“The policy is gonna kill the show,” [Kornheiser] said, with typical subtlety and restraint. “It’s simply going to kill the show....That is the problem. You’re listening to this a day late. That’s the solution around here, the solution to getting more people listening live. And by the way, there’s a great glee with which I am told that my ratings are bad. There’s a great glee. The people around here seem to think that this is charming, and that if I only did what they wanted, everything would be right in the world.

“But it doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way, because of the way audio is delivered to America. It’s delivered on demand. And if when you demand it you can’t get it, you’re not going to listen to it.

“Here’s what’s going to happen in the next five or 10 years, boys and girls. There’s not gonna be football on television any more. It’s all gonna be in your computer. That’s the way it’s gonna work. It’ll be brought to you by people like Google, brought to you by people who are search engine people, and I know nothing about this. There’s no way to make any money any more doing it the old way. The old way is not just old, much like me — it is dead.

“That’s the old way. People don’t want that any more. They’re not going to sit around and wait for things....The people who run radio stations, they’re apparently not adapting to the new culture and don’t truly understand how it works and what people want… Management believes differently than I believe. I still do the show. I’m not running away from the show. I just wish it were more accessible, quicker, to more people.”

The irony? Those who put in the work of building a business often end up with more time to do the writing that they love. As Konrath wrote, he doesn't have to press the flesh at bookstore any longer. He doesn't have to devote time to promotion. With his social media support having reached a tipping point, he can spend more hours writing.

I've found the same in talking with colleagues who are still pursuing freelance work. They spend hours of extra time for each piece they write networking with editors, writing pitch letters, reviewing contracts and filling out various publications' expense forms. I just write stories - what, when and how I want.

While some lament the loss of secure employment for a handful of writers, I'm thrilled to live in an era when anyone with the will to write and drive to connect with a community can earn a living, without having to wait for some editor's approval.