Webinar: Handling The Physical and Emotional Realities of Journalism
Journalism can be a risky business – not just in conflict zones but in many domestic settings as well. The risks have grown steadily across the years, and no one is more vulnerable than the freelancer, working without the technical, physical and emotional support of a single employer, usually at a financial disadvantage too.
CMG Freelance recently offered this free webinar led by The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma’s co-founder and president, Cliff Lonsdale. Cliff approaches the topic with a long and varied background in foreign and domestic reporting, both staff and freelance, as well as TV and radio production, news management and teaching journalism at the graduate level.
We’re posting it here so that all freelancers can benefit from Cliff’s presentation.
TRIGGER WARNING: This webinar contains information and descriptions about traumatic situations (suicide, natural disasters, violence, tragic accidents, etc.) that may be triggering to survivors.
CMG Freelance Member Rachel Sanders named Landsberg Award finalist
By Don Genova
Rachel Sanders is your Story Board editor, and while she would never blow her own horn here, as her supervisor, I’m taking over this post to do a little cheerleading on her behalf.
Rachel is one of five finalists for this year’s Landsberg Award, given out each year by the Canadian Journalism Foundation in association with the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
From the CJR website: “The award celebrates a journalist who is raising awareness about women’s equality issues in Canada and aims to inspire an increase in the media coverage and voice of women in Canada.
The award is named after Michele Landsberg—an award-winning Canadian journalist, author, social activist and feminist—to acknowledge the tremendous impact that she has had as an advocate and role model for all women in Canada. The award will inspire relentless and fearless journalists to consider Canadian news from a women’s equality perspective.”
Rachel reached finalist status with her series “Slaves to Tips: How BC Laws Fuel Sexism on the Job” in the BC-based online newsmagazine The Tyee, exploring sexism in British Columbia’s restaurant industry.
What’s not noted on the CJF’s announcement of the finalists is that after reading Rachel’s series in The Tyee last year, the leader of the BC Green Party introduced a private members’ bill in the provincial legislature that would prevent employers from setting differing footwear requirements depending on an employee’s gender, gender expression or gender identity. Subsequent to the bill’s introduction, the government changed the regulations regarding footwear under the Workers Compensation Act. Workers in all jobs across BC could then say goodbye to high heels being a requirement as part of their uniform.
I’m very proud of the work Rachel does here on Story Board, and equally proud of her for getting to finalist status with her work at The Tyee. The winner of the award will be announced on June 14th in Toronto as part of the CJF Awards gala, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s already a winner.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer April 17-23
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Long journey of reconciliation ahead at Canada’s journalism schools [J-Source]
- The Canadian Association of Black Journalists is relaunching [J-Source]
- Paid internship with the National Media Awards Foundation [Magazine Awards]
- Canada’s right wing rage machine vs. Nora Loreto [Briarpatch]
- Creative freelancing and taxes: The basics [Jim Zub]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 7 Stress-Free Ways to Handle Notes From Your Book Editor [The Write Life]
- A new study shows self-employment leads to happiness [Freelancers Union]
- What’s It Like to Freelance? Myths vs. Real Talk [Working Not Working]
- How Much Is a Word Worth? [Medium]
- Here are the winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes [Poynter]
Recently on Story Board:
- B.C. freelancers invited to participate in Vancity survey: Vancity is interested in learning more about the changing nature of work. If you live in B.C. and are a freelance, contract or independent worker, you’re invited to participate in the survey the credit union is conducting to try and understand the effect of self-employment on British Columbians…
- From Canada to the Netherlands, freelancers seek community and solidarity: Increasingly, freelancers around the world are seeing the value of community. Unions like our own CMG Freelance here in Canada are attracting a growing number of freelance members. And in the Netherlands, union membership among media freelancers is growing even faster…
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.
B.C. freelancers invited to participate in Vancity survey
Vancity is interested in learning more about the changing nature of work. If you live in B.C. and are a freelance, contract or independent worker, you’re invited to participate in the survey the credit union is conducting to try and understand the effect of self-employment on British Columbians.
The survey takes about ten minutes to complete and asks respondents about the advantages and disadvantages of working independently. The information gathered will be published in a report on the gig economy in mid-June.
Vancity’s survey will be open until April 30. Participants will be entered in a draw to win one of three Visa gift cards in the amounts of $500 and $250.
You can find the survey here: https://live.madesurveys.ca/vancity.html
From Canada to the Netherlands, freelancers seek community and solidarity
Jim Verhoef, staff representative for Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten
Freelancing is a solitary career. But increasingly, freelancers around the world are seeing the value of community. Unions like our own CMG Freelance here in Canada are attracting a growing number of freelance members. And in the Netherlands, union membership among media freelancers is growing even faster.
According to Jim Verhoef, almost half of the nearly 8000 members of Dutch media union NVJ (Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten), are freelance journalists. Verhoef, a staff representative for NVJ, is currently on a work/study visit to the Canadian Media Guild’s Toronto office. He took the time to speak with Story Board recently about freelance organizing in the Netherlands.
Freelancers join NVJ for a variety of reasons, said Verhoef. He estimated that about one third of the union’s freelance members are former full-time media workers who have been laid off over the past few years. The rest of NVJ’s freelance membership, he said, choose to freelance because they enjoy the entrepreneurial nature of this kind of work.
