What's next, Nike's Next Great Shoe Sower contest?

Anyone who's spent any time on Craigslist knows that the site is propped up by two things: Ads for hookers and really, really cheap job offers. Hell, there's a whole site dedicated to compiling and mocking these crappy offers at workingfail.com. If you think about it, though, that isn't all that surprising given the source. It's mostly startups, amateurs, and other people who don't really know what they're asking for. Therefore, imagine my surprise when I find that the Washington Post was making an offer that makes those look outright generous:

The Next Great Pundit Contest!

Yes, that's right, the Washington Post is now pretty much throwing in the towel, seeking to rely more on bloggers and webcam owners, rather than actual reporting. I'm no business major, and I know newspaper subscriptions are down, but is lowering the quality of content really the solution? Honestly, though, the lack of quality they're inviting speaks for itself, so there's not much to say here. Almost as absurd, however, is from the grand prize itself: For a year of work and submissions, you can walk away with a grand total of $2600. Yes, that's the real amount. Oh, and that's IF YOU WIN:

By entering the Contest, each entrant grants Sponsor an unrestricted, royalty-free, perpetual right to display, modify, perform, copy and create derivative work from his/her Entry.

Maybe I'm misreading this, but it sounds like they can use the submissions pretty much however the hell they want, and tough shit to the entrant. If that includes passing it off as their own, so be it. This whole thing is so ridiculous that it's almost past my ability to mock. Therefore, I'm going to let Andy Cobbon do it for me.