Writers Mill: Digital Media Buzz
A friend and colleague emailed a link to this JournalismJobs.com listing for writers from Digital Media Buzz. And I'm using this to test a new format in reporting these professional aberrations.
What They Want
In-depth news analysis of the digital media technology industry, including business practices, online ad/revenue technology, software development, SEO, e-commerce, and mobile technology.What They Expect
People with journalism experience, whether in paid positions or as interns.What They Offer
$30 per 500 to 1000 word story. As the ad read: "Yes, it's not exactly $1/word, but we need a ton of content written and promise a steady stream of income to anyone looking to make a name for himself or herself."What That Means
You get paid between 3 and 6 cents a word as often as you'd care to and probably have to write the analytic pieces with precious little time to read or think before grinding it out. Sausage never had it so good.Labels: markets, pay, writer mills
posted by Erik Sherman | 6:54 AM
4 Comments:
As the Executive Editor of DMB, I balk at the usage of the term, "writer mill." Writer mills are places like the examiner.com and demandstudios.com and elance.com -- places that pay $5 for a story, require expertly written content and try to justify it with bonus payment claims if your story gets a certain about of clicks. We are a web start-up (three months old) and I have promised my regular writers higher pay once we get VC funding. But I do remember a time when I was just starting out as a reporter and I had to file on average 10 stories a week getting barely $18,000 for the year. When you do the math, it comes out to $34 an article. So I ask you, what is the difference?
Frankly, I don't see a whole lot of difference between $5 to $15 for a story (the latter being more common for DS) and the $30 you pay. You can promise writers what you want when and if you get venture funding (content sites have largely fallen out of VC favor), but in the meantime you are effectively asking them to invest by taking low rates without getting an equity position. That's funding without an upside, and a prime characteristic of a writers mill.
As far as working full-time for $18K, I wouldn't suggest it to someone. However, there's a big difference between a job with benefits and working as a freelance writer for a site at terrible rates, because the writer is responsible for all taxes, expenses, benefits, and the like. It's not a comparable amount of money because, as a self-employed individual, it goes nowhere near as far.
In addition, when you're on staff, you don't have to prospect for business, market yourself, manage client relationships, do paperwork, and all the many other things necessary in your own business. So doing those 10 stories a week as a business ends up requiring far more time because of the overhead tasks.
In short, it's working for a writers mill.
Erik you are obviously an angry and bitter person! Digital Media Buzz happens to have really great articles and dedicates its time to help support the industry. The fact is that DMB is a start-up and paying what they can for now. Writers do not have a gun to their heads to write for them, but they choose to for the steady work and to be associated with a great site! On top of that for lots of writers its great to get our writings in front of industry folks and also great to write for a site that has such deep coverage of the digital media industry. I am sure once they get funded (and they will) they will step up and pay more. So I say stop sounding so bitter and if you don't want to write for them then don't! Its start-ups like DMB that are fighting to help support journalists so chill with the words!!!
From a big fan of DMB!
Anonymous,
I take people far more seriously when they are man or woman enough to step up and stand behind their words. Sorry if you think I'm angry and bitter; life is a disappointment, I'm sure. Certainly I've heard of mills that are far more cynical and callous. I wouldn't bet on funding, even though you are sure it will come through. Interesting, though that you think that start-ups are "fighting to help support journalists" when the pay scale simply won't. Or are you getting stock for your help in making the venture fly? No? Didn't think so.
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