Think American journalism has hit rock bottom? Think again. Outsourcing journalism.

[tpsbmam]

Not long after he started working for Journatic, Ryan Smith felt there was something not quite right about what the company was doing. The Chicago freelance journalist started working for Journatic, which provides outsourced journalism work for newspapers, in January of 2011, and he was glad to have steady work, even if it paid $10 an hour with no benefits.

At first, Smith worked primarily for Journatic’s sister company BlockShopper.com. That’s when he noticed information was often pulled from LinkedIn, writing was outsourced to foreign countries like the Philippines,and bylines were sometimes fake.

But Blockshopper was small, Smith thought. Then things started changing. After moving to Journatic proper, Smith started seeing names like The Houston Chronicle and Newsday on his copy-editing assignments. Because he knew that Journatic produced its content at a very low cost, it made him fear for the newspapers they serviced. “I felt like the company I was working for was accelerating the death of the newspaper, luring many members of the industry into their own demise with the promise of short-term savings,” Smith said via email this week.

<snip>

What Journatic’s taking off newspapers’ plates is what Miner calls journalistic “scut work” — scanning police blotters, tracking high-school sports results, pulling permits. As newspapers have slashed staffs and seen profits disappear, they’ve struggled to prioritize paying for this kind of elbow-grease coverage.

Much more at This American Life: Journatic worker takes ‘This American Life’ inside outsourced journalism
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/179555/journatic-staffer-takes-this-american-life-inside-outsourced-journalism/


Journatic works with "dozens" of media companies.

[blm]

1. I had another member here pass on this information to Glenn Greenwald 5yrs ago, and, he showed

no concern, maybe he didn't think it would actually happen here in America.

[tpsbmam]

2. It clearly is, and by "dozens" of media companies......

who the hell knows how much this is going on, the true nature of the stories, etc. At the very least, it's more American jobs being sent overseas, and of an ilk people wouldn't think would be outsourced.

Greenwald's disinterest seems to be mirrored here. So, what will it take.....acceptance of this practice leading to more and more outsourcing? With fake bylines, how are readers to know who is actually writing the story they're reading? This can go incredibly high up, particularly given the laziness of today's American media -- much of the "research" done could be done from e.g., the Philippines. They'd have access to the same computerized resources & can do research/interviews over the phone, probably having caller ids say things like "Gannett media" and linking it to a US number.

Anything's possible with this. I think it's a mistake to ignore it.

[blm]

3. When I realized in 2006/7 what was happening to newsrooms, I tried to tell everyone I could

but, unfortunately the people IN the newsrooms themselves were forced into staying quiet as many of them were being let go and negotiated exit settlements.

The easiest meme to run with is that the 'internet' changed everything. People bought it hook, line and sinker - even many here at DU.

[just1voice]

4. MSMedia whores love propaganda and could care less about "news"

They have morphed themselves into entertainment companies and fronts for government and corporate propaganda. I'm sure it doesn't bother them 1 bit to destroy companies as long as they can cash in.

The MSMedia lost all credibility when they began to discuss torture as if it was debatable, that showed beyond any shadow of a doubt that they could absolutely care less about any truth, any credibility or any morals.

[HiPointDem]

6. their jobs are secure & they get big money, so they don't care. their lefty 'concern' is often a

front, imo.

i was reading last night about andy griffith's film 'a face in the crowd' -- the writer based it partly on a conversation with will rogers' son, his populist humor was cynical, he hobnobbed with the establishment characters he mocked in his routine & his private politics were reactionary.

and that writer, bud schulberg, had made his own compromises with power as well.

i think skepticism about the real politics of media figures is appropriate in our times.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Well we do scan the scanner, why we got a fire yesterday

And yes, it is work... and I can see how nooz rooms don't want to cover it. For us it was a freebie. We need to get the lay of the land.

But we left for a working fire, and I am betting we got more from the scene than any of these yahoos would in the Philippines, like talking to actual yes, people.

Then again, my MAJOR paper in town did NOT cover TTP either, so there. (And that was a story of international importance)

[Egalitarian Thug]

7. The writing was on the wall, in 6 foot letters, when AOLTimeWarner bought CNN and slashed

staff including the network of local stringers that made CNN what it was. Turner is a cheap asshole, but he did always work to make his company into the model of a news organization in the new era.