Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Oct 23-29
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:
- Postmedia continues its downward spiral [National Observer]
- Journalists need to understand the impact they have on others [J-Source]
- Community newspapers now eligible to compete for National Newspaper Awards [J-Source]
- Author incomes in steep decline [TWUC]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Student Fellow Weekend 2018 Panel: On Pitching [Pulitzer Centre]
- Retainers: How to Get (And Keep) the Holy Grail of Freelancing [The Freelancer]
- How to land your first client: Marketing strategies that work [Freelancers Union]
- The clause freelance writers should fight to remove from their contracts [CJR]
- How to successfully pitch the New York Times (Or, well, anyone else) [Nieman Lab]
Recently on Story Board:
- Getting freelance work with the CBC: Freelancing for CBC isn’t as easy as it used to be, but there are still gigs to be found at the Mother Corp. The “Getting Work With the CBC” panel at the recent Level Up conference in Toronto offered some insights into just where to find it…
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.
Getting freelance work with the CBC
Tanya Springer, Robyn Urback and Don Genova
Freelancing for CBC isn’t as easy as it used to be, but there are still gigs to be found at the Mother Corp. The “Getting Work With the CBC” panel at the recent Level Up conference in Toronto offered some insights into just where to find it.
The panel was part of a two-day conference co-presented by PWAC and CMG Freelance. CBC Podcasts senior producer Tanya Springer and CBC Opinions editor Robyn Urback, along with moderator Don Genova, went over some of the opportunities available for freelancers at CBC.
CBC Opinion
Because CBC’s journalistic standards prevent CBC staff members from expressing opinions publicly, all CBC Opinions columns (aside from posts written by Urback and Neil Macdonald) come from freelancers.
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Oct 16-22
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:
- Treat stories about suicide with dignity and compassion [J-Source]
- Call for Judges: 42nd National Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
- Can Canada’s artistic middle class be saved? [Toronto Star]
- Combining dog walking and freelancing is the way I get by in a gig economy [CBC]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- No freelancer is an island [The Freelancer]
- Where should you put your politics as a freelancer? [Freelancers Union]
- All The Tricks You Need To Get A Scoop Without Any Contacts [Journo Resources]
- 5 tips for setting your freelance rates [Freelancers Union]
- Should you pitch a journalist via social media? These 3 journalists say no [Muck Rack blog]
- 5 Things to Consider if You Think Freelancing is in Your Future [Inc]
- The Pitch: Can’t wait? A Marie Claire editor tries to answer pitches within 48 hours [Nieman Storyboard]
Recently on Story Board:
- Freelance contracts a hot topic at Level Up conference in Toronto: Read your contracts. That was the overarching message from the opening session at the recent Level Up conference in Toronto…
- Reporting responsibly on labour and class: Alex Press had to do a lot of convincing to get the Washington Post to run her story about 260,000 UPS workers who were threatening to strike. The American workers were fighting a treacherous new contract that would have repercussions not only for unions but for working people in general…
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.
Freelance contracts a hot topic at Level Up conference in Toronto
Read your contracts.
That was the overarching message from the opening session at the recent Level Up conference in Toronto.
The session, called “Contracts: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” featured lawyer Tassia Poynter, Content Writers Group founder Derek Finkle and freelance science journalist Alison Motluk. CMG Freelance president Don Genova moderated the discussion, which was co-presented by the Professional Writers Association of Canada and CMG Freelance on September 21 at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
In her opening remarks, Poynter said it’s surprising that some contracts can be as long as ten pages but fail to include information that freelancers need to know. That information, she said, includes details about money – what you’re getting paid and when. A contract should also include details about when you need to complete the work you’ve been hired to do. Copyright is another word to look out for, said Poynter. Who will hold the copyright and for how long? Will you have the right to resell your work at a later date?
But it was the subject of indemnity clauses that dominated the discussion. Language about liability, said Poynter, is often lengthy and impenetrable. Some contracts spell out what will happen to the publisher in case of a lawsuit, but don’t cover what would happen to the writer.
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Reporting responsibly on labour and class
An impoverished landscape
By Zaid Noorsumar
Alex Press and Sara Mojtehedzadeh at the Covering Class panel. Photo by Jared Ong.
Alex Press had to do a lot of convincing to get the Washington Post to run her story about 260,000 UPS workers who were threatening to strike. The American workers were fighting a treacherous new contract that would have repercussions not only for unions but for working people in general.
“If they accept the work contract, that’s the signal to everyone that they can push down the standards even more,” said Press. “It was remarkable to see that there was no publication really aware of why this story was important.”
The Huffington Post was the only publication that “substantively” covered the story until her own piece ran in the Washington Post, she said. According to Press, this lack of interest by the mainstream media indicates the “anti-labour common sense” in the American media, though she said such attitudes are changing within outlets going through the process of unionization.
Press, an editor at the U.S.-based socialist publication Jacobin, was a panelist alongside Toronto Star Work and Wealth reporter Sara Mojtehedzadeh, at an event called “Covering Class: Responsible reporting and barriers in journalism.”
The October 1 event was organized by CWA Canada and drew about 50 media workers, journalism students and freelancers to a downtown Toronto café.
