After last week's column about the writers' dispute with the San Diego Union-Tribune , I heard from a couple of publishers who bemoaned the current economic realities of electronic publishing. No one's getting rich, and there's not much to give the writers, they say. Cutting checks for the occasional freelancer is way too burdensome. We've agreed to pay freelancers a little more for each piece for Web and database rights. And that extra payment is way more than the royalty above.
Publishers are in business to be profitable.
Freelancers in my experience have little to no idea as to the investments and capital risk publishers make on a daily basis just to be able to offer freelancers space to publish their work. I agree they need to be compensated for their work. However, they also cannot shy away from the risk that electronic ventures may or may not bear fruit and therefore their work hasn't contributed to the balance sheet of the newspaper. It is true they are essential in the manufacturing of newspapers on a daily basis and if they want to be compensated from publishers trying to keep their operations in the black then they should respect the fact that it is HIS BUTT that's on the line if things go bad and not theirs. I would be happy to share successes with freelancers if they would be happy to share in the risks.