Media consultant Alan D. Mutter has a worthwhile read on his blog, Reflections of a Newsosaur, about why writers and journalists should stop giving away their content for next-to-nothing. Mutter, perhaps ironically, then gives away a servicey template (right) that freelance writers can use to calculate fees.
On the broader issue of sourcing content, he writes:
Quality journalism takes training, time and tenacity. Although it’s easy to fill space with words, pictures and videos that are produced quickly and on the cheap, down-and-dirty “journalism” is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories.
The more empty calories you consume, the unhealthier you get. It won’t be good for our democracy – let alone our self-esteem as journalists – if we attempt to nourish vital local, state and national conversations with the journalistic equivalent of Ding Dongs and McNuggets.
Of course, he’s absolutely right to stick up for journalists who are exploited by publishers that want good content without having to pay for it.
