Craig Silverman of BuzzFeed writes about how the Australian version of the International Business Times is produced by writers in the Philippines.
Silverman writes, “But a review of IBT Australia’s website by BuzzFeed News found that its Australian news content is actually being produced by writers in the Philippines, and the address listed for its Australian office is occupied by people who say they don’t work for the company.
“In response to detailed questions about the operation of IBT Australia, the company issued a brief statement to BuzzFeed News to say that management in the US is ‘currently assuming control’ over the Australian edition. (IBT Media is part of the Newsweek Media Group, which operates the longstanding Newsweek magazine, as well as other properties.)
“‘IBT has recently taken significant steps to organise all of our media properties around a unified global vision,’ read the statement.
“‘As part of this process, our management team in New York is currently assuming control of the IBT Australia site — which was previously managed under a franchise arrangement — and implementing a new strategy whereby small offshore teams of reporters provide overnight coverage in support of much larger teams of journalists in New York and London.’
“In a subsequent statement, the company reiterated that leadership in New York took over the Australian edition months ago, and that this was not in response to inquiries from BuzzFeed News.”
Read more here.
