the.world.is.flat-第4章

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Glocer　started　by　looking　at　the　most　basic　bread…and…butter　function　Reuters　
provides；　which　is　breaking　news　about　company　earnings　and　related　business　
developments；　every　second　of　every　day。　〃Exxon　comes　out　with　its　earnings　and　we　
need　to　get　that　as　fast　possible　up　on　screens　around　the　world：　'Exxon　earned　
thirty…nine　cents　this　quarter　as　opposed　to　thirty…six　cents　last　quarter。'　The　core　
competency　there　is　speed　and　accuracy；〃　explained　Glocer。　〃You　don't　need　a　lot　of　
analysis。　We　just　need　to　get　the　basic　news　up　as　fast　as　possible。　The　flash　should　
be　out　in　seconds　after　the　company　releases；　and　the　table　＇showing　the　recent　history　
of　quarterly　earnings＇　a　few　seconds　later。〃　
Those　sorts　of　earnings　flashes　are　to　the　news　business　what　vanilla　is　to　the　ice　
cream　business…a　basic　commodity　that　actually　can　be　made　anywhere　in　the　flat　world。　
The　real　value…added　knowledge　work　happens　in　the　next　five　minutes。　That　is　when　


you　need　a　real　journalist　who　knows　how　to　get　a　comment　from　the　company；　a　comment　
from　the　top　two　analysts　in　the　field；　and　even　some　word　from　competitors　to　put　
the　earnings　report　in　perspective。　〃That　needs　a　higher　journalistic　skill　
set…someone　in　the　market　with　contacts；　who　knows　who　the　best　industry　analysts　
are　and　has　taken　the　right　people　to　lunch；〃　said　Glocer。　
The　dot…com　bust　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　forced　Glocer　to　rethink　how　Reuters　
delivered　news…whether　it　could　disaggregate　the　functions　of　a　journalist　and　ship　
the　low…value…added　functions　to　India。　His　primary　goal　was　to　reduce　the　overlap　
Reuters　payroll；　while　preserving　as　many　good　journalism　jobs　as　possible。　〃So　the　
first　thing　we　did；〃　said　Glocer；　〃was　hire　six　reporters　in　Bangalore　as　an　
experiment。　
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We　said；　'Let's　let　them　just　do　the　flash　headlines　and　the　tables　and　whatever　else　
we　can　get　them　to　do　in　Bangalore。'〃　
These　new　Indian　hires　had　accounting　backgrounds　and　were　trained　by　Reuters；　but　
they　were　paid　standard　local　wages　and　vacation　and　health　benefits。　〃India　is　an　
unbelievably　rich　place　for　recruiting　people；　not　only　with　technical　skills　but　
also　financial　skills；〃　said　Glocer。　When　a　company　puts　out　its　earnings；　one　of　
the　first　things　it　does　is　hand　it　to　the　wires…Reuters；　Dow　Jones；　and　Bloomberg…for　
distribution。　〃We　will　get　that　raw　data；〃　he　said；　〃and　then　it's　a　race　to　see　how　
fast　we　can　turn　it　around。　Bangalore　is　one　of　the　most　wired　places　in　the　world；　
and　although　there's　a　slight　delay…one　second　or　less…in　getting　the　information　
over　there；　it　turns　out　you　can　just　as　easily　sit　in　Bangalore　and　get　the　electronic　
version　of　a　press　release　and　turn　it　into　a　story　as　you　can　in　London　or　New　York。〃　
The　difference；　however；　is　that　wages　and　rents　in　Bangalore　are　less　than　one…fifth　
what　they　are　in　those　Western　capitals。　
While　economics　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　have　pushed　Reuters　down　this　path；　
Glocer　has　tried　to　make　a　virtue　of　necessity。　〃We　think　we　can　off…load　commoditized　
reporting　and　get　that　done　efficiently　somewhere　else　in　the　world；〃　he　said；　and　
then　give　the　conventional　Reuters　journalists；　whom　the　company　is　able　to　retain；　
a　chance　to　focus　on　doing　much　higher…value…added　and　personally　fulfilling　
journalism　and　analysis。　〃Let's　say　you　were　a　Reuters　journalist　in　New　York。　Do　
you　reach　your　life's　fulfillment　by　turning　press　releases　into　boxes　on　the　screen；　
or　by　doing　the　analysis？〃　asked　Glocer。　Obviously；　it　is　the　latter。　Outsourcing　
news　bulletins　to　India　also　allows　Reuters　to　extend　the　breadth　of　its　reporting　
to　more　small…cap　companies；　companies　itwas　not　cost…efficient　for　Reuters　to　follow　
before　with　higher…paid　journalists　in　New　York。　But　with　lower…wage　Indian　reporters；　
who　can　be　hired　in　large　numbers　for　the　cost　of　one　reporter　in　New　York；　it　can　
now　do　that　from　Bangalore。　By　the　summer　of　2004；　Reuters　had　grown　its　Bangalore　
content　operation　to　three　hundred　staff；　aiming　eventually　for　a　total　of　fifteen　
hundred。　Some　of　those　are　Reuters　veterans　sent　out　to　train　the　Indian　teams；　some　
are　reporters　filing　earnings　flashes；　but　most　are　journalists　doing　
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slightly　more　specialized　data　analysis…number　crunching…for　securities　offerings。　


