Blog posts, stories and other good stuff I’ve seen this week on writing, freelancing and the digital media business:

Elance: Cash is King – The freelance marketplace’s monthly index shows demand is up for article writing (+2) and way up for online writing (+12).

Amazon introduces the Kindle DX – The newest version of the bookseller’s electronic reading tablet out this summer will have a 9.7″ making it well-suited, according to Amazon, for magazines, newspapers and textbooks.

Tweetsurfing: what it is and why all writers should do it - Motley Fool writer Tim Beyers explains the finer points of trolling Twitter for interesting tidbits that could turn into story ideas.

Twitter is down: 15 alternative things to do – The techies at Twitter took down the service for scheduled maintenance on Friday afternoon, leaving a lot of people with a lot of extra time on their hands, including the writers and readers at TechCrunch, who came up with a hilarious list of other things to do (many of which centered around bitching about Twitter being down).

Retraining wire and feature editors to be web curabors – Call it the copy editor’s full employment act. If editors can teach themselves SEO and link out to related material, Publishing 2.0 argues, they’ll never be out of a job.

Finding the fun in querying – Freelance writer and fellow WordCount Blogathoner Heather Boerner is doing a 30-day series on persistence, which includes this installment on getting over query angst.

When freelancers flake we all suffer – Almost too painful to read, this post from writer and editor KT Hinderer on freelance foul ups is a good reminder that if you ever get in a jam on a story, don’t think your editor won’t notice. Better to fess up and suffer the consequences than to “burn bridges before you can even finish building them.”

Most of the news coming out of the newspaper business is glum, worse than glum actually. Lay offs. Shrinking ad pages. Financial instability. Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service recently dropped their rating of New York Times debt because of the paper’s declining revenues. Imagine that, the Grey Lady a junk bond.

But not everybody’s pessimistic about the future of the news business. In fact, there are quite a few optimists who believe the trauma hitting the industry will lead to new business models and opportunities for those editors, reporters and other workers who keep up with the changes.

Here’s just a sample of what commentators are saying about the transformation that’s now taking place, and why it could be a good thing:

Why we should feel bullish for the future of journalism – DigiDave, aka Dave Cohn, wrote this meditation on the future of the news biz from an airport lobby on little sleep. Put aside his youthful enthusiasm – and the f bomb he throws in for effect – and he makes an interesting point about experimenting with business models. Try enough, he says, and some will stick. Cohn doesn’t just talk the talk. With the grant money he won in a Knight News Challenge last year, he’s helped start Spot.us, a marketplace for news where readers can write in to request stories they’d like to see written and donate money toward making it happen.

For other business models, look at FieldReport.com, which is paying thousands of dollars for personal essays, or investigative news Websites such as ProPublica, Environmental Health News and BailoutSleuth, which are being funded by philanthropists or foundations – a throwback to the days when newspapers were owned by wealthy captains of industry.

The market and the Internet don’t care if you make money – News organizations can’t live by the same assumptions they always held about their business, says new media analyst Scott Karp, on Publishing 2.0. The market doesn’t care about traffic or eyeballs, it cares about networks, something Google, Facebook and YouTube have already figured out.

Why it’s a great time to get into journalism – To those who risk much will come great rewards, says social media expert Paul Gillin, who blogs at NewspaperDeathWatch. In this post from October, Gillin recounts the story of one enthusiastic college student who parlayed a summer intership with a major daily newspaper into a paid blogging/reporting gig there.

To paraphrase Dickens, it is the best of times and the worst of times for the newspapers business.

The worst of times: layoffs, more every day including downsizing at some of the country’s biggest papers. Just yesterday, the Los Angeles Times said it was cutting 250 jobs, including 150 in the newsroom, bringing its total editorial staff to 700, down from 1,200 in 2001. In recent days, job cuts have also been announced by the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and many others.

But the best of times? Some actually think so. Newspapers are cutting jobs to save money as they grapple with lower advertising revenue. But at the same time, the more innovative papers are reorganizing newsroom operations to create the news organizations of the future, organizations with an integrated newsroom that will produce information to appear in a variety of forms: print, online, on air and on mobile devices.

So is the glass half empty and getting emptier each day, as some news industry prognosticators believe? Or is it half full, and poised to eventually fill up again, some optimists believe?

