Outsourcing Idiocy

Washington Post today carried a fantastically funny piece by Gene Weingarten. The article mocks the concept of outsourcing journalism, an issue brought to fore by a California on-line newspaper PASADENA NOW, a community newspaper. The logic of it's owner James Macphereson is simple-"Whether you're at a desk in Pasadena or a desk in Mumbai, you're still just a phone call or e-mail away from the interview". (Source)

The jounalists are to report on the basis of webcasts of Pasadena City Council meetings.

That it is a community newspaper and hence needs someone who is connected with local issues notwithstanding, he beleives that "it could be a significant way to increase the quality of journalism on the local level without the expense that is a major problem for local publications".

Macphereson runs the website from his house, his main help being his wife and an intern.

Giggles galore on reading Weingarten's story. Here's an excerpt -

CHENNAI, INDIA -- A man whose name is, I swear, "Somnath Chatterjee,"
addressed the state legislature here today. Mr. Chatterjee was introduced as the
leader of the "Lok Sabha," which is evidently some sort of important national
lawmaking body about which few details are available at this time.

He goes on...

It was not immediately evident what Dr. Haminahamina's points were, but he
yammered on for quite a while, through many fast-forwards, until, finally, he
stopped, and the desk-thumping resumed. Another guy in white arrived with an
enormous colorful silk tablecloth. An apparently horrified Mr. Chatterjee put
his palms together in prayer and bowed his head meekly, but it was to no avail,
as the tablecloth was draped over him, anyway.

UPDATE: Reuters has decided to outsource hundreds of it's jobs to India (Link). I'm keeping my options open.

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