A new breed of foreign correspondents?

by Getty Images via DaylifeA new company called Global Post has given themselves the mission of reviving the foreign correspondents for American media, here reported by Mediashift at PBS. I used to be one of those classic foreign correspondents, have reported about their decline and cannot wait till we see on Monday what the results will be of this new venture.
In short, traditional media have been reducing costs for foreign reporting dramatically, starting in the US in the 1980s, followed by the European media at the end of the 1990s and beginning of this century. The current financial crisis will put more strain on the fast melting away traditional media, making the position of foreign correspondents even more troublesome.
China for example has now an unprecedented number of foreign correspondents, but their position is incomparable to the recent past. They are partly economic refugees from a declining industry in other parts of the world and most certainly have to work under conditions and against payments that in most cases do not allow a sustainable livelihood. The number of quasi-volunteers, supported by well-paid partners or by a real day job has exploded. A few of the well-established media, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Washington Post and New York Times still offer their correspondents a decent package, but even in the case of the New York Times we have to see if they will survive the coming spring.
I have my doubts if the Global Post will survive. Their business model is untested and I have severe doubts whether there is enough money in the market to realize that ambition.
For potential correspondents the payment is neither offering much opportunity, writes Mediashift:

To stay lean, GlobalPost is not giving correspondents the Johnny Jones expense account from days of yore. Instead, they pay them about $1,000 per month (according to a Forbes report) along with a stake in the GlobalPost startup. The correspondents are on long-term contracts, so they can depend on that monthly stipend for some of their income, but they are expected to file weekly 800-word text reports with photos or video reports and are encouraged to blog in their Reporter's Notebooks.

That might still pay your rent in Shanghai, most certainly not in Tokyo and Hong Kong, now the US dollar has lost that much of its value. And then you still have to make a living. While mean and lean is perhaps a way for the organization to survive, it offers few opportunities for both foreign correspondents and foreign correspondence.

Commercial
So, now foreign correspondents are less and less able to tell you what is happening on the ground in China, the China Speakers Bureau can offer yoTom Doctoroff
by Fons1 via Flickru an alternative. Our well-placed speakers can tell you where China is heading. Do get in touch when you need them.

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