As an editor for a small college newspaper, I recognize that it would be virtually impossible for me to critique online mass publications like Odyssey, Her Campus, Society19 and Spoon University without sounding at least a little bitter. I’m doing it anyway, however, because upon examining the structures and priorities of these organizations, I’ve found their values both clear and concerning. I won’t bother to scrutinize the generally poor quality of writing or the often pointless content of these publications because, frankly, no one cares, and it doesn’t matter.
It does matter, however, that we understand how these publications compensate their staff. Odyssey hires for three editorial positions through their online portal: editor-in-chief, contributing editor and content creator. Once applications have been processed and accepted through the web, the editorial team must fulfill sets of criteria at varying levels in order to earn incremental compensation. Payment at the lowest level is dubbed “Proficient” and requires that an Odyssey chapter reaches 75,000 views, employs at least 13 writers per week, has a gender ratio no greater than 85:15 among its staff and produces content that is at least 10% currently relevant. For “Premium” status, these figures must meet or exceed 200,00 views, 15 writers, < 70:30 gender ratio and 15% relevancy, and the “Elite” level requires 500,000 views, 20 writers, < 60:40 gender ratio and 30% relevancy. Most interestingly, if an Odyssey chapter reaches only its pre-determined number of page views but fails to meet all other requirements, the editor-in-chief still receives 75% of their paycheck. Other contributors receive no compensation. Brooke Safferman, Editor-in-Chief of Conn’s Odyssey chapter, confirms these numbers.
Though Odyssey’s pay structure is the most openly complex of these publications, it is not the only one to use these manipulative tactics to increase its audience. Society19, for example, advertises itself as a “paid writing opportunity” and promises $50 per writer for a minimum of only two articles written each month. There’s a catch, however; Society19 writers get paid only during the months when their chapter of the publication receives the most page views out of all Society19 chapters. This means that out of all the schools that participate in Society19, only one per month gets paid. This incentivization program is brand-new—like Society19 itself—and therefore, Conn students have yet to be paid.
Her Campus and Spoon University differ from Odyssey and Society19 in this regard, because their writers at Conn are unpaid, regardless of the site traffic they draw. This is not the case for all Her Campus writers, however; Campus Correspondent Susannah Alfred clarifies that Her Campus writers who are employed by the national office receive compensation, but the website’s writers at Conn respond only to their chapter and, therefore, receive no payment. Spoon University marks an even more extreme case, as students who wish to write for Spoon University must pay a $25 member fee.
At these publications, then, payment ranges from conditional compensation to negative figures. As this makes for relatively low production costs, profit possibilities are high, as demonstrated by the more successful and well-established of these publications, Odyssey and Her Campus. In an Aug. 2015 interview for PR Week, Odyssey Managing Editor Kate Waxler claims that with nearly 5,000 weekly articles published and chapters at almost 300 colleges, “[Odyssey] revenue will grow fivefold this year.” Waxler attributes this prosperity to Odyssey’s partnership with brands like Mountain Dew, Verizon, State Farm and Schick Hydro, which she describes as “wanting to use our community to harness a Millennial audience.” Similarly, Her Campus, lauded by Bizwomen as “a media company profitable from day one,” owes its success to “brands like Chobani, Victoria’s Secret and TRESemmé [which] are anxious to get in front of female college students,” site founder Windsor Hanger Western notes.
To me, a student who one day hopes to write in some capacity for a living, these companies appear deeply exploitative. They target college students eager—at times even desperate—for publication and employment opportunities; they incentivize them with promises of payment or recognition, and they use student work to satisfy their advertisers. Because of this structure, they value page views over quality of content. And while sure, nearly all publications use advertisements to survive—as this one does—we should consider the nature and influence of said advertisers. I want to write for a paper or magazine, not for Schick or Victoria’s Secret.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about writing, it’s this: no one who isn’t a writer himself actually wants to read or hear about writing. And that’s okay, because we don’t write to talk about the fact that we do it; we write just to write. Sometimes, though, issues of writing intersect with those of the real world, and I perceive this to be one of those cases.
Big business has taken our local shops, restaurants and farms. We can’t let it take our words, too. •
