The Arena Group is looking for writers posted on Indeed

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   Kenna McHughposted 4 months ago

   Since TAG is not transparent, here is some information about TAG looking to hire a writer:
   
   "The Arena Group is seeking a freelance Commerce Writer to contribute to our daily commerce content across our portfolio of brands, including Men’s Journal, The Street, Parade, and more. The ideal candidate will have experience in creating commerce content for a range of lifestyle topics, including style, home goods, consumer electronics. Responsibilities will include pitching daily stories to the commerce editors, writing new stories and updating and optimizing evergreen content. The ideal candidate has experience writing commerce content in a high-volume, fast-paced environment, including news and trends pieces as well as long-form evergreen roundups.
   
   This is a freelance position with competitive hourly rates commensurate with experience. Our expected hourly pay rate is $25 - $35 per hour."

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      bravewarriorposted 4 months agoin reply to this

      Interesting, Kenna!

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         Kenna McHughposted 4 months agoin reply to this

         Yes. We can see where TAG is going.

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      TAG has mishandled HubPages badly for years.                                            How would she dare this new venture well? It's a smoke screen...a baby smoke screen.

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   Genna Eastposted 4 months ago

   Interesting, Kenna, thank you.  My apologies for showing my ignorance concerning TAG, but what does this mean?
   
   "Responsibilities will include pitching daily stories to the commerce editors, writing new stories and updating and optimizing evergreen content."

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      bravewarriorposted 4 months agoin reply to this

      It means all articles will have to be pitched and accepted before any compensation will be considered. TAG is creating online magazines and are apparently adopting the same practices print magazines use. Authors will need to pitch their idea(s) to the editors. If accepted, they'll write their stories, which will also need to be accepted in order to be printed and funded. But the job description also makes it sound like there will be some editing/updating of existing articles as well.

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         Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

         Whose responsibilities would this editing/updating of content be? The editor or freelance contributor? The schedule of duties seems dulish.

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      Kenna McHughposted 4 months agoin reply to this

      It's a freelance position, so I suspect it does not guarantee stable work. The 25 to 35 dollar range is an estimate. The job description is so vast, with many tasks, that I suspect the TAG team is unsure what the writer will do.

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         bravewarriorposted 4 months agoin reply to this

         I agree with you, Kenna. It seems to me they should have more than one job posting. One for a writer and one for an editor. I wonder what their application process is. Do they give a test as many of the freelance positions posted by companies on LinkedIn do? What exactly IS their application process? I don't guess we'd know until someone actually applies and comes back to tell us.

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            Kenna McHughposted 4 months agoin reply to this

            Shauna,
            
            I don't respond to postings like these because they are not definite.

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               bravewarriorposted 4 months agoin reply to this

               Was it posted on LinkedIn? Where did you see the post?

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                  Kenna McHughposted 4 months agoin reply to this

                  Indeed https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=4d950f2572293540

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   Venkatachari Mposted 4 months ago

   I hope pitching means batting for their content or stories to be accepted and published in their magazines. The content writer needs this additional skill to convince the editors.

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   Genna Eastposted 4 months ago

   Thank you for the feedback, Shauna.  And I agree, Kenna.  The position sounds a bit vague.  And $25-$35 per hour does not sound very enticing or definitive in terms of how and when this will be assessed and compensated.

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      bravewarriorposted 4 months agoin reply to this

      Genna, the bigger question is, IF!

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   Rupert Taylorposted 4 months ago

   Being a bit of a simpleton I wondered what "commerce content" is.
   
   I get this definition: "Commerce content is a strategic partnership between brands and media to create unique shopping experiences for consumers." Decoded, that's what we used to call in the magazine trade "Puff pieces."
   
   The sales staff would try to get the editorial staff to write a sympathetic article about a client they were trying to get to advertise. Writers would scream in outrage at the suggestion as if asked to sell their sisters to a bordello. Hence, the other name for this type of skullduggery - hookers.
   
   Back in the day, when there were still a few ethical standards in publishing, this sort of thing was deeply frowned upon.
   
   And, $25 an hour in a freelance position? Cheap, Cheap, Cheap. They might find someone desperate enough but they won't get quality.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Yes, commerce content is essentially an advert written to resemble a "real" article.
      
      Print publishing had centuries to develop standards. When the internet came along, all those standards flew out of the window.
      
      There's now a reaction to the harm that social media causes to individuals and society generally, but it's taken years and it could take many more before the issues are acted upon and solved.
      
      Goodness knows what will happen with the coming AI revolution. My feeling is that we'll be fighting a losing battle, always reacting and never being proactive.

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