From the Desk of Mohammed SHK:
It’s a New Year, and that means, we’ve got some new faces behind Daily News Online. So I’d like to take a brief moment to discuss a few things so everybody knows what they’re doing; how to do it, how you get paid for your freelancing, and what to expect in the future.
You are not to address me as my real name online; on social media, Facebook or any where else. Some of you actually know me by my real name. Please respect that. You can address me by which ever name my real name or simply SHK in e-mails, however, publicly you are to address me as SHK and that is the only way you can address me. My real name has never been released to the public, that, is why some handed me the nickname “The Ghost” many years ago. If you are e-mailed personally by a third party that mentions me, or has a question about me, you are to REPRESENT ME AS SHK (DO NOT, release my real name) and simply refer them to customer service. ([email protected]).
First, I’d like to take a minute to formally introduce myself. I am Mohammed SHK, the Editor & Chief of this very digital news agency in which you have now been granted the right to write for. I built this agency when I was 9 years old, considering, that I was largely and efficiently a geek.
Almost 12 years later, I employ freelance writers; photographers, and other forms of freelancers all across the globe. I have very few rules with my employees, except for one, I am 20 years old — so please bare with me. I am a young guy in college; at the helm of an international business, and trying to maintain the most normal life I can possibly have.
As a courtesy: Most Daily News Online employees already have Netflix, however, those that don’t are granted the use of a Netflix that is set up for this agency. For newer employees, you will receive the log in credentials in 3-7 days from your hire date.
Now back to what really matters. Writing for Daily News Online is generally a fun experience, however, these are a few things to keep in mind.
*You ARE allowed to accept solicited third party offers for sponsored posts and the various from other agencies and such. If someone asks you to write about (Ex: A New Video game being released and are paying you to do so) by all means that is your job and your money. While we are paying you for the discussed articles when you were hired, most of your money, will come from other stuff. I wanted to make a note of this because if you add this particular line to your articles:
“This article was penned by: _________________ and can be reached at ___________ (enter e-mail there) you’re bound to get plentiful offers of all kinds that result in financial payment”. Please bare in mind for U.S citizens you are responsible for reporting such income and paying your own taxes. I am a 20 year old guy who still reads comic books and is scared of the dark. I’m not doing your damn taxes for you!
*You ARE allowed to run ads in your articles; links, promotions, etc. There is no limit to the number of promotional’s you can run throughout various articles. However, please keep them limited to just 2 per article.
*You ARE NOT allowed to write about pharma medicines or anything of that nature. If you are approached to write about “Viagra” or anything that may strike you as such… Ignore it. You are not permitted to publish those spammy articles in this newspaper. Anyone caught doing such will face immediate termination.
*You ARE allowed to write for other sources. However, I, and this news agency, retain all rights to your content. Please bare in mind all bylines and such belong to their respective authors — however — the content becomes property of Daily News Online once you have published it. Once you have published it, you, must gain permission if you choose to leave Daily News Online to republish it by gaining a license. All material that appears in Daily News Online is copyrighted. I try my best to let my employees know when their articles have had licenses purchased. As a portion of that revenue also goes to the employee when it happens.
A few notes..
If some of you haven’t noticed already, perhaps, when you attempt to “highlight” and copy that has now been restricted. Users and readers must obtain a license or pay a small fee to reproduce the content written by any one author on this website — regardless of tenure or status. I have digital watch dogs and my own version of “police” that monitor all content on this website and where it goes if it appears on another website. I keep track of all licenses; requests, and documentation of such. If you believe your content has been stolen please notify me by your Crew app on your smart phone and I will promptly have a cease and desist letter issued to remove your content from the infringing website.
Your earning potential is unlimited. As i stated before, there are very few rules here. This newspaper is the largest of its kind to be built; controlled, and monitored by children. I was a child when I built this, therefore, it has been around for a very long time. People know this newspaper; they will work with you, they will pay you. Please use your best judgement when working with third parties, if the content they want you to write about sounds suspect or “spammy” please submit it for review by e-mail before you agree to finalize it and hit publish.
A Note for U.S Employees: American media is a cut throat business. The “first” to publish a story, and beat others to the punch, adds to your credibility and your ability to garner more stories and such to your portfolio. Your collection of articles will become your portfolio, and, can be purchased by others for republication on other forms of media and digital publications. Note: You do not need my permission to cover a breaking news story. If you catch a breaking news story before you see it in this newspaper, I repeat, you are to gather information; double check it, and publish. That’s an order.
