The International Business Times UK is facing sharp criticism from contributors over its unpaid internship program and a revenue share scheme for freelance writers, reports Jamie Richards of Press Gazette.
Richards reports, “One freelance said that they were told a 782-word article had accrued possible earnings for them of $2.62. And a former intern said they paid $9,000 themselves to a third-party agency to spend eight weeks working (unpaid) in the IB Times London office.
“US-based IB Times publishes online editions around the world and in 2015 boasted a 60-strong London-based newsroom. But in 2018, Press Gazette reported that most UK staff were being made redundant as the US and UK editorial teams were merged.
“A freelance journalist who recently had a feature published by IB Times UK as part of its ‘contributor program’ described how all freelance writers were expected to pitch stories in a Telegram group chat, and they felt the performance-based pay system was unclear.”
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