Montreal Media Mixer and Post-Strike Celebration
The CWA Canada Associate Members program is inviting working journalists, freelancers, students and professors who lent their support to the recent Concordia journalism strike against unpaid internships to celebrate with a media mixer.
The mixer is scheduled for Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Montréal (Phoenix Hall) located at 5035 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest.
The strike against unpaid internships ran between March 18 and 22, while the university’s communications department held a similar strike between March 6 and 8. It was about taking a stand against the provincial government and served as an opportunity to set the record straight on working conditions for young journalists and media workers.
Come and enjoy free snacks, drinks, networking, and important conversations about how to make the journalism industry more just and accessible for all.
The event is free to attend, but please RSVP for your free ticket on this Eventbrite page.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 26-April 1
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- New Magazines Canada program supports paid interns for members [Magazines Canada]
- BuzzFeed Canada news staff officially members of Canadian Media Guild [CWA Canada]
- Court decision a victory for journalists covering Indigenous protests [APTN News]
- 2019 Canadian Magazine Writing Contests: The Ultimate Guide [Magazine Awards]
- The Trudeau government’s tax subsidy for journalism puts the Halifax Examiner in an impossible situation [J-Source]
- Huge and True: BuzzFeed Canada editorial employees receive union certification [Medium]
- Black Press axing half of Alberta daily’s unionized staff [CWA Canada]
- Clean Up Your Copy: 10 Common Spelling and Grammar Errors [Magazines Canada]
- Throwing Money at Media Won’t Fix Canada’s News Deficit [The Tyee]
- Liberals’ journalism funding makes it harder to launch news startups [The Discourse]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How freelancers are fighting for their pay [Financial Times]
- Hidden Gold: A Massive Freelancing Niche Overlooked by Most Writers [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Vice Media Agrees to $1.87 Million Settlement for Paying Female Staffers Less Than Men [Hollywood Reporter]
- How to vet PR industry claims [Open Notebook]
- Yes, Freelance Writers Can Take a Real Vacation: Here’s How [The Write Life]
- This is the one simple act that helps me be more creative [Fast Company]
Recently on Story Board:
- CMG members vote 80% in favour of ratifying new deal with CBC: CBC workers who are represented by CWA Canada through its largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), have voted 80 per cent in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with the public broadcaster…
- Vancouver freelancers invited to NPAC “mix and mingle”: BC media freelancers are invited to a “Mix and Mingle” with members of the News Photographers Association of Canada as they begin their conference in Vancouver next month…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
CMG members vote 80% in favour of ratifying new deal with CBC
Photo by Laurence Butet-Roch
CBC workers who are represented by CWA Canada through its largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), have voted 80 per cent in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with the public broadcaster.
The five-year deal contains wage increases of 1.5 per cent this year and next for the 4,300 employees across the country (outside Quebec and Moncton, N.B.) who are covered by the contract. Increases in the final three years of the agreement will be pegged to the Treasury Board rate that applies to unionized federal government employees.
More than 1,200 CMG members took part this week in online voting on the tentative agreement, which comes into effect on April 1. Official results released today show 977 in favour and 241 against.
Jonathan Spence, president of the Guild’s CBC branch, said there are several improvements with this deal. These include allowances for members in Canada’s North and those who do out-of-country work; relocation subsidies; and better terms for temporary workers to convert to permanent status.
“We’ve spent the better part of six months bargaining this agreement,” said Spence. “There was a lot to update in an agreement that had not changed substantially in the last 10 years, in an industry that has significantly shifted.”
CMG President Kamala Rao said, “Our bargaining team brought a great deal of goodwill and focus to the table. Members at CBC/Radio-Canada believe in the value of our work at the public broadcaster and we’ve succeeded in raising the floor for everyone who works there.”
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Vancouver freelancers invited to NPAC “Mix and Mingle”
BC media freelancers are invited to a “Mix and Mingle” with members of the News Photographers Association of Canada as they begin their conference in Vancouver next month.
Please come and join in the fun and network with photographers and other freelancers at the opening night of the Capture Photography Festival on Thursday, April 11th at 6 p.m. at the Pendulum Gallery (885 West Georgia Street).
Check out the amazing work of the nominees of the National Pictures of the Year Awards. There will be a cash bar, but if you say hello to CMG Freelance president Don Genova he just might buy you your first drink. And there will be snacks, too!
This event is free to attend, but if you’re planning on coming, please feel free to drop us a line at freelance@cmg.ca so we know to expect you.
Freelance at the CBC? You may be eligible to vote on the new collective agreement.
CMG-CBC agreement – Freelance workers eligible to vote
From Tuesday, March 26 to Thursday, March 28, Canadian Media Guild (CMG) members working at CBC/Radio-Canada will have the opportunity to vote on the tentative agreement reached between our union and the Corporation. The vote will take place online using our electronic voting system.
In order to vote, freelance members must have been paid for at least 13 occasions in the past 12 months or made at least $10,000 in freelance income in the past 12 months. An ‘occasion’ would be any time a payment was made on a freelance specific services or freelance contributor or technical freelancer contract.
Independent members of the CMG Freelance Branch are not eligible to vote on the tentative agreement
Voting process
The vote will take place online using our electronic voting system.
You will need your 9-digit CMG member number in order to vote. CMG member numbers are different than CBC employee numbers.
If you don’t have your CMG number or have misplaced it, please contact vote@cmg.ca and it will be provided to you.
Members will vote on the following question:
Do you ratify the tentative agreement between the Canadian Media Guild and CBC/Radio-Canada?
The online ballot box will open on Tuesday, March 26 and close on Thursday, March 28.
