The Headlines:
Sorry, Greenwich Time Staffers, But You Might Be Outsourced To India If This Hearst Newspaper Experiment Is A Success.
The Quotes:
"If our owners want to replace us with Indians, all we can say is, good luck! If they find locating, hiring and keeping after these writers half the challenge we did, they might think twice about replacing us." - Hearst Owned Fairfield County Weekly
"It wasn't our intention for our little outsourcing experiment to put us out of a job. But it's clear that in an age when publications are aggressively cutting costs and reducing staffs, India's millions of wired English speakers may present an irresistible resource. If so, our Indian colleagues will have earned the last laugh." - Hearst Owned Fairfield County Weekly
The Story:
WE HAD THIS ISSUE MADE IN INDIA
Last year, a magazine in Pasadena, Calif., made headlines when they started outsourcing city hall coverage to reporters in India. Using simple webcams and e-mail, Pasadena Now put journalists half a world away inside city council chambers to observe and file stories on local government. The magazine fired its staff and replaced them with Indians who'd crank out 1,000-word stories for the rock-bottom rate of $7.50 each.
The media world was abuzz: American news outfit outsources local reporting to the subcontinent. Could we all be next?
We wondered too about the limits of outsourcing local news, particularly alternative journalism. Covering city council meetings via webcam is one thing. Producing the bulk of an issue of a local news and arts weekly is quite another.....
CORRECTION NEEDED:
Has The Fact Checker At
Fairfield County Weekly
Been Outsourced Too ????
It Wasn't Last Year That Pasadena Now Fired All Of It's Employees And Outsourced Their Jobs To India. That Was Two Years Ago......
It Was Last Year That Greenwich Roundup Warned The Corporate News Employees Of Fairfield County That Their Jobs Could Be Outsourced.
But That's Okay, Ex-Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani Mad The Same Mistake Last December.
Please See:
An Unapologetic Ex-Greenwich Time Editor Joe "I Helped Martha Moxley's Killer" Pisani Continues......
And while I’ve often been simple-minded, I suppose, in my assessment of the decline of newspapers, I still believe my theory has validity. The big guys are collapsing because of greed. Sure, classified is migrating online; sure, ad revenue is down; sure, young readers are hard to come by; sure, there’s a proliferation of news sources.
But I believe many of these companies could have weathered this transitional time — at least prior to the economic collapse — if they hadn’t been so darn greedy and willing to cut newsrooms and consolidate editing and reporting functions, and even worse, send copy editing to places like India or another town. How crazy is that?
COMMENT:
Oh Poor Ole Joe, He Would Have Protected Us From The Crooked Town Hall Politicians And Incompetent School Board Members If Only The Greedy Corporate Suits Had Not Cut His News Room Budgets.
Joe It Was Greenwich Roundup Back In April That Warned You And Neil"I Am Still Hiding Copies Of The Fake Beach Cards In My Desk Drawer" Vidgor That Newspaper Jobs Were Being Outsourced To India.
How Crazy Is That?
FLASHBACK:
Park's Department Head Joseph Siciliano has another dumb idea.
Joesph Siciliano is going to put holograms on senior citizen passes this year in order to stop the beach pass counterfeiters in Town.
Who the heck is going to make fake senior citizen beach passes?
Duh, Would Someone Please Tell Joseph Sicilano The Town Of Greenwich gives out senior citizen beach for FREE !!!
Why isn't Joseph Siciliano smart enough to put the holograms on this years beach card, which costs $27 per person?
Better yet why isn't Joseph Siciliano smart enough to get holograms on parking stickers that cost $100 each?Why isn't Joseph Sicilano smart enough to protect the taxpayers by calling one of the hundreds of firms that quickly deliver holograms?......
.......Please read this Greenwich Time article and tell me if you see one quote from a Greenwich citizen or an opposing politician that thinks the public trust has been violated and that tax dollars are being mismanaged
.......Warning:Weak Reporting Can Be Outsourced To India
Surprise!!!!.....
Indians speak English and can run press releases through a spell check....
Complete Greenwich RTM Meetings can now viewed by an Indian Reporter via the internet.An Indian Reporter can make a free skype call to get a quote from the First Selectman, School Superintendent or any other public official listed on the Town Web Site.Photo's can be emailed to India.
Technology Marches On....
Weak local news reporting can and has been
outsourced to India
Your city's news - from India
The job posting was a head-scratcher:
"We seek a newspaper journalist based in India to report on the city government and political scene of Pasadena, California, USA."
Outsourcing first claimed manufacturing jobs, then hit services such as technical support, airline reservations and tax preparation. Now comes the next frontier: local journalism. ...
Read The Full Story:
A news site hires two to cover Pasadena from afar.
That helps a shoestring budget go further.
