Huffington Post Auctions Internship
Colleen McCain Nelson, in The Dallas Morning News Opinion blog, asks the question that earns today's award for unintended irony. She reports that The Huffington Post is auctioning off an internship, with bidding already at $13,000. Asks McCain Nelson, "Suddenly, journalism has become a pay-to-play venture? Whoever has the most money gets to report their version of the news?"
Suddenly? Is McCain Nelson not aware that the newspaper business has always been about money? The deeper the pockets of the publisher, the bigger his voice in the community? What's the old warning to anyone who doesn't like what's being said about him in the press? Don't pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel? From William Randolph Hearst to Rupert Murdoch, hasn't journalism always been a case of whoever has the most money gets to report their version of the news?
But McCain Nelson is probably thinking about the poor ink-stained wretches who work in the newsroom (i.e., herself). She needs the paycheck. She can't afford to keep working for a newspaper if she not only won't get a paycheck anymore but has to pay for the privilege of working there. Not to worry. The Huffington Post gimmick is not likely to be the wave of the future. Blogging might be, but paying to blog? No way. Look at it this way. For years, rich golfers and baseball fans have paid top money to play in pro-am tournaments and attend spring training camps with major leaguers. Journalists now have equal star power, where rich amateurs are willing to pay to rub elbows with the pros!
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