#5SmartReads - October 26, 2022

Madison works as a full-time freelance writer, primarily with startups in the healthcare and fintech spaces. She's currently in the midst of experimenting with all of her backend, self-employment systems + diving into the creation of a line of grief/sympathy cards that don't suck.

Student journalists just want their credit (The Objective)

The (amazing, in my opinion) updated implementation of the Name, Image, and Likeness compensation for collegiate athletes has led me to feel hopeful about the future for other work put in by college students.

Take student journalism, for instance.

The impressive work uncovered and news stories broken by student journalists is immense… and rarely credited by local and national publications.

Is credit an ongoing issue in the world of online journalism, regardless if it’s a student or professional journalist? Yes, and students are producing well-written and well-researched breaking stories while also managing their course loads, extracurriculars, paying jobs, and social lives.

While college students are primarily asking for appropriate credit, I do hope we’re moving towards a future where fair monetary compensation is provided, too.

The uneven energy costs of working from home (The Verge)

When I’m not at my coworking collective - or taking advantage of Panera’s Unlimited Sip Club as an alternative “coworking” space - I’m working from home.

Truthfully, the energy usage in my studio apartment has remained consistent…in large part because it’s a new build (less than a year old) and because I’m the only occupant (read: no kids leaving lights on).

My situation is, of course, far from the norm. Ongoing WFH is emphasizing the prevalence of energy insecurity across the U.S., especially in states with precarious power grids. This read provides both eye-opening data and actionable tips, particularly for people who are working from home.

The Critical Startup Skills You Might Be Overlooking — And How to Bring Them Into Focus (First Round Review)

Think of this read more as a “handbook” than a single story.

Sure, it focuses on skills insofar as they relate to the startup world, but there’s widely applicable value throughout all nine sections.

A lot of advice-type reads feel redundant at best, and irrelevant at worst, but I can honestly say that I noted multiple significant takeaways from each point. Keep in mind: this will take more than one morning coffee session to read through, so be sure to bookmark it and return later.

Ayo Edebiri and Her Dog Gromit Go to the Bookstore (New York Times)

While many people zeroed in on Jeremy Allen White when The Bear came out on Hulu earlier this year, I fixated on Ayo Edebiri for her absolutely arresting performance.

This profile of Edebiri casts her as both the next big name to watch out for and as an industry staple who will continue to pour dedication into every role she has. Lastly, ahem: IF YOU HAVEN’T YET WATCHED THE BEAR, GO WATCH IT. (Unless, of course, you’ve worked in kitchens in the food industry and don’t want to revisit the stress of it all. Understandable.)

The US Has No Early Childhood Infrastructure. Libraries Are Picking Up the Slack (Bloomberg)

Between my Mom and the Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL), I had no choice but to become a voracious reader by the time I entered the first grade.

And. The U.S. simply cannot rely on the purity and goodness of a public library to provide the entire social safety net that is much, much needed by parents.

Last month, however, the MCPL Board of Directors voted and cut $1.3 million from the system’s budget, leaving them scrambling to figure out how to continue functioning without those funds. So while this is a celebratory and hopefully read about how much public libraries are filling in very necessary gaps, it must also serve as a prompt to check in on your own local libraries, the state of their funding, and the future of their programs.