This week in Journ 420...

This week's lecture topic was outsourcing.  This is generally something I associate with anything technology related.  While, I have heard that certain newspapers have considered outsourcing for editing, I never truly realized just how many papers have tried it, and how big of a problem this truly is.  Our economy isn't doing so well right now.  I am all for saving a couple of dollars here and there, but is outsourcing really the answer for all of our editing needs?  I am going to argue that no, it is not.  In fact, I do not think that newspapers should consider outsourcing for anything but advertisements.  

After reading the comment from one of the outsourced writers for the Pasadena Now, I couldn't understand why some editors feel as though outsourcing is a good idea.  The outsourced writer was assigned to cover city council meetings.  The meetings are taped and posted on the Internet.  The first question I had was a simple one.  How can these individuals evaluate what is truly important to the community/what certain things mean for the city when they are an ocean's length away?  The only answer I can come up with is that they can't.  I have a hard enough time judging what I think should be important to communities when I am a part of them, let alone when I am on another continent.  

Another issue I had with the outsourcing idea also arose after reading the comment from one of the outsourced writers for the Pasadena now.  Within the first few words, it was evident that the English language was not the writer's strong point.  Seeing as he was writing for an English-language newspaper, I see this as a bit of a problem.  To me, this gives the paper's editors unnecessary work.  Does that make it worth it?  No, not really.  In addition, this particular writer thought that the Rose Bowl was some sort of food dish.  Now, I'm not a sports buff nor do I pretend to be.  I cheer when others cheer, and immediately ask why we're cheering.  However, I do know what the Rose Bowl is.  Perhaps that is because it is something that has been put into our culture and is recognized by much of the population.  Huh...I wonder how many other things these outsourced writers misunderstand.  Actually, I don't want to know.  It will only make me hate this concept even more.