〃A　lot　of　our　clients　are　doing　the　same　thing；〃　said　Glocer。　〃Investment　research　
has　had　to　have　huge　amounts　of　cost　ripped　out　of　it；　so　a　lot　of　firms　are　using　
shift　work　in　Bangalore　to　do　bread…and…butter　company　analysis。〃　Until　recently　the　
big　Wall　Street　firms　had　conducted　investment　research　by　spending　millions　of　
dollars　on　star　analysts　and　then　charging　part　of　their　salaries　to　their　
stockbrokerage　departments；　which　shared　the　analysis　with　their　best　customers；　and　
part　to　their　investment　banking　business；　which　sometimes　used　glowing　analyses　of　
a　company　to　lure　its　banking　business。　In　the　wake　of　New　York　State　Attorney　General　
Eliot　Spitzer's　investigations　into　Wall　Street　practices；　following　several　
scandals；　investment　banking　and　stockbrokerage　have　had　to　be　distinctly　
separated…so　that　analysts　will　stop　hyping　companies　in　order　to　get　their　investment　
banking。　But　as　a　result；　the　big　Wall　Street　investment　firms　have　had　to　sharply　
reduce　the　cost　of　their　market　research；　all　of　which　has　to　be　paid　for　now　by　their　
brokerage　departments　alone。　And　this　created　a　great　incentive　for　them　to　outsource　
some　of　this　analytical　work　to　places　like　Bangalore。　In　addition　to　being　able　to　
pay　an　analyst　in　Bangalore　about　15；000　in　total　compensation；　as　opposed　to　80；000　
in　New　York　or　London；　Reuters　has　found　that　its　India　employees　tend　to　be　
financially　literate　and　highly　motivated　as　well。　Reuters　also　recently　opened　a　
software　development　center　in　Bangkok　because　it　turned　out　to　be　a　good　place　to　
recruit　developers　who　had　been　overlooked　by　all　the　Western　companies　vying　for　
talent　in　Bangalore。　
I　find　myself　torn　by　this　trend。　Having　started　my　career　as　a　wire　service　reporter　
with　United　Press　International；　I　have　enormous　sympathy　with　wire　service　reporters　
and　the　pressures；　both　professional　and　financial；　under　which　they　toil。　But　UPI　
might　still　be　thriving　today　as　a　wire　service；　which　it　is　not；　if　it　had　been　able　
to　outsource　some　of　its　lower…end　business　when　I　started　as　a　reporter　in　London　
twenty…five　years　ago。　
〃It　is　delicate　with　the　staff；〃　said　Glocer；　who　has　cut　the　entire　Reuters　staff　
by　roughly　a　quarter；　without　deep　cuts　among　the　reporters。　The　Reuters　staff；　he　
said；　understand　that　this　is　being　done　so　

that　the　company　can　survive　and　then　thrive　again。　At　the　same　time；　said　Glocer；　
〃these　are　sophisticated　people　out　reporting。　They　see　that　our　clients　are　doing　
the　exact　same　things。　They　get　the　plot　of　the　story　。　。　。　What　is　vital　is　to　be　
honest　with　people　about　what　we　are　doing　and　why　and　not　sugarcoat　the　message。　
I　firmly　believe　in　the　lesson　of　classical　economists　about　moving　work　to　where　
it　can　be　done　best。　However；　we　must　not　ignore　that　in　some　cases；　individual　workers　
will　not　easily　find　new　work。　For　them；　retraining　and　an　adequate　social　safety　
net　are　needed。〃　
In　an　effort　to　deal　straight　with　the　Reuters　staff；　David　Schlesinger；　who　heads　
Reuters　America；　sent　all　editorial　employees　a　memo；　which　included　the　following　
excerpt：　
Off…shoring　with　Obligation　I　grew　up　in　New　London；　Connecticut；　which　in　the　19th　
century　was　a　major　whaling　center。　In　the　1960's　and　70's　the　whales　were　long　gone　


