Outsourcing (cont.)

Well, I got some interesting comments in regards to my last post. I realize outsourcing may not be popular, and I am not an advocate of it, I was just merely saying I think it is a trend that is not going to diminish. If it does... it may take a some years.

Newspapers and magazine are businesses. They provide valuable news, information and insight, but they need to make money to do so. If outsourcing copy editing for a few years will help them regain their balance, fine. It would be nice if newspapers stuck around. I just don't see them lasting much past 100 years. That isn't to say outsourcing will be their demise.

I did a lot of reading about the subject this weekend. I felt a little alienated during Wednesday's class. I realize a lot of my classmates aspire to become print journalists and I certainly hope I did not squash any dreams. It was merely an opinion, and once again, I did not say anything very negative (at least, I don't think I did).

After reading this article, I took a look the blog mentioned. I felt pretty sorry for the guy. Any instance of outsourcing is horrible! I hope it is a trend that does not last. I should probably clarify that its status as a trend is somewhat limited to a few papers. Not many publications have gone beyond advertising outsourcing, and even that is few and far between. So here's hoping outsourcing of copy editing positions disappears. It's laughable to think of the mistakes that would arise from it, anyway. It's pretty offensive.

I just want people to realize that when papers like the Orange County Register outsource, I'm not cheering them on. I hope I did not give that impression in class. No, no. Rather, I see Register's actions as loss-minimizing.

John McIntyre's article on the outsourcing of copy editing hit it on the head. Copy editors do more than just check for errors. But even that cannot be accurately accomplished by someone half-way around the world.

Here's hoping newspapers wise-up and knock it off. Just don't expect it to be an overnight reversal.

I still stand by my "newspapers dead in 100 years" position, though.... boy am I going to get flak for that...