Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson on April 18, 2011 at 4:37pm

Kamy, glad you posted this as it has been bothering me for a while especially as the undercurrent seems to be a notion that professional, trained, experienced artists should just be grateful to have their work shown, read, heard, etc. while a few people make enormous profit from it. It is one thing to voluntarily put your work out there in a venue where there is little or no profit being engendered from it or if it is a help in promoting your work. On the other hand it is quite another matter when someone makes $300 million dollars from your work without adequately compensating you for it. Welcome to the new feudal age! 

 

I've noticed that HuffPo seems a lot Huffpouffier of late and after reading the KOS article I now understand why. I probably won't be going there much anymore not out of boycott but because it's not all that great. Like most of us I don't have a lot of time and I prefer to go somewhere I can rely on for consistently good journalism. That brings me to the NYX decision to charge for on-line content. I had a similar reaction to Catherine's above because not only is it good news for the profession but as a member of the reading public I am more than happy to hand over a reasonable amount of money for work that I can rely on to be consistently good writing professionally edited and published. 

 

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Permalink Reply by Zetta Brown on April 19, 2011 at 12:10pm

And there's a lot to be said for editorial quality.  There's a reason people hold NYTimes in higher regard than National Enquirer.

I've only glanced at HuffPo a handful of times, and this brouhaha has me looking up info about who's pro and con on the boycott as well as the whole business model of not just HuffPo but other outlets AND the issue of journalism itself.

Frankly, I'm tired of sex-appeal journalism and thinly veiled political rants disguised as journalism. A writer/journalist will bring a bit of him/herself into their writing no matter how hard they try not to, but surely the more professional ones try to be as unbiased as possible.

Makes me wish for the days of Walter Cronkite, really.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Wojcik Berner on April 20, 2011 at 3:26pm

I have been feeling that way for quite some time time. Glad to see someone else is as well.

 

Karen

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Permalink Reply by Beth Eileen Cavalli on April 20, 2011 at 5:16pm

I agree! The Moral compass has been altered by magnets of greed.  Time to take some of that back and as Joseph Campbell once said "following your bliss and you will succeed! Beyond your wildest dreams!".

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Permalink Reply by Tinamarie Bernard on April 25, 2011 at 11:30pm

Agreed! I can't stomach the 'news' today. I was just a little girl when he was delivery the news, but there was a certain level of integrity that shone through and through. The system today is feudal...

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Permalink Reply by Marjorie Robertson on April 26, 2011 at 7:19am

I agree. Do you think we can swing back in the other direction?

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Permalink Reply by Katherine Jenkins on April 18, 2011 at 7:41pm

What are you writing for? Are you writing to build a platform or are you writing because YOU LOVE IT? It's very clear to me. Many writers spend so much time building a platform that the writing gets lost in the shuffle. Instead of focusing on the platform, why not focus on the writing. Write to write. When every single ounce of you is loving what you are doing, believe me, it will pay off and YOU WILL HAVE A PLATFORM!

 

So I say, YAY if you love it and NAY if you don't!

 

http://www.lessonsfromthemonkimarried.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Tasha Keeble on April 21, 2011 at 4:07pm

I concur.

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Permalink Reply by Tasha Keeble on April 21, 2011 at 4:06pm

I write for free everyday, so why not gain the exposure with Huffo; limiting your contribution however, to when you start to feel uneasy?  I say, do your thing--just don't let yourself feel exploited.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Kerr on April 22, 2011 at 10:23am

I think the platform HuffPost provides can do quite a bit for a writer who agrees to write for free. I think HuffPost should offer something more, other than publicity, to their writers though.

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Permalink Reply by Jacqueline Austin on April 22, 2011 at 1:47pm

Arianna Huffington has no contractual obligation to share her profits with volunteers.  However, sending some cash, a gift and/or a personal thank you to each long term contributor would demonstrate care for those who, by investing their most valuable resources--skill and time--have substantially increased her chances at success.

 

The person who initiated the class-action suit has a long, distinguished career in political activism for writers.  While I disagree that there's a contractual obligation in this case, I certainly feel that there's a moral obligation.  And I respect his passion and dedication to the cause.

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Permalink Reply by Tinamarie Bernard on April 25, 2011 at 11:28pm

I think this is a good question because the truth is many platforms have cheapened our contributions with abject pay. By and large, however, I suspect that few really benefit from this 'exposure.' Most have earned it by sweating and pouring their blood into their words, and no platform per se can serve as a tipping point towards financial success. That, I still believe, has more to do with luck than anything else. I may be wrong in my assessment and would love to hear other women share their perspectives. Anyone on this site really strike it huge by writing for free for other people? Or is is really that we write for free for ourselves and are eventually read by someone who can help us reach our intended larger audiences?

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