My take: newspapers of the future will have to act like the Internet start ups I’ve written about for so long. They’ll be a lot leaner so they’ll have to do more with less. And because they don’t have as many layers of bureaucracy, they’ll innovate much faster than they could as larger, more established organizations.

Here are a few recent articles about what’s happening in the newspaper industry to read and decide for yourself:

THE PESSIMISTS
Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News examining combining some jobs – The rival dailies are considering merging photo departments and other jobs as a way to cut costs.

What newspapers still don’t understand about the Web – In this post, Publishing 2.0 – a Website that covers the evolution of media – gives newspapers, and the Washington Post in particular, an A for effort but a lower grade for execution in moving material online and making it relevant to local readers.

‘There will be no newspapers delivered in paper form.’ – Ballmer – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s big dis of the present newspaper and magazine industries in a wide-ranging Q&A with the Washington Post published in June.

THE OPTIMISTS
Times to cut newsroom staff and pages published – LA Times Editor Russ Stanton’s memo to staff about job cuts and reducing the number of pages printed by 15 percent a week.

The future of journalism, part I – Social media and online news expert Paul Gillin’s take on what newspapers need to do to transform themselves for 21st century.

Editor & Publisher’s Best of the Web – Thanks to Paul Gillin for bringing my attention to this regular E&P column on innovative things newspapers are doing on their Websites.

Save the Press – Long-time reporter and writer Timothy Egan’s New York Times op-ed piece on the present state and possible future of U.S. newspapers. Don’t miss the comments section.

Where do you think newspapers are headed?

When writers aren’t writing, they’re reading about how to be a better writer, or be a better marketer of their writing, or about who else they could be writing for.

That’s what I found when I asked freelance, newspaper and magazine writers and editors to name some of their favorite blogs for writers. It’s an eclectic list and by no means comprehensive. Just don’t start reading on deadline.

The Mechanics of Writing, Editing and Copyediting
You Don’t Say – Written by John McIntyre, the Baltimore Sun’s assistant managing editor for the copy desk. McIntyre is a human version of the AP Style Guide or one of those other grammar and usage mauals – but funnier. Thanks to Matthew Crowley, business copy editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal for the tip.

WordWise – Forget for a minute that Dan Santow is a PR guy. His blog on grammar and usage is good – and not just because he’s got fellow flacks discussing things like commas and overused words (for which reporters everywhere thank you). Oh wait, Santow was a reporter before he became a senior v.p. at Edelman, the big PR firm. Now I get it.

WordHappy – Toddie Downs, a freelance copywriter and editor, uses her blog to celebrate good writing of all types – TV, movies, fiction, non-fiction and advertising.

Freelance Writing and Marketing Yourself as a Writer
Erik Sherman’s WriterBiz - Sherman, a long-time freelance writer and photographer, tackles the business end of writing in this very professional if plain-looking entry. Sherman’s written for some of the biggest names in the business including the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Fortune, Inc, US News & World Report and knows what he’s talking about.

The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, co-authors of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock. Lots of practical wisdom on this blog, which fellow freelancer Peggy Noonan recommends for its useful resources and “common sense tips that work.” UPDATE: Thanks Diana, for pointing out that this is a team effort.

Freelance Switch – This group-written blog about freelancers of all stripes – Web designers and illustrators as well as writers – includes classifieds, podcasts, resources and a job board.

FreelanceWritingGigs.com - Started in 2005 by Deborah Ng, this blog posts info on new jobs almost daily. But proceed with caution: the listings include a lot of “work from home” situations, Web content writing assignments and other low-pay gigs.

Men With Pens – Wait, you did want to be a Web content writer? This is the place to learn. This site was formerly known as Web Content Writer Tips.

TheUrbanMuse – Lots of practical advice on writing and the mechanics of freelancing make this well-suited to beginners. Author Susan Johnston Home is away this month and has guest bloggers filling in.

Screw You – Kathy Kehrli calls herself the Irreverent Freelancer and uses her blog for rants against low-paying clients and other mistreatments that go with the freelance territory. Read it as a cautionary tale, or visit when an editor’s got you steamed and you need an acceptable place to vent.

