Far-Outsourcing

Newspapers are starting to follow other businesses in outsourcing some of their labor-intensive tasks to overseas concerns. Alan Mutter has a good roundup of these developments here. While this offends some purists, generally I think the practice makes sense: Call centers, advertising makeup, printing and even some copy-editing can be done just as effectively by contractors and/or at a remote location, even if it's halfway around the world. (One of the most ridiculously labor-intensive jobs I ever saw at The Washington Post was the paper's practice of creating complicated ads for advertisers who didn't submit their own creative. There's no reason that couldn't be taken care of elsewhere for much less.)

These newspaper outsourcing efforts are still in their infancy, slowed by timid management imaginations and union rules. We'll see more, and that's a good thing for the financial health of the industry.

But one news-related outsourcing effort seems to have crossed the line: A local news Web site in California, PasadenaNow, has announced plans to outsource its local reporting—to India. The theory goes that by watching Webcasts of city council meetings and the like, the Indian reporters can do just as good a job as an on-site reporter. "I think it could be a significant way to increase the quality of journalism on the local level without the expense that is a major problem for local publications," AP quotes the site's founder, editor and publisher, James McPherson (who apparently doesn't have any sort of journalistic background, btw). "Whether you're at a desk in Pasadena or a desk in Mumbai, you're still just a phone call or e-mail away from the interview."

This is ridiculous, and not just because every locally televised city council meeting I've ever seen is a hard-to-follow broadcasting travesty. As any journalist knows, there's just no substitute for firsthand experience, actually being in the room, sensing the tenor of the audience and, most importantly, being able to buttonhole players in the story for interviews. It makes no sense. Would anybody even think of covering India from Pasadena? I think not. It won't work in the other direction, either.

And you know what? Citizen journalism would be even cheaper. Maybe McPherson should find somebody in the community who's passionate about what goes on in the city council, and let them file reports. You don't have to go halfway around the world to find somebody to cover a local story.

Comments

[Centinel]

As a kind of citizen journalist myself, I generally agree with your sentiments. We're a Pasadena blog that commented on this story yesterday (our comments got picked up by a number of local and national blogs). For a citizen journalist and Pasadenan take on this whole affair, check us out:

http://foothillcities.blogspot.com/2007/05/pasadenanow-outsources-local-news.html

[Jill]

I'm a Pasadena blogger, too, and I've met Macpherson a couple of times and have emailed with him about what he's doing at Pasadena Now, and I can't speak for him, but I feel pretty intrigued by what he's doing. I think part of the problem is that there may not be anybody in the blogging/citizen journalist community who wants the job of going to all of the city council meetings and filing reports. I don't want to myself! I think these writers from India could be good for Pasadena Now and for Pasadena. They're not replacing any existing writers, they're being added to the reporting mix.

[Mohan]

Reporting, copy-editing aided by technology being done remotely: this is a 'trend' that Friedman talked about extensively in his book (World is Flat).. so I wonder what's really 'news' here?

[kwalsh]

But Mohan, you may remember another reporter who covered events remotely. Name of Jayson Blair. Why bother leaving they apartment?

Mark's right. Whether it's a council meeting or an inteview with a police spokesman or a victim after a serious crime, you can't beat being there, talking with key figures and getting a real feel for the story.

Now, Mark. On citizen journalism. I doubt very much that you could get reliable, non-biased citizens who would vigilantly attend every council meeting for the purpose of reporting...and not get paid.

Haven't you found that out with Backfence?

[Mark Potts]

We've found on Backfence that people who are passionate about their community are happy to write about it without compensation. They have other motivations. You also seem to be assuming that there would be some sort of a single beat citizen reporter who would cover every council meeting. While that's possible, it's more likely that coverage would come from multiple local residents, depending on their time and interest. It's not an ideal solution--but it's better than trying to cover something from thousands of miles away.