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by fhdsgbbcaA 632 days ago
Even prestige publications like The New Yorker use freelancers. This is the same thing, it’s just lower brow content.
2 comments
ryandamm 632 days ago
That’s not a fair comparison, The New Yorker has always had a different relationship with its writers. A freelancer who writes for The New Yorker is likely a highly respected journalist/author/other luminary. Their staff writers are, I believe, technically contractors as they’re not W2 employees.

Contractor-written slop at these content farms, as described by TFA, have nothing in common with how content works at The New Yorker.

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fhdsgbbcaA 631 days ago
The New Yorker gets high tier freelancers, other outlets get dogshit freelancers. It’s the same underlying model.
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chrchr 631 days ago
This is not at all the same thing. The New Yorker pays its freelancers. In the example in the article, the money is flowing from the content producer to the publisher, meaning it's an ad.
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fhdsgbbcaA 631 days ago
They have literally run “native ads” for a decade which are ads specifically designed to appear to be content from New Yorker writers.

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/the-new-yorker-jumps-into...

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chrchr 631 days ago
Also not good, but also not at all like freelancing. Freelancers are paid. Advertisers pay for placement.
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fhdsgbbcaA 631 days ago
You mentioned what is or isn’t an ad, my point is the distinction is a lot less clear than you think, and it always has been.

While it’s good more people understand the business of news, this is all out in the open and has been for years.

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