The image that accompanies this post is a screen grab of a deleted post from the Huffington Post which promoted the non employee strike  The absence of the image almost increases the call for action- aching void of the screen with the declarative caption says “viva la revolution!”   Several days ago I received an email from my longtime editor and respected colleague Bill Lasarow, venting his frustrations about the Huffington Post.  Since the summer of 2010 Visual Art Source and Art Scene have re-posted exclusive and paid editorial content on the Huffington Post without seeing a single penny in return… and that all stops now.  As a subscriber to the Visual Art Source newsletter I received this email yesterday declaring the state of the non-employee strike from the Huffington Post.  Here is a copy of the email transmission:

On Strike from the Huffington Post

When we were invited to become a Huffington Post blogger last year I understood that the company paid nothing. We surveyed our writers’ reaction to assess their willingness to have their material reposted there for no additional pay. Visual Art Source, ArtScene and art ltd. (http://www.visualartsource.com) form an umbrella art publishing company that is actually quite large by the standards of our very specialized field. The tens of thousands of readers and online users that we boast, however, are miniscule compared to the 26 million visitors per month that the Huffington Post currently draws.

Yet we are now going on strike. For now, at least, no more content from us will appear on the Huffington Post.

And just like the corporate titans of the American Right, it would come as no surprise if Ms. Huffington, whom I am certain has a good heart and only the best intentions, were to assume the obvious position: Who needs these people anyway?  They are not even employees.

Nonetheless, we shall remain on strike until these two demands are met.  First, a pay schedule must be proposed and steps initiated to implement it for all contributing writers and bloggers. Second, paid promotional material must no longer be posted alongside editorial content; a press release or exhibition catalogue essay is fundamentally different from editorial content and must be either segregated and indicated as such, or not published at all.

I am also calling upon all others now contributing free content, particularly original content to the Huffington Post to also join us in this strike.

We think it is incumbent upon the many writers and bloggers to form a negotiating partnership with Huffington/AOL in order to pursue these and other important matters so as to professionalize this relationship. 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.

It is unethical to expect trained and qualified professionals to contribute quality content for nothing. It is unethical to cannibalize the investment of other organizations who bear the cost of compensation and other overhead without payment for the usage of their content. It is extremely unethical to not merely blur but eradicate the distinction between the independent and informed voice of news and opinion and the voice of a shill.

None of this is illegal, only unethical and oh so very hypocritical, so Ms Huffington if you insist do carry on, by all means. However we are taking this action, with the full knowledge of our contributing writers and editors, in the belief that your better angels will enable you to do the right thing. We stand ready to provide whatever helpful input we can.

- Bill Lasarow
Publisher and Co-Editor

In my own dealings with the editors at the Post I have found them to be rather unpredictable- rejecting content that they deemed more “catalogue” than editorial, while they happily accept press releases from PR agencies.  I looked the other way when I was not allowed to re-post content that I had been paid to write even if explicitly stated at the bottom of the article that the content had appeared in another publication.  I have seen other bloggers do this, and more power to them but the Huff Po picks their battles and attack certain writers like leeches.   In the beginning I was so blinded by the opportunity to blog for the Huffington Post, that I blissfully looked past the idiosyncrasies, and of course the fact that I was not getting paid.  For some reason being a blogger for the site had some cache at dinner parties, which I found disappointing as I believe that my editorial contributions to other publications are more worthy.  In truth being a blogger for the Post is fairly respectable but not unique.  I couldn’t even tell you how many registered bloggers there are as the index reads like an encyclopedia.    The site has transformed from a pseudo grass-roots-opinion-symposium, to one that is now owned by a corporate media giant that will do anything to get their hands on more content.   Without paying a single writer!

I replied to Bill’s first email explaining that I was perfectly content not having my content from Visual Art Source and Art Scene re-posted because the Post has no respect for their writers, which is why I stopped writing for them in the first place.  Here is the real question to consider here- if you put original content on the Huffington Post site for the chance of exposure, you are also being exploited and left empty handed with your pants at your ankles.     It’s your choice.  I’m am an art writer and I feel more protected in this niche market place having my content live on Visual Art Source and my own website.  Until we see the day the that Post will agree to pay their non-employee writers and make a clear distinction between press release and editorial content, I am on Bill’s corner.  In the meantime though I do find it rather remarkable to see writers and publishers standing up for what they believe in and fight against the indecencies which have plagued our craft for too long.  Make no mistake.  The written word is not free.  Don’t even let a media monger sweep you off your feet and convince you otherwise.

To congratulate his efforts, here are a few articles which appeared today regarding the strike:

David Ng bylines the following story on the HuffPost strike action:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/arts-writers-declare-strike-against-huffington-post-1.html

Mary Abbe at the Minneapolis Star Tribune posted the following, essentially an intro followed by a quoted portion of our statement:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/arts-writers-declare-strike-against-huffington-post-1.html

The Raw Story of Boston has included us in the Newspaper Guild “package”; for the day they made the story their headline piece on their home page:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/28/arianna-huffington-urged-to-end-exploitation-of-journalists/

Also, here is an article published by the Guardian of London on Sunday; it does not include our contribution, but describes examples that indicate we are hardly alone; the Newspaper Guild has taken its own action:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/27/arianna-huffington-post-aol-deal