Oh yeah…. also…
By NO means are any of you permitted to speak on behalf of this newspaper by any means. Unless I have specifically instructed you or dispatched you to a local event in your region or something of that nature, shut your mouth, and if someone asks you about Daily News Online you are to do one thing and one thing only: Ignore them and proceed about your business. Generally, most employees have signed gag orders and confidentiality agreements. However, to save face, and not appear as the “Devil Wears Prada” of gay journalism — I’ve recently decided to try actually trusting my writers.
A personal note: As I’ve stated many times here, I’m 20. So I can be both the typical young guy yet professional. So bare with me. I’ve been in this business my entire life, literally, I’ve not done much else. I’ve never had an opportunity to live outside of “journalism” because of the choices I’ve made and the company that I’ve kept — therefore — there are times in which I entirely disappear from the spotlight just to have a chance to myself. When this happens, you, are on your own. Watch dogs will alert you if you’ve done something wrong, otherwise, you are your own boss when I am away from my desk.
Because I am a University student and often disappear from the work place, I am working on adding a feature to your dashboard, that will host notes and stuff from yours truly. I will leave notes; fun facts, and important dates for you in your dashboard when I feel like there’s stuff some of you are missing or should know.
Evidently, also this. This website has been around since 2004, this website, is probably one of the best oiled ships in the history of digital journalism. Even being, 20, I have kept this bitch alive my entire life — this is my legacy — this is our legacy — we are a team and that is the most important thing here. Nobody succeeds unless we all succeed.
And….
Don’t be afraid to write; be opinionated, draw attention to your columns. Social media is our biggest ally, we make nearly 200,000 impressions a week just by Twitter alone. Multiplying that by four, that comes out to more than 1.2m impressions a month. So yeah, people are watching, and lots of them. You will make mistakes, and that’s entirely okay. All in all, this website has been viewed online more than 2.567bn times and counting. So yes, that makes me your journalism overlord of sorts. I’ve been called all kinds of things; names, bad names, good names, and weird honorific nicknames — but to you I am SHK. Your friend and your boss.
And finally..
I don’t know how many times i have to say this. The location of the Daily News office in America has never been disclosed other than to those that have been with me since the beginning. Therefore, all American employees are only paid by Paypal. If you do not have a paypal, you do not get paid, simple as that.
Reminder: All Freelancers earn $40 per post unless otherwise assigned (ONLY the articles and the category of articles in which were originally agreed when hired). Based on performance, and, if I see that you have taken on the task of occasionally writing about other things — incentives are available – as are gift cards and various other small gifts I like to give to my writers. Please keep in mind that even though I may not be available at times — or you may not see my name pop up in a byline — I am your overlord and I am watching. I see everything that happens at this newspaper. Your activity; your publishes, and even your corrections and edits are monitored and can be seen by my watch dogs.
I travel quite a bit. Sometimes I am in Florida, others I am in New York City, and others I am home in Europe and the Middle East. I hold dual-nationalism in the U.K and America, so, at any given time, I could be in either territory. You won’t always be able to get ahold of me to answer your questions, that, is why customer service and the help desk exists. My watch dogs have access to my iPhone e-mail address, so, if they happen to see an e-mail that I have not answered they will get back to you in a timely manner.
Warning: My iPhone e-mail address is NOT (let me repeat that: NOT) public information. That is my private e-mail address that goes directly to my mobile phone. That e-mail is NOT to be provided to anybody that is not associated with Daily News Online; Daily News International, Wallis & Holdings, DigiTIME Entertainment, or any of the other companies in which are operating under my name. The only other person authorized to assume control of this company in the event of my death; stepping down, or any other severe situation is my younger sister. If and when the situation calls for her to assume power, employees, will know who she is and when such will happen.
And lastly…
Assignments. I communicate with my team(s) by groups using the smartphone IOS/Android app CREW. There, I assign assignments and writing assignments that you must complete. This is how you communicate with me on a daily basis, as, I DO NOT perform face to face meetings or anything of the nature. I am a virtual boss, again, I am 20 and at the head of a global business — I do not have time to meet with that many people face to face. CREW is easiest, and, it allows me to answer your questions entirely.
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