The Rumpus asks three eminent Internetarians (I dunno) to consider the vexing problem of whether or not The Huffington Post should pay its writers. It's complicated! (You will find a related opinion in the disclosure statement here.)
Monday, August 3, 2009
5
Some of you may recall the "surplus value of labor theory" ...
"Internetarians"...I like it.
Complicated indeed. I work with Eve on the SF Appeal, and I agree with her that writing for free is fun, and that after a while, you also need to start thanking your contributors in the form of cash.
Of my writing gigs on other sites, I tend to put in effort commensurate with the pay. ("How many sources should I talk to?" "Well, we're paying you $2 per post." "Okay, that answers THAT.")
And Eve makes an excellent point that if you think you're such hot shit, you can go start your own site. Internets feel like a gold rush sometimes, and I wonder how many ghost towns we'll be left with when it's done. I am not referring to the Awl!
How much would we have to pay them to go away?
By "pay" you mean euthanize, right?