Most journalists take comfort in the fact that their jobs can’t be outsourced — that is, until they are.
What do you do if you are a struggling website peddling local Pasadena, Ca., news, but can’t afford to hire more U.S. reporters? Outsource the job of covering all things Pasadena to Bangalore. That’s exactly what James Macpherson, publisher of Pasadena Now, has done, offering to pay two India-based journalists he found on Bangalore’s craigslist site a combined $20,800 annual salary in order to watch Pasadena City Council meetings on the Internet and cover the local government beat.
Uh oh.