An outsourcing nightmare

By: Katie Anthony

As we all know by now (especially those of us who have taking Communications 101 with Brian Steffen or Julie Summers) outsourcing has become quite the issue in the United States.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before outsourcing hit the world of journalism and, well, media in general.

James Macpherson puts it very bluntly when he says, "In brutal terms, it’s going to get to the point where saving the industry may require some people losing their jobs. The newspaper industry is coming to a General Motors moment — except there’s no one to bail them out." He goes on to say that it would be "irresponsible" for newspapers not to seek offshore options for help.

The jobs seem to be going strongly to India where they are being paid less than 8 dollars for every 1,000 word story.

So, perhaps outsourcing saves the US some money, but the question at issue is this: Are the stories about the American lifestyle (being written in India) as believable and effective as stories written by people who actually live the American lifestyle and in this culture?

Many would say that sending these stories to India is a cop-out in order to save money. Sure, they save money, but if they're losing part of their audience in the process, they're really not gaining much in the long-run.