In simpler times… (The Atlantic Monthly/Wikimedia Commons)

Journalist Nate Thayer generated some buzz Tuesday by publishing an exchange he had with an editor at The Atlantic. The editor reportedly wanted to run a version of a story about basketball and U.S.-North Korea relations, which Thayer had already written for NK News. Though Thayer has worked as a journalist for 25 years, the editor at The Atlantic claimed to have no money to pay him or any other freelancers. Instead, the editor touted The Atlantic’s large readership and professional exposure as an incentive.

Thayer declined, because he, like most of us, needs money to pay bills and take care of children. With a publication as large as The Atlantic claiming not to have money in the freelance budget, it would seem the life of a freelance journalist is becoming more and more tenuous and unpredictable.