Let me start out by saying, I am the Editor-in-Chief of Odyssey at Ursinus College. It, by no means, is an easy job but nothing worth doing is easy. Odyssey built itself from the ground up and in Fortune's article the authors, Laura Entis and Polina Marinova, say that Odyssey did nothing but go back to where it started, barely moving forward as a company.
The authors show "evidence" as if you have the inside scoop. All you have are disgruntled employee's who got fired when the company decided to cut back and work on bigger things. Everyone I talk to who works hard and shows commitment to Odyssey has great things to say about it. You both, and myself, have talked to people who lie about Odyssey because their articles didn't go viral or they weren't employee of the month. Hard work brings in good things. Positive attitudes highlight success at Odyssey. The number of pageviews are important. Let's not forget that Odyssey is indeed a startup company, as you pointed out—as if it were a flaw—several times. It needs pageviews and traffic to stay alive. I work on my pageviews so I can continue to hold myself to higher standards and succeed at Odyssey.
The company may have had some trouble within the past few years and measures have been taken but by no means is Odyssey back where we started. I, certainly, am not as an Editor-in-Chief. My Content Strategist by no means is back where she started. We all are growing together and we will hit some bumps along the way but that makes the ride more fun.
Also this "Mona" girl, has she ever worked in publishing, editing, or anything within this field? It's always crazy and chaotic. Honestly, any job really is. I run around like a little, crazy person every Saturday tracking down writers who went MIA, discussing tech issues, personal issues, working to make article count, and edit about 12 articles. It's crazy and never "slow paced" but I love it. This is what you sign up for in the publishing industry. It's just a fact of life and maybe she couldn't handle it, got fired, and ran to you but that isn't an Odyssey issue. Sounds like it's more of a personal issue. You state that Odyssey "targets" unpaid college students. Uh yeah, in all your in-depth talks with ex-employee's not one of them mentioned that EIC's and creators can and do get paid? Fact checked. Not only can I get paid but I also get career experience that I'm going to need and use to get a job out of college. Money isn't my goal. Experience and job skills are what I want from my role as EIC.
You know what you don't show in your article? The good Odyssey does. All you do is shit on something you know little about. If I hear one more time Odyssey is for "entitled millennials" to "whine and voice unwanted opinions" I'm going to scream. My Creators are so, so brave for putting themselves and their lives out there and I won't let anyone minimize how much strength that takes. They share a part of themselves to help others. It gives my creators an outlet and it gives the readers someone to be there with them so they know they aren't alone. We should support each other and not hate on something you know nothing about or that didn't work out for you.
Odyssey isn't perfect and makes mistakes but it is not the monster company you painted it to be. You say, "Odyssey would “democratize” content by “empowering” people with different backgrounds and communities to write, publish, and share their opinions and stories," and you make it seem like an insult. Odyssey does empower people from all walks of life to share their stories and inner thoughts. It gives an equal and safe platform for any race, political background, and class to speak their thoughts. I have learned to be more open-minded and sensitive from being a Creator, contributing editor, and then Editor-in-Chief of Odyssey because I saw what the people around me struggle with, who they love, and their moral code. I respect my wonderful team and I respect Odyssey.
Moral of this article...Don't believe everything you read. Odyssey is a bridge, it connects people.
