I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I don't think American media can safely farm out writing and editing news, which depends so much on institutional memory. However, design, copyediting national and international stories and some columns are a different matter. For example, an auto column. Having written one for the old Milwaukee Journal, I can say that local climates affect driving enough that I don't think a writer in India can really speak to the local issues. Still, most car reviews don't depend on climate conditions (I remember four cars and trucks where Milwaukee's climate was mentioned in the reviews).
On the other hand (remember we're talking about India where the Hindu god Vishnu has four hands), I spent two weeks teaching students at an Indian college backpack journalism a few months ago, and was taken with their seriousness and dedication to learning. They are going to be formidable journalists, and I am proud to have helped them.
My bottom line is that as long as it is JOURNALISTS writing the news, it's not all that bad. I am not a fan of amateurs writing the news. There are standards and ethics that shouldn't be overlooked.
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