By Alex Pham
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 11, 2007
When is local journalism not really local? When it's about Pasadena and written by someone in India. James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the Pasadena Now website, hired two reporters last weekend to cover the Pasadena City Council.
One lives in Mumbai and will be paid $12,000 a year. The other will work in Bangalore for $7,200. The council broadcasts its meetings on the Web. From nearly 9,000 miles away, the outsourced journalists plan to watch, then write their stories while their boss sleeps India is 12.5 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time. "A lot of the routine stuff we do can be done by really talented people in another time zone at much lower wages," said Macpherson, 51, who used to run a clothing business with manufacturing help from Vietnam and India.
So, on the Indian version of Craigslist, he posted an ad that said in part, "We do not believe that geographic distance between California and India will present unsurmountable problems, and that working together with you will result in your development of a keen working knowledge of this city's affairs." Dozens replied. One of the two chosen had attended the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Rob Gunnison, the director of school affairs there, is dismayed. "It just seems so fundamental to journalism to be there," Gunnison said. "I still can't quite believe it's not a hoax."
It's not. Macpherson plans to run his first batch of outsourced stories Tuesday. The Pasadena native runs the website, which he said gets 45,000 visitors a month, on a shoestring budget from his condo with help from his wife, a data entry worker and two interns. Macpherson plans to hire half a dozen more Indian reporters. He'll add some local flavor by doing interviews, then e-mailing the recordings to India. "When you instant-message someone in Mumbai, it's like looking over her shoulder," he said.
Larry Wilson, editor of the 30,000-circulation Pasadena Star-News newspaper, scoffed. "To pretend you can get the feel and the culture of a town as complicated and interesting as Pasadena by e-mailing and doing things over the Internet is nutty," he said.
AND NOW HERE IS THE PUNCH LINE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATOR'S LIKE THE IDEA OF OUTSOURCING REPORTING TO INDIA
Ann Erdman, spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, thinks the approach is a little odd. But "as long as they get their facts correct, I'm a happy camper," she said.
If Greenwich Time Editor And Chief Joe Pisani Is Not Careful He And His Crew May Find Themselves On The Unemployment Line While There Jobs Are Outsourced.
PLEASE ALSO SEE WHERE WE WARNED THE GREENWICH TIME EDITOR AND REPORTERS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE GREENWICH TIME WILL BECOME A NEWS BUREAU Of THE CONNECTICUT POST
Please Also See:
Hearst Newspaper's Indian Outsourcing Test Went Pretty Well.....
Here Are The News Stories That Were
Made In India For Fairfield County Weekly:
A report on the state's death penalty......
Dare to bring in a change to the death penalty?
The state Senate on Thursday, after hours and hours of debate, passed a bill by 19-17 in favor of substituting the death penalty with life imprisonment. The passionate and emotional debate continued until 4 a.m.
The reality, according to the proponents of the bill, is that the death sentence is not only unworkable and takes long but is also a burden on taxpayers. Many also argue that it doesn't provide any closure to the victims' families, a fact strongly outlined by murder victims' families on Friday in a press conference arranged by a national movement to end the death penalty.
Walter Everett, father of a murder victim, said, "People wait and wait for 15 or 20 years for an execution and then after it occurs, they say, why don't I feel better?" Elizabeth Brancato, daughter of a murder victim, said, "Abolition of the death penalty would honor my mother because it says that we, in Connecticut, value life."......
A profile on the Grateful dead tribute band dark Star Orchestra......
Dark Star Orchestra — the tribute band worthy of tributes
Dark Star OrchestraJune 1-2, Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge Rd., Ridgefield. (203) 438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
At each of their shows, expectations are high. They have lived up to them more than 1,500 times, and, God knows, they will continue doing so.
The Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) have made fans of people who have seen the Grateful Dead a zillion times; they are also the virtual gateway to the Dead's music to many young Deadheads who have never seen Jerry Garcia and his band, thus straddling two generations of audiences.
An Interview with long-running alt-rockers Cake....
Touching two decades, the Cake's still fresh
CakeMay 28, the Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford, (860) 525-5551, webstertheater.com
Hate them or love them, you can't classify them; neither can you wish them away. Their music flows effortlessly from one musical genre to the other, and it definitely has come a long distance.
Perhaps, it is this versatility — this ability to belong to many genres and not be constrained by one — that is the key to Cake's longevity. It's been a decade and a half since the Motorcade of Generosity rolled by and close to two decades since "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" happened. If this is not durability for an indie band, what is?......
Some tips on cooking the Connecticut delicacy shad.......
