Reflections of a Newsosaur: Stop the Exploitation of Journalists
Posted on | February 1, 2010 | No Comments
The author has shared the lede and link to Monday’s (Feb. 1) post on his blog: “Reflections of a Newsosaur: Musings (and occasional urgent warnings) of a veteran media executive who fears our news-gathering companies are stumbling to extinction.”
It’s time for journalists to stop participating in their own exploitation by working for a pittance – or, worse, giving away their valuable services for free.
Apart from the sheer righteousness of being paid an honest dollar for an honest day’s work, journalists need to stand together – and stand tall – to reassert the stature of their profession.
The reason is simple: If they don’t put a value on what they do, then no one else will, either.
Last time I checked, the prevailing way to express value in our modern economy is via the transfer of m-o-n-e-y. In a minute, I will share a simple spreadsheet to help you calculate your own worth as a journalist.
But first, I am urging everyone to join in my new year’s resolution to just say no to people who invite you to work for nothing or something awfully close to it.
I hear from people almost every day who want to commission an article or reprint a post in exchange for the ephemeral compensation known as “exposure.”
Amazingly – or, should I say, outrageously? – most of the requests come from people who themselves are being paid for their work at either a for-profit or non-profit organization.
Instead of simply declining, I tell them something like this:
Mutter’s website is updated often and is well worth a bookmark.
His blog profile:
Alan D. Mutter is perhaps the only CEO in Silicon Valley who knows how to set type one letter at a time, just like his hero, Benjamin Franklin. Mutter began his career as a newspaper columnist and editor in Chicago, starting at the Chicago Daily News and later rising to City Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. In 1984, he became the No. 2 editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. He left the newspaper business in 1988 to join InterMedia Partners, a start-up company that became one of the largest cable-TV companies in the U.S. Mutter was the COO of InterMedia when he moved to Silicon Valley in 1996 to lead the first of the three start-up companies he led as CEO. The companies he headed were a pioneering Internet service provider and two enterprise-software companies. Mutter now is a consultant specializing in corporate initiatives and new media ventures that combine his twin passions, journalism and technology. He also is on the adjunct faculty of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California- Berkeley, where he teaches a class entitled “Journalism in an Age of Disruption.”
Tags: Blog > Commentary > Compensation > Displaced Journalists > layoffs > Writing
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