like those who subscribe to this newsletter become. 

Freelance journalists are especially important in this moment if you can: 

• Position yourself as a trust-builder. Editors are overwhelmed, deadlines are tighter than ever, and budgets are shrinking. If you can reliably deliver clean, accurate, sourced copy, you instantly become more valuable than a dozen AI-written articles and fake reporters.

• Deep reporting beats churn, every single time. AI can summarize (kind of), but it cannot report. It cannot attend a city council meeting, get a source to go on the record, or press a CEO in an interview. Freelancers who pitch investigative, nuanced, or people-driven stories offer something no machine can ever replicate—and something AI will never replace.

• Relationships are HUGE. This is the moment to strengthen ties with editors. When they know you as the freelancer who saves them from messy rewrites, botched sourcing, or credibility hits, you become indispensable.

• AI Slop makes reliable human beings with decades of journalism experience worth more, not less.

The bottom line is this: For freelancers, AI Slop presents an opportunity and an opening.

Machines might be able to generate words, but they CANNOT build trust. Editors still need rigorously sourced, deeply reported, human stories they can stand behind. That’s our edge in a marketplace drowning in cheap, automated churn. If you’re part of this growing community, you know, firsthand, that that’s where the value lies. 

That also means that we, collectively, as professional journalists, must continue to demand living wages for our work.

One Other Thing

I was perusing the job listings for the week and stumbled across something I haven’t seen before:

Notice that little line at the bottom of the listing? “A preferred candidate has been identified for this position.”  

I’ve been running this newsletter for more than two years, and I haven’t seen that before. Yet, as someone who regularly applies to jobs and freelance gigs every single week, I actually appreciate the transparency in the listing—it prevents us all from wasting time—or going in blind.

I think more job postings should be this transparent.

It’s too bad that a majority of outlets are catfishing applicants with fake pay ranges, like the two jobs I recently interviewed for … (if you’re a paid subscriber, you have seen this story unfold in the last two weeks’ Dishonorable Mentions section).

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On To the Job Listings

As you all know, that’s why I started this newsletter more than two years ago, and why I continue to advocate for real wages for high-quality work. It’s also why I frequently include opportunities in this newsletter that aren’t necessarily the usual suspects (Read as: Media companies).

There are TONS of high-paying opportunities for journalists included in this weekly newsletter in spaces that are not traditionally associated with the media world–and jobs at companies that you won’t continue to see listed over and over again on other newsletters. 

If you want to continue to thrive in this space, you need to pivot and consider how to apply your journalism skills to the job market as it currently exists, not as you wish it were. I know that is a hard message to hear, but taking it in means the difference between thriving and just barely surviving in the current media moment.

This week, there are a plethora (yes, I like that SAT word) of six-figure jobs for journalists, including full-time remote and hybrid (part-time and full-time) work.

I’ve also included numerous opportunities for you to get your byline in places you may not have thought of–or work for companies that aren’t necessarily traditional media outlets. These include: 

• A high-paying freelance gig as a contract editor for a Disney-owned firm

• A freelance writing gig for a well-known and iconic RV maker

• A podcast strategist position that pays nearly $200,000 per year (and is fully remote).

• A position as the head of video for a media outlet that pays $220,000 per year (and is fully remote). 

So, really, what are you waiting for? Become a paid ($5 per month) subscriber and unlock access to this week’s six-figure journalism jobs.

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