Dailies Outsourcing the News to FIU Students

Three months after The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post decided to hop into bed in a story sharing menage-a-trois, they've decided they've liked it so much they're gonna put a ring on it. And then this unholy union is going to gay adopt FIU journalism students, so they can basically do free work for them. The three dailies are setting up "The South Florida News Service." The journalistic sweat shop will be run out of FIU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and students will be responsible for writing print and digital stories. 

From Editor & Publisher:

"This is going to be much more than an internship," Richards said. "For the students, it will provide not only a whole new level of education, but a whole new level of experience in journalism." And with all of South Florida's newsrooms hit by layoffs, he added, "It not only supplements what the newspaper needs -- it's a great practicum for the students."

The extension to a news service of FIU student journalists was a natural one, Maucker said. All three editors are long-time members of the FIU j-school's Leadership Council, and meet with its dean, faculty, and students on a regular basis. Maucker is the current chairman of the council.

"We already have Sun Sentinel bylines in the Herald, Miami Herald bylines in the Sun Sentinel and the Post, and we (editors) all got together and decided that since we already have this affiliation with FIU, what better way to have new voices reporting?" Maucker said.

How fun for these FIU students that they'll be able to get real life journalistic experience, only to graduate and find that neither of these three papers or much of anyone else is going to hire them, because they have a fresh new pool of free labor coming up behind them.

--Kyle Munzenrieder