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Hey! Liked your piece! Could you re-do it for us?! Can't pay you, by the way!

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Norrin Radd, Mar 5, 2013.

Page 4 of 11
  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Agreed.

    You are severely underestimating what something like that should be worth -- way more than $25-30 an hour, anyway.
     
    LongTimeListener, Mar 6, 2013
    #37
  2. Versatile

    Versatile Active Member

    Wanting more than $300 to edit down a story you've already written and reported is completely unreasonable. If they were asking him to rewrite it entirely, you would have a point.
     
    Versatile, Mar 6, 2013
    #38
  3. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    You're funny, Verse.
     
    Ace, Mar 6, 2013
    #39
  4. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    No way she knew who she was talking to. She'd have been embarrassed to ask, if she had. Nate Thayer would be about the last person on earth you'd go there with.

    He was the first person in history to turn down a Peabody Award, for footage he got when he found Pol Pot and interviewed him. At the time, he sold the footage to ABC, with what he thought was the understanding that only Ted Koppel would use it on Nightline. Apparently, Thayer has defined ideas about who does and doesn't have integrity and Koppel made his approved list at the time. But ABC turned around and released the video and his interview to news agencies throughout the world and he was pissed, so he sued and turned down a Peabody Award because he didn't want to share it with them.

    For what it's worth, he got $350,000 for that footage alone -- in the 1990s. He's not at the point in his career, where he needs $100, or $300 Verse, for something like that. I disagree with your take on reselling stories. He should get as much as he can for it, if he owns the rights.

    The story's worth isn't just dictated by how much more time he has to invest. Its worth is its worth as a story -- albeit it, one that has been published somewhere else already. To give a better idea about what I mean, let's say you found a rare, valuable coin. Would the coin be worth less because you found it and you don't have a lot of money invested in it? It's worth whatever you can get for it. Anyone freelancing (or selling any service) should think that way.
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 6, 2013
    #40
  5. dog eat dog world

    dog eat dog world New Member

    Great corporate-polished response from the evil woman.
     
    dog eat dog world, Mar 6, 2013
    #41
  6. MeanGreenATO

    MeanGreenATO Well-Known Member

    I don't know if anybody's seen the tweets from Patrick Hruby today (I think he's on here) about the topic. To save time and to not post a million links, this is what he said this morning. https://twitter.com/patrick_hruby

    "I've been following the pay/no-pay for writing discussion. As someone who has been paid both well, fairly and terribly while hustling to build a rep and make a living, I feel like writers with secure jobs and established reps have no idea how little value most writing has, even if it's really good. It's easier to be righteous when you've made it."

    He then went on to say,

    "Also, the best possible solution I can think of would be to follow the pro sports player union example. Writers collectively bargain and the superstars give up some of their potential earnings so the rank-and-file can make more. Don't think many writing superstars would be interested in that arrangement."

    I don't really know what to make of it, but I thought this would be interesting to bring up. I'm guessing it has something to do with what happened yesterday.
     
    MeanGreenATO, Mar 6, 2013
    #42
  7. Gonna Buy me a Dog

    Gonna Buy me a Dog Guest

    No, actually it's not, Versatile. Cutting three-quarters of a story and coming up with something that retains the insight and clarity of the original is hard as hell. For a writer of Thayer's stature and a publication as established as Atlantic, I'd think something like $1,000 would be a minimum offer without insulting the writer.
     
    Gonna Buy me a Dog, Mar 6, 2013
    #43
  8. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    "Why I Write for Free"

    http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2013/03/why-i-write-free/62808/
     
    Dick Whitman, Mar 6, 2013
    #44
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The Big Ragu, Mar 6, 2013
    #45
  10. Norrin Radd

    Norrin Radd New Member

    "You see, there's this huge rush that comes with finishing a piece that thrills you to the pit of your writer's core."

    No . . . no, there isn't.

    The thrill occurs when it reaches print, and you understand that you will be compensated in finances and in prestige.
     
    Norrin Radd, Mar 6, 2013
    #46
  11. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Atlantic dotcom editor defends himself. At great length. Poorly.

    www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/13/03/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-digital-editor-2013/273763/
     
    Azrael, Mar 6, 2013
    #47
  12. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    That was terrible. He would have been better off just staying quiet. I won't get into all of it, but it was a "nasty" thing for Thayer to do, because she is a young editor, and it was her first week on the job and he made her into collateral damage? Really?

    Isn't the "nasty" thing to do to her, to put her into the position the Atlantic did, of asking people to give away their work for free and set her up for what happened?
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 6, 2013
    #48
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