I had initially planned to blog about something else, but I need to get at least one post up about NowGamer’s competition where you can win a job which won’t give you any money. If you (somehow) missed it, they are holding a competition to see who gets to give Imagine Publishing content. For free. This from a professional publication and not an amateur site. It’s despicable enough that they are asking people to give them content without any compensation, calling it a competition in an attempt to make it look like it’s a boon to the writer makes the whole thing even worse.
I don’t think I can add much to the debate after John Walker’s summary of the whole thing, though. “Servants get paid. This is a position below servant” as he puts it. Also make sure to check the comments, both on Walker’s blog and on the official competition post.
If you’re dreaming about a career in games journalism, make sure you are never taken advantage of. Most of us have. It absolutely sucks. It might not suck the moment you accept that unpaid position, but trust me – one day you will wake up and realize that you’re being treated like crap, that your employers are devaluing you and your work.
Amateur websites that never see any form of cash flow are of course not included.
