Visual Art Source publisher Bill Lasarow has stopped posting his publication’s content on The Huffington Post until the online site changes two key policies: “a pay schedule must be proposed and steps initiated to implement it for all contributing writers and bloggers” and “paid promotional material must no longer be posted alongside editorial content.”
Follow this link to see the long list of content Lasarow and Visual Art Source have added to the popular site for free. Lasarow also called for other writers to fight for a “negotiating partnership” with The Huffington Post now that AOL has acquired the company. Do you think collective action help writers earn a living online?
Here’s more from the article: “It is not entirely Ms Huffington’s fault that so many talented professionals have been willing to accept the company’s terms on an ‘in kind’ basis. Surely most do so in the hopes of achieving their own fame and fortune thanks to the great exposure that Huffington Post potentially offers. Unfortunately, such participants are only complicit in a relationship that fails the ethical smell test. And those who are already nationally known figures who will never need to be concerned about pay scales, shame on you, you should know better.”