Media
SAVINGS: The Age’s management hopes to outsource to India but will meet a fierce resistance
A rising tide of panic is engulfing The Age’s editorial staff following the announcement of deep staffing cuts, the sacking of editor-in-chief Andrew Jaspan and speculation that management is actively considering offshore outsourcing of many sub-editing jobs.
“It is well known Don Churchill has been looking at outsourcing, including to Indian companies who work for a tiny fraction of the Australian award. If they resort to Wapping style tactics, they’ll get a Wapping style response from the Australian union movement,” an Age insider told VEXNEWS today on condition of anonymity.
Sub-editors at a newspaper assist with copy editing, writing headlines and captions, proofreading and identifying potential legal issues with the work provided by reporters.
Other aspects of pre-press production could also be sent to firms like Express KCS, a Delhi based “media backoffice”. More than 70 daily newspapers in the US and the UK subsidiary of News Corporation are already clients of the firm.
An industry analyst explained “It’s about the only way I can think of that will help the Age make cuts to expenses without cuts to the number of reporters on the beat. A subby might get $70,000 here could be replaced by someone getting $7,000 or less in India. It’s a very tempting option for management, very tempting.”
Sunday Age scribe Michael Bachelard would be none too impressed with the development. He bravely accused his employer Don Churchill of being “gutless” for failing to explain the sackings and was working radio and television like a demon yesterday ahead of what is expected to be a bitter industrial row between MEAA and Fairfax management.
In the United States, James Macpherson, the publisher of Pasadena Now caused a furore last year when he hired two Indian journalists to cover local Pasadena council affairs.
The excited media entrepreneur explained the potential opportunity:
“I think it could be a significant way to increase the quality of journalism on the local level without the expense that is a major problem for local publications, whether you’re at a desk in Pasadena or a desk in Mumbai, you’re still just a phone call or e-mail away from the interview.”
One of the journalists hired was a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and was clearly well credentialed. He plans to hire half a dozen more reporters from the sub-continent.
The Pasadena council proceedings are broadcast live on the internet, much like the Victorian Parliament. Perhaps this will open up a world of savings for The Age management as one-time PhD candidate The Age’s David Rood and the more workmanlike Paul Austin could be replaced by hard-grafting Gallery reporters who know Mumbai better than Melbourne.
Discussion
17 comments for “SAVINGS: The Age’s management hopes to outsource to India but will meet a fierce resistance”
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Michael Bachelard looks distressed. Is he really missing Jaspan ? I thought he’d been boned by him.
Batch wasn’t sacked, we embraced him with open arms.
Paul “Sahib” Austin could not be replaced by a mere Indian.
A 7k subby in India would be five times more accurate and active than one sitting in Spencer Street costing ten times that.
The Age is due for the mother of all strikes. Watch out for Andy Landy scabbing for his mate Ron Walker when the shite is going down.
We cannot let outsiders take over our country.
Can you all please be quiet while I prepare to takeover.
I am positioning myself. My time has come.
I am opposed to Indians, unless curried.
I too am opposed to Indians, espcially Fat ones like Robert Ray.
Once again Landeryou has somehow, and I dunno how, got it right.
But its just part of the plan.
Also on the agenda is:
1. India subcontracting
2. More “merging” of the disperate Fin Review, SMH and Age adminstrative functions (this is code for merge and sack)
3. An increase in the amount of stories (work) per journalist. This will no doubt cause great shock as the work of those taking packages will be fobbed off onto those staying
4. A wage freeze. Yes you heard it right. No more EB’s and annual wage hikes. 5 year wage freeze is the preferred time but could be longer.
All in all, it amounts to less staff, more work, less pay. Will there be 100 or 200 applicants for every newsltd job ad in the coming months?
I wouldn’t wanna be working at a Fairfax paper right now…..
Outsourcing to India is an outrage. They speak a very different form of English, dated and unique to that country. I can’t believe some people think this is a good idea or funny somehow. It’s disgraceful.
Maintain the rage at The Age.
They will be shaking their head when they mean to say “yes”
Has anybody got any writing work for an elderly gossip columnist?I am also very good at turning up to opening nights.
Are you sure they aren’t already using the indian subbies?Peter “spanky” Roebuck’s biaist coverage of last summer’s controversial Australia-India Test Series had curry stains all over it.