Just saw this and I though it was worth passing on here.
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http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=14006152
TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - WTOL is looking for viewers to contribute to our new community websites, WTOL 11 Your Community. Below are a few ideas on how you can create interesting and exciting posts for the sites.
Review a local eatery – Whether it's your favorite café or a restaurant you've never tried before, people love to read about places to eat and drink. Snap some cell phone pictures and write about what the eatery has to offer.
Cover an event – Local charity events, farmers markets, festivals, or anything going on in the community make for great stories. Try writing a preview of the event beforehand, then write about what happened at the event after word.
Write about what you know – Writing about something you're passionate about is a great way to produce interesting content. For example, if you play golf regularly, you could highlight local golf courses.
Post some photos – Not all blog posts have to be news articles. Take some interesting photos of something going on in your neighborhood and include a few sentences about it.
Visit an area attraction – Check out something in your area, and tell people what they can expect to find there. It could be a museum, historical site, park, or any other public place people might be interested in visiting.
Of course, these are just a few ideas. We are open to any story in our communities. For information on how to become a Community Content Producer and publish stories to WTOL 11 Your Community, email Communites@wtol.com
Copyright 2011 WTOL. All rights reserved.
They want bloggers to provide them content for free?
Awesome - thanks! I am willing to do anything to get my blog out there! :)
www.cheaptoledo.com
That was my thought exactly, taxiang.
As a blogger, you are already providing free content. Why not get it seen by more people?
Agreed that it is free exposure, OhioKimono, but I think the point valbee and taxiang are making is that WTOL gets writers to contribute to their space at no cost to the station. If you are a new blogger, this might be useful, but if you are established and generating income/readers/exposure already, this offers nothing in return except for perhaps a handful of site visitors (maybe).
If, instead of posting the article in its entirety, they linked to the original blog website (like so many bloggers do with MSM news accounts), then it might make sense to bloggers as it would generate more traffic to their own blog...
That doesn't seem to be what they're going to do, though.
How about WTOL attempts to produce news? Yelp already exists.
Exactly, historymike... but they're also probably generating ad revenue from that content. And if they retain ownership rights to the content posted, it probably eliminates any possibility of an author being compensated for that particular work in the future.
I say "probably" because I don't know for certain how it all works and because I don't know what restrictions WTOL will have in place. But it's not something I would enter into lightly, if I was hoping to launch a writing career.
I think its a great idea. if you think yor blog is above the fray don't do it. Simple.
Can't blame them for trying something to update their business model. WTOL and its ilk may be the future of news in the local area, as paper news subscribers die or move away. Younger people think it's ludicrous to go anywhere but online to find out anything. They have no special fondness or relationship with pieces of paper (and that includes printed books). They do not sit obediently in front of the TV, waiting for the news to come on at preappointed times. Why not get people like them to provide "news" and notices for each other online?
There are already hundreds of thousands of people blabbing away on social media sites for free. If a content creator is willing to trade the work of doing thoughtful, regular posts for the idea of fame (or wider exposure), more power to them! Check out the book/movie reviews on Amazon for good examples: many people are posting under their own names, promoting themselves as experts in certain areas. They know their content is benefitting someone else's bottom line. They seem perfectly happy to go on that way with no remuneration.
For the record, I'm still wallowing in the dark ages: I read several newspapers in paper form and hardly ever watch TV news.
One of the bloggers I read regularly posted this link on Twitter this morning: Is Writing Online Without Pay Worth It?
This was the sentiment behind why I initially posted my concerns. I know several freelancers who have said that it's getting harder and harder to get decent pay for their writing.
I believe this will be no different than thier "see it, shoot it, send it" that they do with photography where they own it and can sell it if they like. If if they do not sell it they will sell ad space on the site and who will benefit from that not the content providers.
This is nothing more than big or in this case small media trying to cheap down another profession writers as they have done with photographers and videographers.
If you are truly a writer then I say boycott this if you are a part timer who writes or does photography on the side as because you enjoy it and you have another job that pays the bills I say still don't do it. How would you like it if I came to your place of employment and offered to do your job for free just say thank you from your boss afterwards will be fine.