Needing advice for a friend

A friend called me in this business up north, and he's depressed as hell. Made a decision to come back to the business and grew with this to the point that he's a pretty high paid SE for an under 40K, and now the paper has been bought by one of the cheapest newspaper companies in the nation that comes in and talks quality but far from that, they cut staff and try to run off high-paid people. He's in his late 40s and is the tunnel-vision type, focusing on the product there against all odds at times (micromanaging hell), which has hurt the product in the long run. He forgot the climb up or out because his wife had a decent job. Now she's ill,her income has been affected by health, and the ace in the hole isn't there anymore. He told me he's applied at about three dozen papers, anticipating this months before, and so far, not a thing. I keep telling him to drop resumes, clips, etc., but let's be realistic. No one in their late 40s is going to get the edge over cheap, young talent. He's not only frustrated, but it's to the point that he's about to just freakin' walk away from everything....but that description is an understatement. He's concerned about being able to care for his kids too. The town might have a Wal-Mart and those options, but it's a really economically squeezed town right now.

As a friend, I'm worried about his emotional state. He USED to post on here, otherwise I wouldn't have posted here - although I've changed some of the details to confuse the identity....anyway, if you could IM me with ideas, I'll pass them on to him. My cliches just aren't working anymore. Thanks.

 

This is a tough time. Tell your friend to hang in there and to continue to pray and persevere. Leaving this industry right now isn't such a bad idea. In many ways, i see it going like the AM radio.