Rich has been a freelance journalist in Somers since 2003, and like anyone in the business knows, jobs come and go. He adds wryly that changes in the industry over the last few years has had more stuff go than come. Add in Covid-19, and “there has been almost a complete collapse,” he said. So, by default, Monetti found blogging an outlet with less certain returns.
That said, Rich said he earned a grand total of $400 writing stories for Vocal.Media last year, and “the paltry total,” as he phrases it, begs an obvious question. Why bother? Here, Rich’s answers to “why blog”…
“Well for one, I love to write, and some money is better than nothing. I’m a firm believer that work leads to work, and I have the proof. In 2016, the newspaper work was sparse, so I starting going up to Somers High School to cover the varsity football games. A half a cent per click netted me no more than $2 for any one game, but one particular view made all the difference. The sports editor from the local Somers paper saw my articles and brought me aboard as a sideline reporter. I’ve been with the paper ever since.
“The same perseverance/love of writing landed me my latest gig. One of my regular movie review readers heard that a site called Take 2 Indie Review was looking for writers, and he recommended me to the publisher. She liked my work, and a steady stream of reviews has me off to a great start.”
Rich reminds aspiring writers: “No matter what you do, and where you are in your career, don’t sulk. You need to turn the passion into something concrete and keep putting yourself out there.”
From Rich’s My Movie Reviews: “The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix Feels Pretty Good”
“My study of American History makes me no stranger to the 60s and the Vietnam War. That said, I know very few details about the Chicago 7. In fact, I didn’t even know that Abbie Hoffman was among those on trial. At the same time, I’ve also realized that learning history from the movies is a poor substitute for understanding. So I was reluctant to take my curriculum from the Netflix movie, but with some encouragement, I gave it a go.
I couldn’t help keep my laptop nearby, though. I wanted to fact-check every time I saw something suspect. But I mostly decided to let it go, and let the drama play out for enjoyment.
The set up reveals that the Chicago Seven are far from homogenous, and that “the man” isn’t the only source of conflict. Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, John Froines, Lee Weiner and David Dellinger divvy up the agendas, and the opening splice has the main characters marking their territory.
Literally completing each other’s sentences, the novice quickly sees the divergence. Foremost, the editing has Hayden and Davis play perfect contrast to Hoffman and Rubin. No nonsense, student activism to end the war versus opened ended visions of social revolution and a kinder, cooler nation.
In turn, the invasive deadpans of Sacha Baron Cohen continually deepens the chasm… ”
For more by Monetti, please visit his My Movie Reviews on Facebook.
