It’s one thing to read in the local paper about the outsourcing of jobs abroad, to India, to the Philippines, and it’s quite another thing to have it happen to you. And if you happen to work for the local paper, well... The Sacramento Bee, under enormous fiscal pressure, is finding some unique ways to cut costs, from offering buy-outs to a hefty percentage of the people who write and edit the paper, to outsourcing the work of the people who design advertising, and currently, to the people w... davidwattsbarton David Prinzing 2009-01-11T22:32:52Z 2009-01-11T22:32:52Z

This is a fantastic article... quite poignant. And I'm observing here that it's not being published in the Bee. With respect to journalism and the influence of putting news on a dead tree, I have to disagree. I read everything with a grain of salt... including newspapers like the Bee. One of the things I love about the Economist newspaper out of Britain is that they don't pretend to not have an opinion or a point of view. It's evident in every article, and I'm okay with that. I think it takes a certain humility and sense of integrity to recognize that. I find it interesting also that my favorite newspaper is from Britain! It says something about the world we live in today. Digital communications technologies have broken the local monopoly on news. Every local newspaper today competes with every news source around the world (on the Internet) in every language that the reader speaks/reads. Local news sources should be experts in local news, and they should make that available to anyone who has an interest. I use RSS feeds keyed off of Google News searches for key words that I'm interested in, and these searches turn up interesting stories for me from some of the most obscure places. Example: did you know that the City of Grand Forks, ND is spending $230/ton on their recycling program? I wonder what we're spending? Is it worth it? I like what the Internet is doing for news, but we clearly need a new business model for journalism. Perhaps the Sacramento Press is a step in the right direction?

David Prinzing 2009-01-11T22:32:52Z Ben Ilfeld 2009-01-10T01:38:17Z 2009-01-10T01:38:17Z

that is totally unbelievable.

Ben Ilfeld 2009-01-10T01:38:17Z heckasac 2009-01-10T00:10:42Z 2009-01-10T00:10:42Z

Great article. Thank you.

heckasac 2009-01-10T00:10:42Z David Watts Barton 2009-01-09T23:58:52Z 2009-01-09T23:58:52Z

Interesting you should mention that, Mark. Outsourcing reporters isn't "next," it's now. A news website in SoCal, PasadenaNow.com, has actually outsourced the coverage of local city council meetings to reporters in India. It has been very successful. The Indians watch the council meetings via online video, then write the stories. The paper's editor figures it costs him about $1.70 a story. The guy who put it together caught a load of grief when he started, and he even hired "real" reporters to show his bona fides. But he found he couldn't make money doing it, so he's now got five reporters in India. Covering Pasadena. It costs him a fraction of what it would cost him to have "real" reporters. Combined with taking input from the community, he calls it the "pro-am" model, and it's something like what we're looking to do here. The old journalism model is not working, financially, and news is not getting covered that people want covered, which is sometimes the smallest, least-sexy stuff. So, this is one way of doing it. We shall see. Here's a link to a series of stories that the Knight Foundation did about the subject, starting with the story about outsourcing to India. http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/davidwestphal/200810/1564/

David Watts Barton 2009-01-09T23:58:52Z Mark Forsyth 2009-01-09T20:44:51Z 2009-01-09T20:44:51Z

It is understanding to see jobs go overseas in a capitalistic society-- the bottom line is what counts. But for something as locally grounded as a newspaper to outsource overseas seems ludicrous. Financially, yes, it makes sense, but what is next? Outsourcing reporters? How well could someone in India understand the workings of society in Sacramento? The most painful part of this story is the fact that these workers are having to train their replacements. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for them. It's like being forced to dig your own grave, or construct your own gallows.

Mark Forsyth 2009-01-09T20:44:51Z Jonathan Mendick 2009-01-09T18:40:50Z 2009-01-09T18:40:50Z

I don't have a problem with someone from another country being given an opportunity. I think it's great. But the way that more qualified workers are fired on short notice for budget reasons is the reason why once good organizations like the Bee are now close to death. It's great that you highlight the plight of the well-qualified unemployed people. I know a lot of people in that boat, including myself. However, I enjoy reading online journalism. I disagree with Shay a little bit. Just because it's online doesn't mean you have to particularly take it with a grain of salt. Look at the NY Times, or the New Yorker. Of course all critical readers are skeptical of the motives and ethics of writers, but the Times and New Yorker always seem to make an interesting point about society, even if I strongly disagree. And I only read the Times online, never in print. Why pay for it if it's free? And for local issues, there is of course the Sacramento Press.

Jonathan Mendick 2009-01-09T18:40:50Z Sarah 2009-01-09T16:45:36Z 2009-01-09T16:45:36Z

Thanks for this piece - I think it brings the globalization/outsourcing issue home in a very personal way, and without decending in to nationalistic posturing... Really, beautifully done, and I'll be forwarding it around.

Sarah 2009-01-09T16:45:36Z Scott Holbrook 2009-01-09T14:48:29Z 2009-01-09T14:48:29Z

Outsourcing will always continue, be it out of country, out of state, county or otherwise. Regional restrictions & regulations create this process, be it environmental, economic or otherwise, it is sad. Of course consumers support this wanting the lowest of price & easiest of convenience....great article - Support the Local economy! -

Scott Holbrook 2009-01-09T14:48:29Z Angela Nickerson 2009-01-09T05:58:09Z 2009-01-09T05:58:09Z

This just makes me so very, very sad. I am greatly distressed by the state of the newspaper business and my friends and colleagues who are losing their jobs all across the country. And, as Brandon said, the impact on the newsroom itself is a very scary thought. There's a reason the founding fathers thought to include the First Amendment -- the media and information dissemination is critical to our society. Thank you for your interview.

Angela Nickerson 2009-01-09T05:58:09Z Brandon Darnell 2009-01-09T02:38:09Z 2009-01-09T02:38:09Z

It's definitely a disturbing trend. As a journalist, I hate to see my industry taking these steps. As a citizen, I hate the fact that outsourcing will lead to worse quality that will, in turn, lead to less subscribers, with a cascading effect on advertising and, ultimately, the newsroom - where the stories are chased and reporters actually take the information to the public.

Brandon Darnell 2009-01-09T02:38:09Z JaySpooner 2009-01-09T01:20:55Z 2009-01-09T01:20:55Z

As a 19 year subscriber to the Bee who has seen the paper's size and quality shrink, seemingly by the day, I find THIS whole thing to be VERY disturbing...I agree with Shay when he says "I take with a grain of salt everything I read on the web. I don’t see how websites can compete with real newspapers doing real journalism. Maybe it’s the permanency of ink: It’s real. If you put it on your blog and it’s wrong, you delete it and it’s like it was never said".. THAT being said, The Bee is making it harder and harder, especially in these financial times, to continue to subscribe to a paper that seems to care less about people, the community and their own quality than it does the bottom line. Thanks DWB. Keep up the good work, JS

JaySpooner 2009-01-09T01:20:55Z RobertSydnor 2009-01-08T23:21:22Z 2009-01-08T23:21:22Z

Thanks to David Watts Barton for this insightful article regarding out-sourcing of the Sacramento Bee internal staff in accounting and finance. Bee readers like myself tend to focus on the journalism aspects of what we read, and we have very little insight or understanding of the internal workings of the The Bee. Gary Pruitt and Cheryl Dell do not keep us informed about internal operations; and we are the paying subscribers ($200 per year) of the print-version of The Sacramento Bee.

RobertSydnor 2009-01-08T23:21:22Z