magazine issues

I don't know if you've noticed, but general interest publications are pretty much over. The Economist is the only one I read with any regularity, and I'm not alone. Niche magazines are what's happening. This is unfortunate for me, because I've never been a niche journalist—I like doing a little bit of everything. Reality bites, though, so I bit the bullet and did whatever niche I had the knick-knacks to fill. Lately, it's been science. So I have these two story contracts for a science mag only to find out yesterday that the magazine is on the block.
Not a good sign. I have finished and billed one story; I am setting up the second; I have been paid for neither. "Don't worry, the editor tells me, the company stands behind you."
The last time the company was supposed to stand behind me it was for a story for a magazine that folded. The company did not stand behind me. Nor the photographer I was working with. Nor the story subjects who gave me their time.
(Inhale)
Reason I can't stop smoking today: The check is in the mail.