This blog is mainly about the spectacular train wreck at The Sacramento Bee and its parent company, the McClatchy Company. But I also post about current events, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, politics, anything else that grabs my attention. Take a look around this blog, hope you enjoy it.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bee management moves to cap buyouts at 26 weeks instead of 40, hints at more freelance work
Freelance is now highly professional because of all the former reporters/editors on the street. You could make a case that the available freelance talent is better than those who remain in newsrooms. They don't have to pay freelancers benefits or high wages. It's win-win for the newspapers.
It now seem that the best thing a college student can do is major or minor in journalism. Not because they will use it at a newspaper but because they can use the writing skills in a variety of better-paying jobs like advertising, public relations or marketing. They'll make more money and be treated better than they would at a newspaper anyway.
Bee freelancers rarely get paid. It's not a win-win, newspapers lose experience and institutional knowledge and take advantage of poor schmos stupid enough to think a badly run outfit like MNI can cough up the dough to pay them.
MNI's negotiating tactic with the union is to not negotiate. The veterans get screwed again while editors bleat about how much the newspaper wants quality journalism. Liars.
Bee freelancers are paid ridiculously low sums which is why many don't even bother to pitch stories. The pay is much higher freelancing for other publications.
The company's insistence to implement furloughs is one horrible fate facing the leftovers in the Bee newsroom. What clout does the guild really have? None.
6 comments:
Freelance is now highly professional because of all the former reporters/editors on the street. You could make a case that the available freelance talent is better than those who remain in newsrooms. They don't have to pay freelancers benefits or high wages. It's win-win for the newspapers.
It now seem that the best thing a college student can do is major or minor in journalism. Not because they will use it at a newspaper but because they can use the writing skills in a variety of better-paying jobs like advertising, public relations or marketing. They'll make more money and be treated better than they would at a newspaper anyway.
Bee freelancers rarely get paid. It's not a win-win, newspapers lose experience and institutional knowledge and take advantage of poor schmos stupid enough to think a badly run outfit like MNI can cough up the dough to pay them.
MNI's negotiating tactic with the union is to not negotiate. The veterans get screwed again while editors bleat about how much the newspaper wants quality journalism. Liars.
Ho Hum........yawn
Bee freelancers are paid ridiculously low sums which is why many don't even bother to pitch stories. The pay is much higher freelancing for other publications.
The company's insistence to implement furloughs is one horrible fate facing the leftovers in the Bee newsroom. What clout does the guild really have? None.
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