The survey, though unscientific, probably isn’t too far off the mark, given that newspaper publishers have maintained profitability through severe cost-cutting. One of the first areas to cut is the freelance budget—and unlike mass layoffs, these cuts tend to be meted out individually or in small numbers, and therefore, it doesn’t get reported much.

Some other stats from the report:

—Three-quarters of the people who took the survey say they rely on freelancing for their livelihood.
—60 percent are okay with working for no pay, in certain circumstances, such as for a nonprofit, or as a way to explore an area of business that they’re unfamiliar with.
—15 percent say quality work is still rewarded with decent pay and a smaller group are finding that there are more places to pitch their work. However, some complain of “content farms” and the much lower pay.

One particularly despondent respondent summed up his situation, “A dollar a word was the gold standard for three decades (no cost-of-living raises, of course). Then online publishing came into the mix and the bottom dropped out. I’ve been asked to write for as little as a dime per word. Hourly rates offered for copywriting and editing services have dropped as low as $10 an hour. Most online outlets won’t go over 50 cents per word. How can anyone make a living this way? I’ve been in the biz for 30 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it.”