The Boston Globe was the first newspaper to enact it's predator freelance agreement and thus lower the boom on it's loyal freelances, me included. Forcing freelancers further into unprofitability and more or less working purely for the cashé. The Washington Post and the The New York Times quickly followed like lemmings off a cliff.
Freelance rates had been static for years as if that wasn't enough but now they wanted even more, multi-use, all rights and much more for no additional compensation.
Notably the heros of the situation were the Globe freelancers, who held out in an unofficial strike to change these policies, only to be overcome by less experienced writers and photographer eager to sell their souls for nothing more than the clip and the web credit.
It it therefore no wonder readership and advertising is down when so little respect is given to the content or those that provide it. Why should anyone care for these behemoths?
The great newspapers are sinking faster than the Bismark but as before they can only follow each other over the cliff, than pave their own way to profitability with sensible business practices and common sense.
As a newspaper buyer, reader and contributor I'm gutted buy this ineptitude - (let alone the goons running the automakers into the ground) - Yup I'm a GMC owner. --There should be panic in the street at this point or at the very least public executions.
Newspapers need some way out and this might just be it. - The irony - this from the BG. - read here
You can see many photos I made for the Washington Post here - Virginia photographer, Maryland Photographer, Washington, DC photographer
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