The New York Observer has reported that internet publisher Slate has told staffers that they will – one by one – take four to six weeks off (paid) and must come back with something to show for it.
Slate editor David Plotz told his writers that they are to exit the work-a-day rat race, take a break, and return with one “long-form feature” to be published in the online magazine.
According to the Observer article, Plotz has reservations about the term “sabbatical” because all the “long-form feature” work performed will be for Slate. Perhaps Plotz needs an education on sabbaticals, because very often the work/research/education/etc. that is performed while away for the job is indeed for the employer to which the sabbatical-goer returns. Or perhaps Plotz, being the wordsmith that he is, simply wanted to coin his own term. Apparently the in-house name for the Slate sabbatical experience is “Fresca Fellowships” – an inside joke about how much Plotz adored the Fresca sodas that used to come free to the Slate offices, but have since been written out of the budget.
Whatever the term, we think Plotz is indeed an innovative thinker.
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