Moviefone offers freelancers the chance to work for free
Kara Swisher, quoting then Moviefone Editor-in-Chief Patricia Chui:
“We will, indeed, be moving away from a freelancer model and toward one relying on full-time staffers. Sometime soon-–this week, I believe–-many of you will be receiving an email informing you that your services as a freelancer will no longer be required. You will be invited to contribute as part of our non-paid blogger system; and though I know that for many of you this will not be an option financially, I strongly encourage you to consider it if you’d like to keep writing for us, because we value all of your voices and input.”
You may remember Chui from the whole Moviefone / TechCrunch boondoggle over Source Code last month. This time, though, AOL fired Chui. I don’t want to applaud someone’s firing but I can’t say I’m surprised or upset — both incidents are totally unprofessional moves on Chui’s part.
It’s a simple formula, really: pay people for their time and hard work. When has that not worked?