Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Trimming costs, this newsroom cuts all freelancers
One of Gannett's better-known newspaper division metros has eliminated its entire second-quarter budget for freelance work, I'm told. All stories scheduled in advance were spiked at least for the April, May and June period -- just when they they'd be needed most, to handle work during the next round of furloughs. The paper will try to make up for lost freelance work by relying even more on staff writers and news wire services, a correspondent says, adding: "Locally targeted, freelance-written columns are gone.''
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Freelancers might be the way to go in some departments. Why keep full time news graphic artist? You can save money by having freelancers or part timers.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you say which newspaper it is? Leaves us all to guess.
ReplyDelete11:07 am: I do not want my source to get into trouble.
ReplyDeleteMy paper dropped all freelance columnists for February/March - I wonder if they'll come back now in April or get permanent cancellation.
ReplyDeleteOurs recently trimmed the freelance budget 75%, but had to throw that out the window when they didn't have enough material to put in the newsletter...I mean newspaper, due to furloughs.
ReplyDeleteI think our graphics department has survived the cuts just for job security for the AME that is in charge of them. What a shame, we put up with furloughs and layoffs just so some upper management can save their own ass.
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ReplyDeleteAnother shortsighted decision. At some papers, these columnists, writers are the heart and soul of local news coverage. They offer readers something they can't get from TV, websites, etc. and for a very low cost. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
ReplyDeleteWithout freelancers, the features pages/niche products at one East Coast property would be near empty.
ReplyDeleteWilmington relies on freelancers for theatre reviews, some entertainment copy, a weekly gardening column, multiple niche products, its NIE doubletruck...
Verification word: woopr.
Why just have freelance graphic artists? Because here, our page designers don't have the graphic skills, or the time, to do the funky stuff the EE likes. ("Funky" is not a derogatory term.)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete2:29, how often does the "Funky" stuff appear in the newspaper? Your answer is why they should be freelance and not staff.
ReplyDeleteby "Funky" stuff, do you mean downloading an image from iStock and running some type next to it.
ReplyDelete12:10 you are right, right, right. Really, really, REALLY stupid move.
ReplyDeletelisel
ReplyDeleteI know which paper. It is the Press & Sun Bulletin of Binghamton NY. Axe. Fell. Down. On Freelancers.
As a former Gannett employee and, now, regular freelancer for well known Gannett property - how can I get a clue of whether you're talking about the paper I write for? Can I send an email? Drop clues for confirmation. Here's one: do employees often speak with a Southern drawl?
ReplyDeleteSo 12:10 we should keep freelancers around and layoff employees. Grow up and smell the roses. People like you are never happy unless you are unhappy.
ReplyDelete6:20 another lemming stuck in the past. If you and your friends ever had to run a business you;d be out of business before you got started. I'd rather can a free lancer then a colleague. But you need something to bitch about. Now go kick the dog
ReplyDeleteThis is a foolish financial move but I think it's actually positive for full-time employees.
ReplyDeleteAt my site, you can buy a freelance column for a fraction (a tiny fraction) of what it would cost to pay a staff writer. So the fact that the company is cutting freelancers rather than eliminating more positions and hiring freelancers is a plus in my book.
I can't imagine it will take them long, however, to figure out they can go the other way and see massive savings.
And in metro markets, papers could probably land some really good freelancers.
10:55 PM wrote: "I know which paper. It is the Press & Sun Bulletin of Binghamton NY."
ReplyDeleteWhile this is true, I don't think Bingo counts as "one of Gannett's better-known newspaper division metros." I'm guessing Jim is talking about somewhere else.
Anyway, a good portion of Bingo's freelance columns were pretty awful anyway. No great loss.
11:08 PM
ReplyDelete12:10 here. YOU need to get a clue. I wasn't talking about freelancers doing the work of staffers. I'm talking about the community-minded stories, columns that readers love, staffers hate and help keep papers LOCAL in ways the competition can't. I was laid off in December but am not bitter nor unhappy. You, however, obviously need to get a life.