and　the　major　employers　in　the　region　were　connected　with　the　military…not　a　surprise　
during　the　Vietnam　era。　My　classmates'　parents　worked　at　Electric　Boat；　the　Navy　and　
the　Coast　Guard。　The　peace　dividend　changed　the　region　once　again；　and　now　it　is　best　
known　for　the　great　gambling　casinos　of　Mohegan　Sun　and　Foxwoods　and　for　the　
pharmaceutical　researchers　of　Pfizer。　Jobs　went；　jobs　were　created。　Skills　went　out　
of　use；　new　skills　were　required。　The　region　changed；　people　changed。　New　London；　
of　course；　was　not　unique。　How　many　mill　towns　saw　their　mills　close；　how　many　shoe　
towns　saw　the　shoe　industry　move　elsewhere；　how　many　towns　that　were　once　textile　
powerhouses　now　buy　all　their　linens　from　China？　Change　is　hard。　Change　is　hardest　
on　those　caught　by　surprise。　Change　is　hardest　on　those　who　have　difficulty　changing　
too。　But　change　is　natural；　change　is　not　new；　change　is　important。　The　current　debate　
about　off…shoring　is　dangerously　hot。　But　the　debate　about　work　going　to　India；　China　
and　Mexico　is　actually　no　different　from　the　debate　once　held　about　submarine　work　
leaving　New　
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London　or　shoe　work　leaving　Massachusetts　or　textile　work　leaving　North　Carolina。　
Work　gets　done　where　it　can　be　done　most　effectively　and　efficiently。　That　ultimately　
helps　the　New　Londons；　New　Bedfords　and　New　Yorks　of　this　world　even　more　than　it　
helps　the　Bangalores　and　Shenzhens。　It　helps　because　it　frees　up　people　and　capital　
to　do　different；　more　sophisticated　work；　and　it　helps　because　it　gives　an　opportunity　
to　produce　the　end　product　more　cheaply；　benefiting　customers　even　as　it　helps　the　
corporation。　It's　certainly　difficult　for　individuals　to　think　about　〃their〃　work　
going　away；　being　done　thousands　of　miles　away　by　someone　earning　thousands　of　dollars　
less　per　year。　But　it's　time　to　think　about　the　opportunity　as　well　as　the　pain；　just　
as　it's　time　to　think　about　the　obligations　of　off…shoring　as　well　as　the　
opportunities。　。　。　Every　person；　just　as　every　corporation；　must　tend　to　his　or　her　
own　economic　destiny；　just　as　our　parents　and　grandparents　in　the　mills；　shoe　shops　
and　factories　did。　
〃The　Monitor　Is　Burning？〃　
Do　you　know　what　an　Indian　call　center　sounds　like？　While　filming　the　documentary　
about　outsourcing；　the　TV　crew　and　I　spent　an　evening　at　the　Indian…owned　〃24/7　
Customer〃　call　center　in　Bangalore。　The　call　center　is　a　cross　between　a　co…ed　college　
frat　house　and　a　phone　bank　raising　money　for　the　local　public　TV　station。　There　are　
several　floors　with　rooms　full　of　twenty…somethings…　some　twenty…five　hundred　in　
all…working　the　phones。　Some　are　known　as　〃outbound〃　operators；　selling　everything　
from　credit　cards　to　phone　minutes。　Others　deal　with　〃inbound〃　calls…everything　from　
tracing　lost　luggage　for　U。S。　and　European　airline　passengers　to　solving　computer　
problems　for　confused　American　consumers。　The　calls　are　transferred　here　by　satellite　
and　undersea　fiber…optic　cable。　Each　vast　floor　of　a　call　center　consists　of　clusters　
of　cubicles。　The　young　people　work　in　little　
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teams　under　the　banner　of　the　company　whose　phone　support　they　are　providing。　So　one　
corner　might　be　the　Dell　group；　another　might　be　flying　the　flag　of　Microsoft。　Their　
working　conditions　look　like　those　at　your　average　insurance　company。　Although　I　am　


sure　that　there　are　call　centers　that　are　operated　like　sweatshops；　24/7　is　not　one
of　them。　
Most　of　the　young　people　I　interviewed　give　all　or　part　of　their　salary　to　their　parents。
In　fact；　many　of　them　hav