Well, this is surprising, yet I’m not really as shocked as I should be.

Pasadena Now, a small weekly, fired its entire editorial staff and farmed out coverage to a staff of Indian writers recruited on Craigslist. Publisher James McPherson pays the virtual staff about $7.50 per 1,000 words, compared to the $30,000 to $40,000 he was paying each reporter annually. The Indian writers “report” via telephones, web harvesting and webcams, with support and guidance from McPherson and his wife.

$7.50 per $1,000 words.

Unfortunately, I have no words.

The original story on Glocal News is here at the New York Times.Similar Posts:

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