I thought AP.net didn't pay its writers either?

Originally Posted by narca9

I thought AP.net didn't pay its writers either?

they don't

Originally Posted by narca9

I thought AP.net didn't pay its writers either?

"Can't afford to pay" is the key phrase

I wonder what Jesse Lacey thinks

I think in a lot of cases, calling it "writing" it is putting it nicely. Prefix does have some long-form content, but if you look at the site, most of it is short-form news pieces that almost anyone could copy-and-paste from a press release. I highly doubt they're encroaching on "real" writing jobs by paying contributors pennies on the dollar.

They should say it's an internship and have people do it for free. Saying ''you'll be working for us'' and only pay them two bucks is a fucking insult.

Originally Posted by Matt Chylak

Insert "AbsolutePunk" for "Prefix Mag" and does anyone's opinion change?

It seems to me that Prefix is offering an alternative form of compensation...writing for a high-traffic, high-profile site. What looks better on a resume: you writing for your blog, or you writing for Prefix Magazine?

Sure, they're exploiting the current valley that the journalism industry is in, but if you're looking for a good-paying job in journalism you already know you're in for a hard journey. Plus, three posts a day takes like thirty minutes tops...it's not exactly a full-time job.

This. The irony of this news item is deafening.

so many wrong with this issue

This is the sad state of online journalism. Publishers are realizing that they get a better return on investment from lots of cheap and mediocre content than they do from a smaller amount of high-quality pieces (see also: Journatic and Demand Media).

But as an aspiring writer, accepting these sorts of terms is the worst thing that you can do for the industry. You do this job so that you can put it on your resume and hope that someone else will hire you, but who is going to hire you at a good rate? Prefix mag is doing over 2.5 million pageviews a month, and they're barely paying so you can imagine that there are extremely few well-paying opportunities for writers. A puplication is not going to pay a qualified writer a decent rate when they can get some college kid to do the same work for free or cheap. People have to band together and reject these sorts of shitty terms, it's the only way that Prefix or anyone else will pay up. Writing for pennies is the equivalent of crossing a picket line -- you're fucking over everyone else who's trying to make a good living for you own minimal gain.

Originally Posted by deezee

I know with my site I didn't really make anything for the first 1,000 posts (about a year's worth).

I feel that this is very different for 2 key reasons:

1. No one else was making money off of your work

2. You're making money now, right? All of that work that you put in went to building a valuable assest that you own. You could probably sell the site and pay yourself back a decent return on the initial investment of your time. I have a website that really didn't make enough to be worth my time for like 2 years. But if I were to sell it today I think it would fetch around $100k which is a good salary for those 2 years. (there's some tax difference from having the money come in all at once, but you get the point).

When you write for someone else you don't own anything, and there is no hope of making any money directly off of the work that you did for them. Only the hope that it's "good for your career" (addressed in the post above).

Originally Posted by calciumwaste

I feel that this is very different for 2 key reasons:

1. No one else was making money off of your work

2. You're making money now, right? All of that work that you put in went to building a valuable assest that you own. You could probably sell the site and pay yourself back a decent return on the initial investment of your time. I have a website that really didn't make enough to be worth my time for like 2 years. But if I were to sell it today I think it would fetch around $100k which is a good salary for those 2 years. (there's some tax difference from having the money come in all at once, but you get the point).

When you write for someone else you don't own anything, and there is no hope of making any money directly off of the work that you did for them. Only the hope that it's "good for your career" (addressed in the post above).

True, didn't even consider that.

It's one thing if something--doesn't have to be a publication, could be any creative endeavor--isn't making enough money to pay people and the people helping out are okay with doing the work for free/exposure. It's another thing entirely if something is profitable, let's say upwards of 100k a year, and doesn't pay shit to the people that help run the place. Not that it's wrong...but it's fucked up and speaks volumes about whoever is in charge of these sorts of decisions.

Originally Posted by AReiss

It's one thing if something--doesn't have to be a publication, could be any creative endeavor--isn't making enough money to pay people and the people helping out are okay with doing the work for free/exposure. It's another thing entirely if something is profitable, let's say upwards of 100k a year, and doesn't pay shit to the people that help run the place. Not that it's wrong...but it's fucked up and speaks volumes about whoever is in charge of these sorts of decisions.

This, except volunteer work is absolutely fine as long as you're ok with not being paid no matter what the profitability is. There's a lot of value in having a position like this, and if people want to get paid they should go look for a paying job. It's not like they didn't know what they were getting into beforehand, and if the writers don't like working for free because the company's having a hard time, nothing's stopping them from leaving.

I write for Prefix mag.

I do it for free.

I don't mind. I do it to swell my writing creds and to build my résumé. I've done it for a few other music sites/webzines. I guess there will be other writers who are better established and will expect pay but for my means I have no problem with the way Prefixmag goes about their business.

EDIT: It's also important to keep in mind that Prefix isn't run by a bigger, monolithic company (like how buzznet runs absolute punk). This revelation shouldn't come as a shock, it's not like "NBC can't afford to pay their writers!!!"