InkThinker - A personal take on the freelance life, written by Virginia copywriter and consultant Kristen King.

About Freelance Writing and The Golden Pencil – Two more personal takes on freelancing written by Anne Wayan, an independent writer, blogger, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach.

Publicity Hound – Although this is written by a public relations specialist for other PR types, freelancers can glean tips on marketing and generating publicity for their own work – and take a peek at how the other half lives.

Jugglezine – Herman Miller’s elegantly designed e-zine is all about balancing work and life, a freelancer’s constant challenge. And if reading it makes you want to spruce up your home office with some new furniture, well hey, you’re in the right place.

The News Business
Romenesko – This daily recap of major happenings inside U.S. newspapers lets ex-staff reporters like me and other news junkies get their fix.

Publishing 2.0 – A blog about how technology is transforming media. Is the Web going to be writers’ salvation, or is it the Dark Side? The publishing industry insiders who write this blog argue for the former.

Copywriting and Corporate Writing
Copyblogger - The well-organized site has multiple authors who cover everything from getting more done to writing better headlines to personal branding. Joel Kelly, interactive media specialist at Cossette Atlantic, calls it “fantastic.”

Bob Bly’s Blog – Bly lifts the veil on the copywriting business and is as good a start as any for magazine writers considering a leap into corporate work. If Bly’s blog – and related Web site – are any indication, there’s a world of difference.

Dianna Huff’s B2B MarCom Writer Blog - Advice from a marketing communications pro.

Copywriter Underground – More solid copy on copy from an industry veteran.

The Bad Pitch Blog – Apparently the P.R. firms whose work gets lambasted on this blog aren’t reading Copyblogger or Copywriter Underground. “Funny and well-written,” says Lewis Harrison, PR and communications manager at Codeworks.

Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers – Everything you need to know about writing a corporate white paper.

Newspapers see the future, and it’s digital. The latest evidence: earlier this week the New York Times Co. and three other investors sank $29.5 million into Automattic, the company that makes WordPress blogging software runs the WordPress.com free blogging Website. (Disclaimer: I use WordPress.com to create and host this blog.)

According to a news report, the Times was the smallest of the four investors – the others were venture capital firms. But the deal solidifies the paper’s existing relationship with Automattic, which the Times uses to host about 50 blogs, as well as About.com, the Internet information service it acquired in 2005.

As the Times investments illustrate, newspapers’ embrace of digital media has moved beyond erecting Web sites and asking reporters to write blogs. Consider:

• E.W. Scripps, the Cincinnati media conglomerate, is so jazzed about the prospects of its TV and online ventures the company is set to spin them off into a separate public company later this year.
• Ruport Murdoch, new owner of the Wall Street Journal, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that he will keep subscriptions for the paper’s online version, though prices will be higher and some “commodity” financial information will be free.
• I’ve already written about how the Los Angeles Times’ Innovations (read Web site) editor, Russ Stanton, is being mentioned as a front runner for the now vacant editor-in-chief gig.

At the same time, newspapers’ economic prospects are looking dim. The latest on that front: the Orange County Register, my old stomping grounds and the place I got started as a tech reporter, is killing its stand-alone Business section and folding it into the News section in one of several cost-cutting measures. When it does, it’ll be the only major daily in the country without a separate Business section. Ouch.

What does it mean for freelancers? Bone up on your coding skills. Seriously, as newspapers go through this transition to digital, it’s more important than ever to keep up with the times, and the Times. Maintaining a blog is one way. Seeking out Web-based work is another. If you don’t believe me, this blog post from Publishing 2.0 called The Only Way for Journalists to Understand the Web is Use It says it a lot more eloquently than I can.

That leads me back to Automattic. The investment is great news for the two-year-old start up, whose major competition includes Blogger, which Google bought in 2003. Other blogging software makers don’t have such deep pockets, but there are a lot of them, including Six Apart, which makes Movable Type and TypePad, plus a host of smaller proprietary and open-source blogging software makers. Automattic said it will use the investment to beef up projects like Akismet, a blog comment spam blocker.

 Updated on February 27, 2008: Thanks to the sharp-eyed reader who pointed out that WordPress is open source software. Automattic uses it to run the WordPress.com blogging Website.