All Fun and No Pay?

All Fun and No Pay? -- No Way to Run a Newspaper, says the National Writers Union Boston Chapter Steering Committee

John Wilpers, editor-in-chief of the newly-launched BostonNOW, expects, according to an April interview with WBUR, to draw content for his free daily from bloggers. He anticipates that blog entries will make up 10 percent of the free paper's content at first, but eventually 50 percent.

"If they're writing about happenings anyway, why not let [BostonNOW] publish their blogs in the newspaper?" said Wilpers, according to the WBUR trascript. "I think it would be more fun that way because then we're not sending a reporter who might have absolutely no interest in it, and a limited amount of talent and time, whereas you guys have the time, the talent and the interest." "It sounds cool," said one blogger.

It sounds chilling to us in the National Writers Union's Boston Chapter. We are freelance journalists, book writers, essayists, poets and business writers who believe that writers who have something valuable to say, especially if it's backed by research and interviews, deserve to be paid.

BostonNOW does not guarantee actual compensation to the writer, while touting exposure and clips as benefits of appearing in the newspaper. "You can't eat exposure and clips," said NWU member Maria Termini. "I believe it is normal and just that we be fairly compensated for our work."

Wilpers talks of "compensation packages" -- a press pass, for instance, but only for his star bloggers. "The Web in general and blogs in particular are increasing the supply of writers and driving down earnings," says author and NWU member Clint Richmond.

Members are concerned about what rights BostonNOW is acquiring. "The creation of the printed word in a commercial paper creates reproduction rights, said NWU says NWU member Neil J. Savage. "Who owns those rights to a blogger's contribution?"

Update:  Caroline Cole, a member of the NWU-Boston Steering Committee, freelance journalist and former owner of a community newspaper, and Charles Coe, NWU-Boston co-chair, arranged a meeting with the editorial staff. They discussed BostonNOW's compensation policy with Editor-in-Chief John Wilpers and Susan Kaup, who oversees the paper's online version.

Caroline and Charles were pleased − and a bit stunned − to be told that the paper was establishing a policy of paying freelance writers $1.00 a word (an NWU suggested standard). They are also planning a meeting with their bloggers to work out a compensation package that would include some combination of cash payments, press payments and access to concert and event tickets. Charles and Caroline were pleased that the publishers invited representatives of the National Writers Union to participate in that meeting. More news on this as the situation develops.

Info: Boston Chapter co-chairs Barbara Beckwith, 617-868-3143, and Charles Coe, 617-491-8121, or visit