Kay and Kumar go to Colombia

Medellin, COLOMBIA -- As I mentioned in a previous post, despite our offices being located smack dab in the middle of Colombia's second-largest city, the bulk of Colombia Reports' work could be done from anywhere in the world. Part of it is choice: we get Spanish news into English fast. But most of it is resources: we have three writers, one who does only sports.

This isn't the long-term plan. Adriaan's goal, albeit distant, is that the site supplements our swift news feed with original reporting (beyond our new, all-original travel section). Yet for now we mostly translate, compile and summarize. In fact, sometimes, when we're rushed and don't see any value in doing our own version, we lift English-language wire stories. It was doing just that a few days ago that I realized we're not so different from the big boys.

It was the day we'd launched our new website. Eager to cram it with brand new content, we were working hard into the afternoon. My story count, including three that were accidentally lost, was at eight or so. So, when word came that Colombia's state-owned oil company had made its first Wall Street offering, I was happy to see there was a Reuters article available. (After all, for business stories -- peso movements, oil drilling -- we often turn to the British wire service or Bloomberg.) I dragged from just past the dateline to the final sentence. In the credit line, I read, to my shock: "(Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)." Reuters, one of the largest, most respected wire services in the world, reports on Colombia from Bangalore, India.

Not that this is news. The fire started with Pasadena Now, who last May unabashedly announced city council meetings would henceforth be reported from, well, the other side of the world. They were followed in June by the Orange County Register, a paper that has actually picked up a handful of Pulitzer prizes over the years, announced an Indian firm would take over some copyediting duties. And while the pair caught a lot of media heat for their moves, bigger fish have also taken the plunge. The Miami Herald had began sending advertising and community sections design seven thousand miles away at the beginning of 2007, and shortly after The Sacramento Bee followed suit.

So, does that mean there is no shame that sometimes I feel like Rajesh?