A culinary tradition that connects Connecticut
It's shad time of the year again! They've swarmed upstream to Connecticut. The New England Shad Association alerted fishermen in April that the American shad were spotted at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook. The state fish of Connecticut, shad is the harbinger of spring and brings in its wake celebrations like the Shad Bake and the Shad Derby Festival. Shad is a seasonal delicacy to be enjoyed as a main course or side dish.
The annual Rotary Club Shad bake in Essex is all about good food, good drinks and good old baked shad with accompaniments like coleslaw, corn cobs or beans. Baking the shad, however, for so many people is no mean feat. The fish is de-boned and then nailed onto oak planks and here we are talking about fish for 700-1,000 people so imagine the magnitude of the entire procedure. The fillets are brushed with just butter and some seasoning and stacked up for roasting at the 16-foot-wide fire. The event ends with pouring the dripping pans of fish oil into the hot coals that gives a burst of color signifying the end of the celebration for another year. This year, on June 6, the celebrations assume greater importance as it is the event's 51st anniversary.
Apart from the shad bake, the Shad Derby Festival not only celebrates the fish but also promotes cleaning up of the Connecticut River. The derby, originally a month-long affair, was founded by members of the Windsor Rod and Gun Club 55 years ago. It comprises of a parade, a Shad Queen pageant, 5K road race, arts and crafts festivals, and, of course, the Shad Masters tournament. This year's Shad Derby Pageant was won by Danielle St. Jacques who was being sponsored by Four Seasons Landscaping, LLC.......
Movie Reviews For "Up", "Drag Me To Hell" And "Night At The Museum"....
This museum could use a guide, a true escape from reality (and realty), and Raimi's real calling
** Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Directed Shawn Levy. With Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams. (PG)
When the adventure comedy Night at the Museum first opened in 2006 it grossed close to $250 million in U.S ticket sales. That impressive figure alone should be enough to tempt you to watch its sequel. Sadly, with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian history does not repeat itself. One assumes the production budget of $ 200 million was probably spent on the special effects rather than a decent script, which is where the film fails. .....
**** Up Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. Voices by Edward Asner, Paul Eiding, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Jordan Nagai (PG)
What are movies if not an escape from reality? Disney. Pixar's Up takes you to that magnificent world of fantasy. The very first animated and 3D film to ever open at the Cannes film festival, Up starts off with a young child, Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner) who lives out his desire for adventure through his idol, explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who travels around the most exotic locations in the world like Paradise Hills in South Africa. Carl even marries Ellie, a vibrant girl who shares his passion for adventure, but only grows old to become a jaded balloon salesman. Ellie falls ill and dies. Catastrophes mount when estate giants are trying to get their hands on his centrally located house and pack him off to some retirement home. In a fit of rage, Carl loses his temper on one of the construction crew and is summoned by the court to pack up and leave......
*** Drag Me to Hell Directed by Sam Raimi. Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Dileep Rao, Jessica Lucas and Lorna Raver.
Scenes from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead are etched in my memory as one of the most spine-chilling visuals I've ever watched in the horror genre. The sheer slickness and jerk to the senses that this director offered through his work is probably unmatched as good horror films are increasingly hard to come by. In line with creating cult classics, Raimi's latest offering, Drag Me to Hell, transports you to a mysterious dark place delectably laced with a lethal dose of aggression that scares the hell out of you. Raimi might've directed the action/adventure Spiderman series over the last decade, but with his latest venture he proves that horror is his true calling. Despite its humble budget, Drag Me to Hell offers the ultimate edge-of-the-seat excitement with its lucid story-telling and competent performances. It also throws in a liberal measure of jolts, vomit-spewing and skillful camera work — quintessential Raimi style......
Plus There Also Was.....
A concept car for the Indian middle class
As Well As .....
Ambulance drivers, loose women and weight gain
Nilanjana Bhowmick: Nilanjana is a freelance journalist, self-acclaimed foodie and amateur chef. She lives in New Delhi with her husband and 4-year-old son.
Vijayalaxmi Hegde: Vijayalaxmi, Viju to her friends, is a full-time freelance writer and editor living in Kolkata. Her musical taste spans Indian classical to Celtic to hard rock. Her blog is sihikahi.blogspot.com
Archana Aithal: Archana is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes for India's largest selling film glossy, Stardust and shares perspectives on one of her life's biggest passions, films.
Asmi Rana: Asmi dwells in dark corners near Kolkata and sometimes emerges to forage for food. She will also answer questions about neo-Tantra and free love provided you do not hit on her.
Mandira Srivastava: Mandira is editor-coordinator at Vadamali Media and has written for indiaschoolnews.com, instablogs and merinews.com. She is based in Hyderabad.
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RYE - About 15 New Haven Metro North trains were at a standstill in both directions for an hour and a half this morning after a landmine-like device was spotted at the Rye station at 11 a.m., Metro North spokesman Dan Brucker said.
