Henry Blodget offered the most optimistic point-of-view among our interviewees with regard to the state of modern journalism. His basic premise is that there has never been more good information available to readers; that the web has, in fact, created a “golden age” of journalism. Bill Keller offers a more nuanced perspective in his New York Times column today, focusing specifically on foreign reporting. One of the issues, he suggests, is the growing role of freelance journalists:

The problem with the cutbacks in professional foreign coverage is not just the loss of experience and wisdom. It’s the rise of — and exploitation of — the Replacements, a legion of freelancers, often untrained and too often unsupported. They gravitate to the bang-bang, because that’s what editors and broadcast producers will pay for. And chances are that nobody has their backs.

He goes on to suggest that freelancers are often exploited, sometimes ripped off. In this context, he refers to a “freelancer in Yemen” and links to a page  to “name and shame” news organizations that don’t pay their freelance talent. The link points to a broken page, but more important, that journalist is Iona Craig. Iona can be found on a fascinating new “platform” called “Beacon” that is designed to help with some of the issues Keller identifies in his very good column; most importantly, the one about getting paid. Beacon may not be the ultimate solution to the Riptide, but it’s a step in the right direction.