the.world.is.flat-第4部分

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He　told　me　he'd　been　talking　to　an　Israeli　company　that　is　making　some　big　advances　
in　compression　technology　to　allow　for　easier；　better　transfers　of　CAT　scans　via　the　
Internet　so　you　can　quickly　get　a　second　opinion　from　a　doctor　half　a　world　away。　
A　few　weeks　after　I　spoke　with　Rao；　the　following　e…mail　arrived　from　Bill　Brody；　
the　president　of　Johns　Hopkins　University；　whom　I　had　just　interviewed　for　this　book：　
Dear　Tom；　I　am　speaking　at　a　Hopkins　continuing　education　medical　meeting　for　
radiologists　（I　used　to　be　a　radiologist）　。。。　I　


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came　upon　a　very　fascinating　situation　that　I　thought　might　interest　you。　I　have　just　
learned　that　in　many　small　and　some　medium…size　hospitals　in　the　US；　radiologists　
are　outsourcing　reading　of　CAT　scans　to　doctors　in　India　and　Australia！！！　Most　of　
this　evidently　occurs　at　night　（and　maybe　weekends）　when　the　radiologists　do　not　have　
sufficient　staffing　to　provide　in…hospital　coverage。　While　some　radiology　groups　will　
use　teleradiology　to　ship　images　from　the　hospital　to　their　home　（or　to　Vail　or　Cape　
Cod；　I　suppose）　so　that　they　can　interpret　images　and　provide　a　diagnosis　24/7；　
apparently　the　smaller　hospitals　are　shipping　CAT　scan　images　to　radiologists　abroad。　
The　advantage　is　that　it　is　daytime　in　Australia　or　India　when　it　is　nighttime　here…so　
after…hours　coverage　becomes　more　readily　done　by　shipping　the　images　across　the　globe。　
Since　CAT　（and　MRI）　images　are　already　in　digital　format　and　available　on　a　network　
with　a　standardized　protocol；　it　is　no　problem　to　view　the　images　anywhere　in　the　
world　。。。　I　assume　that　the　radiologists　on　the　other　end　。　。　。　must　have　trained　
in　＇the＇　US　and　acquired　the　appropriate　licenses　and　credentials。　。　。　The　groups　
abroad　that　provide　these　after…hours　readings　are　called　〃Nighthawks〃　by　the　
American　radiologists　that　employ　them。　Best；　Bill　
Thank　goodness　I'm　a　journalist　and　not　an　accountant　or　a　radiologist。　There　will　
be　no　outsourcing　for　me…even　if　some　of　my　readers　wish　my　column　could　be　shipped　
off　to　North　Korea。　At　least　that's　what　I　thought。　Then　I　heard　about　the　Reuters　
operation　in　India。　I　didn't　have　time　to　visit　the　Reuters　office　in　Bangalore；　but　
I　was　able　to　get　hold　of　Tom　Glocer；　the　CEO　of　Reuters；　to　hear　what　he　was　doing。　
Glocer　is　a　pioneer　in　the　outsourcing　of　elements　of　the　news　supply　chain。　
With　2；300　journalists　around　the　world；　in　197　bureaus；　serving　a　
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market　including　investment　bankers；　derivatives　traders；　stockbrokers；　newspapers；　
radio；　television；　and　Internet　outlets；　Reuters　has　always　had　a　very　complex　
audience　to　satisfy。　After　the　dot…com　bust；　though；　when　many　of　its　customers　became　
very　cost…conscious；　Reuters　started　asking　itself；　for　reasons　of　both　cost　and　
efficiency：　Where　do　we　actually　need　our　people　to　be　located　to　feed　our　global　
news　supply　chain？　And　can　we　actually　disaggregate　the　work　of　a　journalist　and　keep　
part　in　London　and　New　York　and　shift　part　to　India？　
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　case