By abandoning this core competency, and laying off local journalists in the process, local papers are writing their own obituaries… Or will they have some fake reporter abroad do that, too?

Journatic’s entire business plan is based on the concept that remote outsourcing of writers from lowest-cost foreign countries will offer a substitute for local reporters with real contact with sources in the community at the lowest possible cost. Journatic’s “automatic” actions not only disprove that such quality checks could happen, they actually demonstrate clearly that the company’s culture ensures that they will NEVER happen.

Bogus, Anglicized bylines to hide the fact that reporters and initial copy edits are actually happening in the Philippines. Manufactured quotes to fill in when local quotes of “local sources” when contact through hidden overseas long-distance phone patches, cannot be obtained.

When you pay the lowest possible cost for talent that is disconnected from the local market and will never have to answer to local residents, you get shoddy results. Admittedly at the lowest possible cost, but shoddy nonetheless. Journatic actively sets itself up to hide its own truth in its business processes, so what makes anyone think it has any interest in reporting truths for its local newspaper clients?

And to the commenter above who related Journatic as an equivalent to legitimate wire services like the AP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, there is very little, if any, similarity. Those wire services are designed to bring news from around the world to local newspapers. That’s an entirely different thing than finding the lowest-cost writers from anywhere in the world to bring local news to readers from remote locations with no access to the local community. Journatic’s business model is NOTHING like a legitimate wire service. It’s disingenuous, and perhaps self-serving, for you to assert that it is.

The core advantage newspapers have is telling readers what is important (and what isn’t) – an important value addition, given the rate at which consumers are getting exposed to news and content in general. In this scenario, its important that newspapers continue to focus on their core (like Shafqat mentions) and look at partnering for others. Cost is a factor (which will invariably get addressed) but it will bring a newspaper publisher much needed optimization and ‘leanness’ in operations.

Specifically to Journatic – ensuring standards is an operational issue and can be overcome. As their service matures, such issues can be addressed through stringent checks.