Dear (AOL) Patch: We won’t be taking you up on that kind invitation to work free for your large corp

http://guildfreelancers.org/gf/?p=1312


I've been asked to share this in it's entirety by the Guild.


Oh, Patch.

We want to like you. We really do.

After all, it’s not often these days that a major corporation invests $50 million in local journalism. You’ve hired some really top-notch journalists, many of them unmoored by the business model collapse at daily newspapers. In fact, we’re not ashamed to mention that some of our best friends are Patch editors. (You should pay them better. But that’s another story.)

And even though your freelance rates would never be described as generous, they have put food on the table of many an unemployed reporter.

So when we heard you were looking to hire 8,000 bloggers in eight days, we momentarily thought, “Awesome!”

And then, “Yowch!”

Because as it turns out, hire isn’t exactly the right word. Although Patch is now recruiting an army of “fresh voices,” the fee you plan to offer is exactly —nothing.

As in, no pay. No dollars, no cents, no need to provide direct deposit information — unless your bank accepts “gratitude” deposits.

The solicitations began popping up on all your Patch sites late last week, and boy, are they depressing.

A lot of them read like your local editors were uncomfortable even writing them. Having endured our share of questionable assignments over the years, we sympathize. This one’s even worse than landing the weather story. What self-respecting journalist wants to beg people to work for free and somehow try to make it sound like a good idea?

§ “Do you have concerted opinions? Do you find yourself hilarious? Do others? Do you like to share?” (‘Cause, um, our financial officers don’t!)

§ “This isn’t a reporting job. It’s blogging. You write what you want to saywhen you want to say it,” (Seriously, because how can we impose deadlines and story counts on a bunch of volunteers?);

§ “The best part about blogging on Patch is that it works around your own schedule.” (If we were to schedule you, the Department of Labor starts squawking about that whole “minimum wage” thing)

§ “Patch won’t own what you post,” (Since we never bought it)

§ And, “If writing isn’t your forte, we also welcome bloggers who can convey their thoughts through photos, video, cartoons, art or even audio.” (Honestly, who are we to be choosy?)

Most of the solicitations do mention that bloggers will be unpaid, and some explicitly differentiate their role from the reporting done by Patch’s professional staff members and freelancers.

Palos Patch also helpfully advises that posting on the blog “is free of charge,” in case you wondered how much you owed them for the privilege of contributing your unpaid labor. And bizarrely, Santa Cruz Patch pleads, “Give us your hungry, your poor, your blog.” (Because if you’re poor and hungry, writing for Patch won’t change that?)

Patch: Please stop it. You’re embarrassing yourself.

As our mothers taught us to say: No thank you.

We don’t write free for any company, and no self-respecting freelancer should — no matter how bad the economy is right now. Our democracy needs journalists, and journalists need to eat. And expecting soccer moms, retirees, and school kids to work free for large corporations isn’t just foolish, it contributes to a dangerous decline in our national standards.

So, here’s our counteroffer, Patch: We keep our work, you keep your gratitude, and let’s try to figure out a sustainable business model to save the industry we all love and depend on.

There is no reason to work for free and hope for "exposure." None at all.

Who, or what, is Patch?

(Work for free just like the new HP owned by AOL.

http://www.patch.com/about

About Us
What is Patch?

Simply put, Patch is a new way to find out about, and participate in, what’s going on near you.

We’re a community-specific news and information platform dedicated to providing comprehensive and trusted local coverage for individual towns and communities.

We want to make your life better by giving you quick access to the information that’s most relevant to you. Patch makes it easy to:

* Keep up with news and events
* Look at photos and videos from around town
* Learn about local businesses
* Participate in discussions
* Submit your own announcements, photos, and reviews

Who’s Behind Patch?

Patch is run by professional editors, writers, photographers and videographers who live in or near the communities we serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters. Patch also gets advice from our Editorial Advisory Board and from many members of the community.

We look forward to meeting you, hearing your stories, and being your trusted source for community-specific information.

If you see us around town, don’t be afraid to say hi and tell us what you want to see on Patch!
Where You Come In

We hope that our sites will strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can’t do it without you. We’ve built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. So get to it! And if you’re a business owner who wants to be listed, just let us know.
Giving Back

You can’t truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with a program called “Give 5,” through which we donate free advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers.
Patch.org

MUCH more at link.

Thanks for posting this.

aka slavery

Are we that insane? Soon the only people who will be "working" will be this unpaid labor and trust funders.