International Business Times UK is facing sharp criticism from contributors over its unpaid internship programme and a revenue share scheme for freelance writers.
One freelance said that they were told a 782-word article had accrued possible earnings for them of $2.62. And a former intern said they paid $9,000 themselves to a third-party agency to spend eight weeks working (unpaid) in the IB Times London office.
US-based IB Times publishes online editions around the world and in 2015 boasted a 60-strong London-based newsroom. But in 2018, Press Gazette reported that most UK staff were being made redundant as the US and UK editorial teams were merged.
A freelance journalist who recently had a feature published by IB Times UK as part of its “contributor program” described how all freelance writers were expected to pitch stories in a Telegram group chat, and they felt the performance-based pay system was unclear.
Antonia Haynes, 33, said that communication from editors concerning payment had been “non-existent” after her feature “The Success of The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act: Why It Matters For The Film Industry” was published on 16 June.
“It’s silence, radio silence” said Haynes, who works from home in Kent, “they’re hardly paying anything as it is, and even then they don’t want to [pay it].” Haynes later added: “the only thing I got is ‘we’ll pay you when it’s worth $50.’”
On 27 July, Haynes told Press Gazette that her 782-word article had accrued $2.62 in potential pay for her, a figure which she said had been frozen since June 18: “Overall it was 2,716 impressions, 345 page views, and I made $2.62 – they’ve only got three days’ worth [on record].”
Haynes added that, under IBT’s payment rules, she wouldn’t be eligible to withdraw her earnings until the article had accrued $50 of revenue. The National Union of Journalists’ freelance fees guide suggests a rate of £300 per 1,000 words for online writing.
“I feel really, really angry” Haynes added. “I feel like there’s such a lack of respect for what writing is at the moment in this industry.”
Reading from an internal message, Haynes said: “As the contributor program is currently in a pilot stage, we don’t yet have a fixed rate per article or a strict payment calculation model in place. Instead, compensation is assessed more broadly, based on how articles perform overall rather than a guaranteed amount of per click or per view.”
Having worked as a writer for close to a decade, Haynes felt pressured to take on work for IBT after losing a long-term job and facing difficulty securing new work. This drove her to ignore her unease over taking an unpaid writing test and using Telegram for work communication: “It was desperation on my part, I’m not ashamed to admit.”
She continued: “I assumed it would be like my other freelance writer jobs – you write an article, and you get paid a specified amount per piece of work. It wasn’t until I pressed for more information that they revealed [the payment structure]. There was some discourse about it in the Telegram Group, there were people that were not happy.”
Press Gazette understands that the contributor program at IB Times was put on hold at the start of September. Prior to this, contributors had their ability to send messages to the group chat suspended.
Press Gazette also spoke to a former unpaid intern at IB Times UK’s office in Canary Wharf, who described working for the firm as “humiliating on a bunch of different axis”.
The intern, who asked to remain anonymous, said they had paid $9,000 to a US-based agency to be placed on an eight-week journalism internship. The payment also covered accommodation and four social events.
Their work for IB Times included writing articles for the site and conducting vox-pop style street interviews with members of the public. They were not paid for their time or work as an intern.
The intern said: “Normally if you volunteer you do it for something you care about, and that’s the reward. If not, you get money as a reward. But this is humiliating because you’re sitting in the middle of the spectrum getting nothing, and you’re not particularly happy about these articles you’re being asked to write either.”
They said the articles they were asked to write felt like “clickbait”, and they noted that they and other interns appeared to form the majority of on-site staff. The intern said that editors were only present online.
They said: “I think the nature of these unpaid internships is very dubious – these interns are not doing supernumerary work, they’re doing work that employees would be expected to do.”
Layla Bunni is head of employment at London-based law firm Clintons. Speaking with Press Gazette, Bunni said: “You can have unpaid internships so long as the interns are shadowing or genuinely observing rather than carrying out work. Once they start undertaking productive work for the organisation, they are likely to qualify as a worker and should be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.”
The intern added that they were “spending tons per day” on travel and living expenses.
They said: “I was already feeling this grief with the financial element – it just felt gross. You’re like ‘if the company is good and the experience is good I can justify it’.”
The intern also noted that they were asked to use their own personal laptop for work.
Like freelance Antonia Haynes, the intern at IBT UK’s office felt pressured to take on the role due to the tough jobs market: “At first, I think I had it in my head that this is what you do when you’re starting out”
They added: “The job market is awful. There are no opportunities – that’s all you get as a graduate right now. I was angry at myself that I put myself in this situation. This should not be happening on so many levels.”
IB Times UK told Press Gazette that it does not receive payment for taking interns and follows legal guidance on unpaid placements, adding that some interns are involved in producing work for eventual publication. It views its UK Contributor Programme as a platform for experts, writers, and industry professionals to contribute, and says that contributors receive 50 per cent of net advertising revenue with a $50 minimum threshold.
IB Times UK says that IT, sales, marketing and social media teams work out of its Canary Wharf office, while editorial staff all work remotely and, as such, manage interns on a remote basis. It says interns receive guidance from the on-site social media team. It adds that former interns have progressed to full time and senior roles.
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