The Media World Goes Carroll-ing
Carroll, you may recall, was a Christian Science Monitor freelancer when she was kidnapped in Iraq last January. When she was released, she was transformed from lowly freelancer to CSM staffer, award winner, and Harvard fellow. Carroll's rewards somewhat embarrassed her: "I didn't do anything great, and being kidnapped is not worthy of praise," she wrote in a CSM Q&A.
So why was she so showered with praise? According to Tony Dokoupil, it had something to do with the guilt many media companies feel over their poor treatment of freelancers, who risk their necks in extremely difficult circumstances for little reward. "Carroll's story is indicative of a broken news business where media companies—under ever-growing pressure to cut costs—shave the salaries and benefits of freelancers grateful for work and too conscious of competition to protest," writes Dokoupil.
Journalism now faces a supply and demand problem: Between 1992 and 2002, the number of available journalism jobs decreased for the first time in thirty years. Journalism schools, meanwhile, continue to churn out students. So young wannabe journalists turn to freelancing, and many go where they feel they can make a splash: war zones. The problem is that media companies, facing declining revenues, don't want to spend much money on them. And the freelancers, fearful that they will be replaced, don't want to make requests for security that they fear could hurt their chances for a byline.
"It may be crazy and reckless and foolhardy to pick up and rush headlong into a war zone, but when these people do it, we all get the benefit," writes Rachel Sklar. "Investing in them is a smart move for news orgs — witness NBC's Richard Engel — but also, it's pretty obviously the right thing to do. There are places to cut costs, but this isn't one of them."