Pasadena Now

History

In April 2004 James Macpherson founded the news site Pasadena Now. Three years later, Macpherson hired two writers from India off of Craigslist to report for his website*.* One person living in Mumbai was offered $12,000 annually and another living Bangalore was offered $7,200 annually to watch live stream broadcasts of city council meetings and write up articles. Macpherson announced plans to hire more overseas reporters who would also re-write emailed press releases. Some local journalists and journalism professors were dismayed by the plan.

Macpherson referred to the practice of outsourcing local reporting to international workers as "glocal" part of a broader “newspaperless” strategy that is more cost-effective. By 2008, he and his wife Candice Merrill had fired his seven Pasadena staffers, including five reporters, and replaced them with Indians. One editor at The Pasadena Star-News called the practice “nutty.” A columnist at the Los Angeles Times saw the reporting as lacking nuance or depth, but harmless.

In 2012, Macpherson founded a business called Journtent, which pays writers, mostly living in the Philippines and Mexico, to watch and transcribe livestreams of community meetings for newspapers.

References

References

1. Nevius, C.W.. (May 20, 2007). "Outsourcing to India for reporters / Web site to cover Pasadena council news from overseas". [[SFGate]].
2. (11 May 2007). "US journalism outsourced to India". The Age.
3. Pham, Alex. (May 11, 2007). "Local reporting is outsourced to India". Los Angeles Times.
4. Sheffield, Hazel. "Pasadena publisher launches a system for outsourcing local news".
5. Report, Staff. (2008-12-08). "'Glocal' news: I can see the future and I'm not in it".
6. (November 30, 2008). "A Penny for My Thoughts?".
7. Maureen, Dowd. (November 29, 2008). "Opinion {{!}} A Penny for My Thoughts?". The New York Times.
8. Rasiney, James. (December 7, 2008). "Outsourced reporting? Not likely to be a threat". The Los Angeles Times.
9. Sheffield, Hazel. "Pasadena publisher launches a system for outsourcing local news".