Saturday, April 03, 2010

Is this the end of New Media?

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the government is cracking down on unpaid internships. The department of labor are afraid that companies are replacing qualified paid workers with unpaid students.
From the NYT article:
“We’ve had cases where unpaid interns really were displacing workers and where they weren’t being supervised in an educational capacity,” said Bob Estabrook, spokesman for Oregon’s labor department. 

 This investigation has send shivers down the spines of new media companies. "How can we produce a full TV show for a website when we have to pay the crew?" Asked Carl "with a 'k'" Boomet from a leading production company and coffee shop. "Free labor is the only way we can meet impossible budgets. Our country was built on the backs of free labor. It worked out for us. If you excuse me, I have to teach an intern how to make Frapacinos."

1 comment:

Mary said...

Contrary to Boomet's claim, I'd have to say it doesn't always work out for everyone. I've heard horror stories of interns forgetting to restock the fridge with DC's. Yikes!