The small and big ways in which people resist
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Oct 10-15
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:
- Alberta Government Invests in the Province’s Magazine Industry [Magazines Canada]
- What it’s like to earn a living freelance writing in Canada [J-Source]
- Alberta announces $650,000 funding increase for province’s magazines [Canadian Magazines]
- ATIPs from A to Z [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 4 key questions freelancers should ask about payment [Freelancers Union]
- How to increase your income when freelance rates plateau [The Freelancer]
- 6 Tips To Avoid Plagiarism In Freelance Writing [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Eek! Don’t be afraid of these 13 freelance writing challenges [The Write Life]
Recently on Story Board:
- Montreal media mixer October 15: Montreal-area media workers, freelancers and students are invited to a free social night and networking event on Monday October 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sun Life Building…
- Class Action Lawsuit a Big Step Toward Fairness for Factual & Reality TV Workers: The Canadian Media Guild / CWA Canada is welcoming a $35-million class action lawsuit filed by law firm Cavalluzzo on behalf of hundreds of reality and factual TV workers who have worked at Cineflix Canada, which produces such TV shows as Property Brothers and Mayday…
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.
Montreal media mixer October 15
Montreal-area media workers, freelancers and students are invited to a free social night and networking event on Monday October 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sun Life Building, 7th Floor, Salon III (1155 Rue Metcalfe).
Come and join us for a free drink and snacks and get to know some of the other media workers in the city. The event is free to attend, but please register for your free ticket at this Eventbrite page.
This event is co-hosted by CWA Canada and the Montreal Newspaper Guild, whose members at the Montreal Gazette are currently negotiating with Postmedia for a new contract. They are fighting to keep fair working conditions for themselves and future generations of journalists in Montreal.
CWA Canada is the country’s only all media union, with 6,000 members at media companies and newspapers coast to coast. CWA Canada has a free membership for student, volunteer, precarious and emerging media workers through its Associate Member program. CWA Canada is the parent union of the Canadian Media Guild, which represents members at media outlets such as VICE Canada, CBC, and The Canadian Press, as well as freelancers through its voluntary membership program.
Class Action Lawsuit A Big Step Toward Fairness For Factual & Reality TV Workers
Claim says hundreds hired improperly, denied pay & benefits
TORONTO (Oct. 9, 2018) – The Canadian Media Guild / CWA Canada is welcoming a $35-million class action lawsuit filed by law firm Cavalluzzo on behalf of hundreds of reality and factual TV workers who have worked at Cineflix Canada, which produces such TV shows as Property Brothers and Mayday.
The legal action follows a five-year campaign by CMG and its parent union CWA Canada to bring fair working conditions to this part of the entertainment industry.
“Reality and factual TV are the wild west of the entertainment world,” said Lise Lareau, a co-ordinator of the CMG’s Fairness in Factual TV campaign. “People working in this area of production are cut out of labour laws. They don’t have the rights of other employees, and historically they’ve been left out of union contracts enjoyed by the rest of the entertainment industry.”
Most reality and factual TV production companies make their workers set up their own corporations or sign contracts saying they are “independent contractors” and then don’t provide overtime pay, vacation pay and paid holidays. The failure to pay these basic entitlements is the basis for the Cavalluzzo class action lawsuit.
The statement of claim for the suit is based on the experience of Anna Bourque, a production worker whose most recent contract at Cineflix was September 2017 to February 2018.
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Oct 2-9
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:
- Over 250 Canadian news media outlets have closed in the last ten years [J-Source]
- Alberta Magazine Publishers Association PitchFest [AMPA]
- Sara Mojtehedzadeh, Investigative Reporter [Flare]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Attract better-paying clients through specialization [Freelancers Union]
- The freelance retirement crisis no one is talking about [Fast Company]
- Why Journalists Just Can’t Quit Microsoft Word [Slate]
- Traditional vs. Self-Publishing: A guide for authors [Freelancers Union]
- Political freelancers talk about finding work in the age of Trump [The Freelancer]
- Why taking a rest day is essential for freelancers [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- Applications open for the 2019-2020 Canadian Nieman fellowship: Applications opened this week for a year-long fellowship that gives a Canadian journalist the opportunity to study and broaden their intellectual horizons at Harvard University…
- Urban Worker Project’s Freelancing 101 series running this month in Vancouver: The Urban Worker Project has teamed up with Vancity Credit Union to offer a series of hands-on workshops this month called “Freelance Contracting 101: Survive and Thrive in the New Economy”…
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.
Applications open for the 2019-2020 Canadian Nieman fellowship
Applications opened this week for a year-long fellowship that gives a Canadian journalist the opportunity to study and broaden their intellectual horizons at Harvard University. The 2019-2020 Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship is open to applications from October 1 to December 1.
Mid-career journalists — including freelancers, photojournalists, editorial cartoonists, columnists and broadcast producers, are all invited to apply. To be eligible, you must be a Canadian citizen and a working journalist with at least five years of professional media experience. The fellowship includes tuition to Harvard and a stipend for living expenses.
Details about the application requirements are available on the Canadian Nieman’s blog. For more information you can email canadiannieman@gmail.com.
To apply for the fellowship, go to the online access portal right here and select “International Nieman Fellowship.”
