Hearst to Inflate Content With Helium

It looks like Hearst newspapers will be hiring lifestyle writers through Helium, the online forum where writers can bid for work.

Hearst will follow what I understand to be the usual practice of putting stories on various topics out for competitive bid, having writers submit content through the site, then picking the best stories and paying the writers for them.

According to the article, "Hearst executives say the deal will enable its newspapers to provide local content at a lower cost than using staff resources." Well, duh. Freelancers cost less than staff and freelancers trying to underbid other freelancers are cheaper still.

I'm not a huge fan of Helium or other online bidding sites. While they may (possibly) be a way for freelance writers to generate their first clips, I don't see them as viable resources for experienced writers. Writing on spec and submitting your article with a cut-rate bid hardly seems like the best way to earn a living. After all, spec stories take time to write. Good spec stories take even more time. And after all that work, you have to seek payment low enough to beat out competitors--many of whom will probably be newcomers, willing to work for peanuts. On the whole, it doesn't provide me a huge incentive to use them.

In a statement, Lincoln Millstein, senior vice president for digital media at Hearst, said: "Hearst is proud to be a pioneer in leveraging new models that will transform the newspaper industry. Sourcing Helium's top-notch writers will allow us to continue to deliver superior local and lifestyle content to our readers while also taking the necessary steps to get our costs in line with today's economic realities."

My interpretation: "Hearst will be happy to use freelancers who are willing to be grossly underpaid as part of a new business model for the newspaper industry. In order to save the newspaper business, financial sacrifices must be made. And if we can get our writers to make those sacrifices, that suits us just fine."

Seems to me like a pretty raw deal for freelancers. Feel free to express your views one way or the other on this. Other than providing a low-paying entry into freelance writing, can anyone recommend Helium as a source of work? While this arrangement might "transform the newspaper industry," would it do so to the detriment of writers?