Well, good news and bad news, dear readers. The bad news is that, while it’s been fun and interesting to hop aboard an expanding publication known primarily for its hard tech coverage, and to try to bring their trademark geeky rigor to the task of reporting on tech policy and politics, it also turns out not to be the most stable gig in the world right now—what with most formerly “expanding” journalistic enterprises well into “contracting” mode. So if you haven’t been following my work over there and are at all curious what I’ve been getting up to over at Ars Technica‘s policy channel, well, you’ve got about a week left.
No hard feelings there; a lot of publications are having to ask “what’s the absolute core stuff we need to do to stay afloat right now?” For a site like Ars, “political reporting” wasn’t going to be at the top of the list—and they still have razor sharp folks like Nate Anderson who can make sure they stay on top of the most important policy stories. So they made precisely the same call I would’ve had I been running the show. And no regrets either: I’d never expected to stay a tech journalist indefinitely, but seven months wearing that hat has given me a chance to get to know a ton of clever people, drill deeper into some specific issues of interest to me, and get the sort of healthy writing discipline that you can probably only learn from either daily reporting or a paid dominatrix. It’s been a pleasure to get to meet folks like Clint, Ben, & the Jons, and inshallah one of these days I’ll have a chance to grab a beer with Ken & Jacqui & Eric, who I’ve managed to work with these past months without actually ever meeting in the flesh. That said, I got what came for from the experience, and I’m perfectly happy to try something new now
Which brings us to what I at least hope folks bothering to cast an eyeball here will regard as good news: Once I’ve wrapped up at Ars, I can take a few weeks to catch up on my reading and unload the growing backlog of blog posts about things-not-tech that I just didn’t have time to write while there. Cybersecurity is fascinating in its own way, but I won’t pretend I haven’t missed the odd philosophical thumbsucker—of which I have a few in reserve. I think of it as an involuntary but not unwelcome vacation while I figure out what I’d like to do next. In the meantime, my occupation is reader/blogger/flaneur. Stay tuned.
29 responses so far ↓
1 Aurich // Apr 2, 2009 at 11:55 am
I wish you nothing but the best, and I’m sorry we couldn’t get that drink together yesterday. I’m using your to 2010 toast for the rest of the year. 😉
2 Clint Ecker // Apr 2, 2009 at 11:56 am
I can say its been lots of fun working with you and to meet you in Las Vegas. As with everyone else, I’m sad to see you go, but I know you’ll be on to bigger and better things in no time 🙂
3 Frank Caron // Apr 2, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Glad I got to say “hi” in the flesh before things went wry. I have been and will continue to be a fan of your writing, Julian.
Good luck, man.
– Frank
4 nick@CEI // Apr 2, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Sorry to hear you’re leaving Ars. Hope we can still catch up from time to time.
Good luck in your future endeavors!
5 Joe Strummer // Apr 2, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I discovered Ars, which is now one of my regular reads, because you went to write for them. So sorry about your departure, but still enjoy the site.
6 Mike Riggs // Apr 2, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Is that a Brand New reference?
Re your exodus from Ars: Sad face.
More time for Borges, though.
7 david hodges // Apr 2, 2009 at 1:06 pm
mr. sanchez, seriously going to miss your writing at ars technica . they have (had?) some of the best coverage of technology/internet-related legal issues period. it’s miserable to see that go.
8 mikeho // Apr 2, 2009 at 1:07 pm
sorry to hear it, but there will always be other gigs…
9 Jonathan Blanks // Apr 2, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Sorry to hear it, Julian. Good luck!
10 Elton // Apr 2, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Sorry to hear it, Julian.
I had to look up “flaneur” — I was assuming it was a person specializing in making flan. Glad I was wrong (you can do so much better, dessert-wise).
Also, your second link in the first paragraph points to the Gawker article and not to Ars.
11 Kevin B. O'Reilly // Apr 2, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Sorry for the bad news, Julesy. Enjoy your vacation and good luck in your next venture!
12 Julian Sanchez // Apr 2, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Hey, hey, watch what you say bout flan in the presence of a Spaniard. But thanks for the kind wishes all.
13 aC // Apr 2, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Best of luck to you Julian. I was a big fan of your articles on Ars in the short time you were there. You’ll definitely leave a hole on the site in your absence. But life is life and things can’t always be sunshine and roses, so here’s hoping that the upturn from all of this makes up for the downer you’re experiencing now.
Best wishes.
14 Rob Carlson // Apr 2, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Best of luck finding something new!
15 FXWizard // Apr 2, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Best of luck, Julian, I’ll miss your articles.
16 southpaw // Apr 3, 2009 at 1:57 am
Glad you’ll be back here, man. But boy did they make a bad decision.
17 hux // Apr 3, 2009 at 1:57 am
Sorry to hear that you’re one of those who had to be let go. I always loved Ars’ for its occasional focus on tech policy issues, so I was really happy when they brought you in to expand this area and it’s been great reading, even if it only lasted a few months. Here’s hoping things improve for Ars soon and then perhaps Ken & Co. could tempt you to return! Either way, best of luck for the future.
18 David Jinkins // Apr 3, 2009 at 3:30 am
ars brevis…
19 mumsy // Apr 3, 2009 at 11:31 am
Well, if anyone has a good attitude about it all, you sure do! That in itself should be a recipe for success.
Hope to hear from you soon.
20 Sajid Mehmood // Apr 3, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Very sorry to hear that Ars let you go. Reading your coverage at Law & Disorder was one of the reasons I developed a serious interest in tech policy.
Ars will not be the same without you, but I’ll be sure to follow your work wherever you go. Best of luck.
21 jess zimbabwe // Apr 4, 2009 at 7:27 am
Sorry it wasn’t on your own terms, but you offer a _really_ compelling silver lining of reading more APDA-style stuff from you!
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