Outsourcing Local Media Jobs

I'm conflicted about this.

The job posting was puzzling: "We seek a newspaper journalist based in India to report on the city government and political scene of Pasadena, California, USA."

On one hand, there's a downside to outsourcing more and more American jobs to India.
On the other hand, journalists are some of the biggest assholes on the planet, and sending their jobs to a distant dusty land makes me break out in silly giggles.

"Nobody in their right mind would trust the reporting of people who not only don't know the institutions but aren't even there to witness the events and nuances," said Bryce Nelson, a University of Southern California journalism professor and Pasadena resident.

"This is a truly sad picture of what American journalism could become."

Oh geez, put away the violin.
If they had a little humility about how fucking basic and easy their job is, maybe I wouldn't feel this way. But these people actually think it takes a highly skilled local artisan to report on the last meeting of the Zoning Board.

Local reporters are frickin' famous for misattributing quotes, mispelling the names of interviewees, and being utterly unable to accurately convey any technical knowledge more complicated than poaching an egg.

It takes a J-school graduate with a degree in Women's Studies to earn that kind of reputation.

Cute tangentially-related video.

posted by Laura. at 01:17 PM

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