Bongo and the writers at www.springfieldvermont.org have recently had funny, odd, but ultimately scary run-ins with "news aggregator" and "content collector" types posing as "news organs, periodicals or papers" of different sorts, always armed with a bizarre combination of 1) mindlessly over-the-top praise, and 2) unethical contracts to sign replete with burdensome and unfair clauses.
It has been amazing to see - are these what they call carpet baggers? - predators?
Why aren't they hiring the real Journalists who have lost jobs now that real Newspapers are disappearing? What happens to real Journalism now? Have you really looked at some of the new zombie-newspapers popping up all around like mushrooms?
Why aren't they hiring from the vast rafts of drifting Real Reporters and Journalists clogging the mountain rivers and streams?
Is a collection of content, if it is assembled using less than ethical business practices, and primarily as a vehicle for advertising, really a newspaper at all?
Is a contract that imposes unreasonable burdens on one party, entirely to the benefit of another, is it really an enforceable contract with any value for either party?
Bongo thinks we need to find a new name for the things characterized by unethical business practices that are replacing Real Newspapers!
Comments? Suggestions? Thanks!
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