“U.S. Agents Bordered the Plane” ABC News: Outsourcing Journalism Jobs

McCamy Taylor

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Wed May-05-10 05:06 PM
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“U.S. Agents Bordered the Plane” ABC News: Outsourcing Journalism Jobs

“The Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was "extremely nervous" when U.S. agents bordered the plane to arrest him Monday night, but "hasn't stopped talking" since, law enforcement authorities told ABC News."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/times-square-bombing-faisal-shahzad-admits-bombing-authorities/story?id=10557039

So what? It is just a typo, write? Uh, I mean right. I am sure that the editor at ABC News did not intend to suggest that U.S. agents applied a decorative trim---maybe some lace or a nice velvet ribbon---to the plane.

bor•der n.
1. A part that forms the outer edge of something.
2. A decorative strip around the edge of something, such as fabric.
3. A strip of ground, as at the edge of a garden or walk, in which ornamental plants or shrubs are planted.
4. The line or frontier area separating political divisions or geographic regions; a boundary.
v. bor•dered, bor•der•ing, bor•ders
v.tr.
1. To put a border on.
2. To lie along or adjacent to the border of: Canada borders the United States.
v.intr.
1. To lie adjacent to another: The United States borders on Canada.
2. To be almost like another in character: an act that borders on heroism.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/border

I know what you are thinking. No one likes a smart ass. And, in 21st Century America, we are much too relaxed to care about grammar. What is the wurst..I mean, the worst that could happen?

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."
Dan Quayle, Vice President

Once upon a time in America, folks who talked like Dan Quayle could never hope to be more than Vice President. Quayle was so dumb that Bush Sr. considered him impeachment insurance. But times have changed.

"They have miscalculated me as a leader."
George W. Bush

In case you have not noticed yet, U.S. news organizations have been outsourcing jobs to other countries.

Brayden Simms had only five months to warm his seat as a copy editor at the Miami Herald before he joined the long list of journalists across the country losing their jobs faster and more suddenly than a breaking story.

But while media companies are slashing their staff rosters, consolidating newsrooms and forcing those journalists left standing to take on the job responsibilities of their laid-off co-workers, there was something unique about Simms’ firing: He would be replaced. But the new copy editor doesn’t live in Miami, or Florida, or even the U.S. The McClatchy Co., parent of the Miami Herald, is handing Simms’ copyediting duties to a company in India.

snip

In June, McClatchy tapped the Miami Herald to eliminate 250 full-time positions. “Considering the recent spate of industry layoffs in South Florida, my forced buyout means I may need to relocate to find journalism work,” Simms wrote. He was reluctant to grant Extra! an interview in time for publication, as his severance check had yet to clear.

Taking over for Simms is Mindworks Global Media, a company headquartered near New Delhi. The company website boasts that “Mindworks’ staff edits and lays out newspaper pages, letting publishers reduce operational costs in print while keeping reporters and writers on the beat.”
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3705

We are not talking nickels and dimes here.

Research into production outsourcing by US and UK newspapers estimates that it is worth ฃ1.9bn to the Indian economy at present and could reach ฃ6.5bn by 2012. The study, by ValueNotes, claims that 26,000 people already work in the offshored publishing industry, which is expected to grow to 74,000 over the next two years.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2008/sep/24/asia

What are a few billion dollars between friends? Since the bank bailout, a billion does not seem like much anymore. And think of all the new (overeducated) service sector employees this move will generate. The next time a fastfood clerk asks “Would you like fries with your burger?”, he will know how to spell “fries” as well as how to cook them.

So what if an American writer (me) deplores the new trend of having copy serfs in other countries?

Though some in journalism may see the trend toward using outsiders' content as disheartening, at least one media observer said the industry bristles less over quality concerns than their own diminished importance. ]"These companies present a challenge to a certain arrogance in the profession that says we know best," New York University professor Jay Rosen said. "So now the work of interpreting these signals from the 'live web' are going to these other companies that don't have the same editorial standards, frankly."

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=143565

I do not claim to know best. But I do know the difference between bordered and boarded. I will bet that Richard Esposito, the author of that ABC News story knows the difference, too. But journalists are often too busy to do their own proofreading. They rely upon editors. What happens when the editors do not know English? Stories like the one at ABC News are the result.

Ask yourself, do you really want your child to grow up talking like George W. Bush? Do you really want your news stories to be written by people in other countries who could care less what happens in the U.S. as long as they get paid? What ever happened to responsible journalism?

Oh, yeah. It got canned by CBS for having the temerity to report a story that was in the national best interest but not in the corporate interest.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/McCamy%20Taylor/62