Here are the voting hours, by time zone:
Newfoundland – Tuesday 10:30 a.m. to Friday until 1:30 a.m. NDT
Atlantic – Tuesday 10 a.m. to Friday until 1 a.m. ADT
Eastern – Tuesday 9 a.m. to Friday until 12 a.m. EDT
Central – Tuesday 8 a.m. to Thursday until 11 p.m. CDT
Mountain – Tuesday 7 a.m. to Thursday until 10 p.m. MDT
Pacific – Tuesday 6 a.m. to Thursday until 9 p.m. PDT
We expect to announce the result on Friday, March 29. For more information, please read the explainer document provided by CMG which mentions the highlights affecting freelancers on page 14.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 19-25
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Government funding for journalism: to what end? [J-Source]
- Ratification vote next week – CMG-CBC tentative agreement [CMG]
- Rogers Media is out of magazine business as it agrees to sell all remaining titles to St. Joe’s [Canadian Magazines]
- Toronto Life owner St. Joseph Communications to buy Rogers magazines [Globe and Mail]
- Media companies on notice over traumatized journalists after landmark court decision [J-Source]
- Media union welcomes federal aid for news industry, cautions about possible loophole [CMG]
- Here’s why Concordia students are striking against school internship policies [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Research from Canada suggests journalists’ creed can withstand government support [Nieman Lab]
- Why are digital newsrooms organizing now? [Nieman Lab]
- Global media back call for UN to adopt convention on safety of journalists [IFJ]
- When freelancing and friendship don’t mix: a cautionary tale [Freelancers Union]
- Double Your Freelance Writing Income: 5 Ways to Make it Happen [The Write Life]
- For the record: 18 journalists on how—or whether—they use tape recorders [CJR]
Recently on Story Board:
- CWA Canada seeks writer for union history project: CWA Canada, the country’s only all-media union, is looking for a journalist/writer to research and write a 50-page booklet on the history of the union…
- Applications open for the 2019 Forum Freelance Fund hostile environment training bursaries: The deadline for this annual competition is April 13 2019. Winners of the bursaries (worth up to $2500) will be notified by May 31 and will have up to two months to choose a hostile environment training course from an approved provider…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
CWA Canada seeks writer for union history project
CWA Canada, the country’s only all-media union, is looking for a journalist/writer to research and write a 50-page booklet on the history of the union.
Please apply if you write with flair, have proven research and organizational skills, are able to work independently – and always meet deadlines.
The project is to be completed by December 2019 with the booklet to be published in 2020.
We offer excellent compensation.
CWA Canada is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from members of equity-seeking groups.
CWA Canada represents over 6,000 workers at media companies such as the CBC, The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters, VICE Canada and newspapers coast to coast.
Please email a cover letter, resume, and three samples of your work to: info@cwa-scacanada.ca
The deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 3 at 3 p.m. ET.
Applications open for the 2019 Forum Freelance Fund hostile environment training bursaries
Applications opened this week for the 2019 Forum Freelance Fund competition. The fund provides bursaries to help Canadian freelancers pay for hostile environment training.
The deadline for this annual competition is April 13 2019. Winners of the bursaries (worth up to $2500) will be notified by May 31 and will have up to two months to choose a hostile environment training course from an approved provider. Bursaries must first be applied to course fees with the remainder to be used for travel costs.
The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma runs the competition in association with the Rory Peck Trust, a U.K.-based organization devoted to promoting the safety of freelancers.
Information about the application requirements are available on the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma website.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 12-18
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- How Doug Ford is endangering local news ecosystems [J-Source]
- Deadline approaching for CBC New Indigenous Voices media training course [CBC]
- Working as the newsroom’s “Diversity Hire” [The Tyee]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Network like it’s 1999: Why writers need to pound the pavement [Freelancers Union]
- How to stay productive during dry spells [Working Not Working]
- ‘This could ruin us’: A class-action suit imperils California freelancers [CJR]
- How to Schedule Your Day When You Freelance or Work From Home [Lifehacker]
- How journalism got so out of touch with the people it covers [CJR]
- 9 ways freelance women can help each other get ahead [Freelancers Union]
- The Staff Of Gimlet Media Is Unionizing [BuzzFeed]
- Forget time management, focus on energy management [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer’s Q&A with “Light Writer” Maggie MacPherson: As a word person (primarily) I’ve always been fascinated by those skilled in the visual arts. Maggie MacPherson is a Vancouver-based freelance photographer whose work I admire greatly. A lifelong hobbyist, she turned professional about five years ago…
- PWAC Toronto editing seminar March 25: “Polishing Your Work: From Expert Tips to Editorial Workflows” is presented by PWAC Toronto Chapter and Magazines Canada on Monday, March 25 from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre…
Spot a story you think we should include in next week’s Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
The Born Freelancer’s Q&A with “Light Writer” Maggie MacPherson
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
As a word person (primarily) I’ve always been fascinated by those skilled in the visual arts. Maggie MacPherson is a Vancouver-based freelance photographer whose work I admire greatly. A lifelong hobbyist, she turned professional about five years ago.
The Born Freelancer: So, Maggie, what motivated you to “go pro”?
Maggie MacPherson: I remember the day I nervously took a big breath, and proudly proclaimed “I’ve decided to become a photographer”. My partner looked back at me with confusion and said “… but you already are a photographer.”
I had already been doing headshots and creative photoshoots for years but it was properly charging for my work that made me consider myself a professional photographer.
It’s tempting to keep doing free work so you can just treat your work like art all the time and can therefore never fail. To me, being a professional artist means being good enough at your craft that you can collaborate with clients to get them what they need (regardless of what you might feel inspired to create in that moment).
TBF: Did you need specialized training to become a pro?
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