“As well as being a union, we are also a professional association, and a lot of freelancers feel that if they join our professional organization that it implicitly gives them a kind of professional mark on what they do,” he said.
Read the rest of this post »
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer April 10-16
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Remembering Tyler Bieber, the sports journalist who died in Humboldt Broncos bus crash [J-Source]
- After public turmoil, what comes next for Canadian Journalists for Free Expression? [J-Source]
- Statement condemning Israeli ‘massacre’ overstepped CJFE mandate, journalism group says [Toronto Star]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Advice for staying safe when interviewing dangerous people [Journalism.co.uk]
- 3 steps to connecting to your ideal clients [Freelancers Union]
- From the Chicago Tribune to the LA Times, journalists organize and push back [CJR]
- A new code of conduct: How the media industry can take better responsibility for the work of fixers [Journalism.co.uk]
- When Robot Writers Take Over, Will Freelancers Be Obsolete? [The Freelancer]
- Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments [The Open Notebook]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer Interviews Daniel Sugar on Self-Publishing His First Novel: Writing a novel is the dream of many freelance writers, but few of us achieve this formidable goal. A first novel is therefore always an exciting event for a freelancer although the path to being published is often strewn with obstacles and decisions unfamiliar to the unpublished…
- Freelance rates rising at CBC/Radio Canada: The Canadian Media Guild and CBC have agreed to an across-the-board wage increase of 1.5% for 2018-19. This increase is also applicable to all the minimum rates applicable to Freelance Contributors…
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 Rates Rising at CBC/Radio-Canada
The Canadian Media Guild and CBC have agreed to an across-the-board wage increase of 1.5% for 2018-19. This increase is also applicable to all the minimum rates applicable to Freelance Contributors.
The increase is effective April 1st, 2018 and the new rates are posted in a downloadable Excel file on the CMG Freelance website along with other tips for CBC freelancers.
One notable rate increase is not based on the 1.5%. The minimum rate for Text Contributions jumps to 60 cents a word from 55 cents a word, where it had sat for the past 2 years. The increase comes as a result of the 2013 contract settlement which doesn’t expire until 2019, but the two sides agreed to a “wage re-opener” for each year of the contract.
“All freelancers should examine their newest contracts (April 1st or later) to make sure that the increase has been applied,” says Don Genova, CMG Freelance President. “Also, if you’re a regular contributor being paid over-scale, your base rate should go up 1.5% and your over-scale amount should remain the same, it shouldn’t be reduced as a result of the base improvement.”
Remember, the posted rates are ‘minimums’. Freelancers can negotiate rates over the minimums, which is usually easier to do with network shows with larger budgets.
Also, if you are hired on a ‘Freelance Specific Services’ contract, your rate is based on what a CBC employee would make for doing the same work. Make sure the money you’re offered fits in with the new rates being paid to employees.
If you have any questions about the increase and how it should be applied, contact CMG Freelance branch president Don at freelance@cmg.ca.
The Born Freelancer Interviews Daniel Sugar on Self-Publishing His First Novel
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.
Writing a novel is the dream of many freelance writers, but few of us achieve this formidable goal. A first novel is therefore always an exciting event for a freelancer although the path to being published is often strewn with obstacles and decisions unfamiliar to the unpublished.
Daniel Sugar is a Toronto-born and based freelancer who has written for various celebrities and a number of TV shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A fan of the work of Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins, J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown and other best-selling authors, Salem Burning is his first novel.
THE BORN FREELANCER: Daniel, you’ve set your first novel in a turbulent and iconic era – that of the Salem witch trials. In it, a dishonourable young man breaks his engagement by falsely accusing his betrothed of witchcraft. The twist is, she turns out to actually be a witch. How did you come up with the story?
DANIEL SUGAR: One day I thought, what if someone told a lie and it just happened to be true? And then I thought, and what if that happened in 1692? Once I had those two things, the entire story flashed through my mind and I couldn’t wait to write it. I saw the whole thing very clearly… It all poured out very quickly – I had a first draft in 9 days and then I polished it for about a year.
THE BORN FREELANCER: What kind of research was required to construct a believable narrative?
DANIEL SUGAR: While I was polishing the novel, I did a lot of research so that everything would seem authentic, the clothes, the food, the homes. I did an enormous amount of research for the scene where Lilly actually goes to trial. I was really afraid to make a mistake because the Salem witch trials actually happened and people really were executed. I took it very seriously – you have to honour the dead – you can’t make light of a terrible and shocking historical event.
THE BORN FREELANCER: You’ve chosen to self-publish. What made you choose to go that route and not a more conventional author/publisher route?
Read the rest of this post »
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer April 3-9
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Working Media podcast: Karen K. Ho [J-Source]
- 27 writers make 2018 CBC Short Story Prize longlist [CBC Books]
- CMG welcomes new President of CBC/Radio-Canada, urges focus on investment in local news and programming [CMG]
- What a failed media startup can teach us about involving readers in reporting [Nieman Lab]
- How I Survive on a Variable Income [From Rags to Reasonable]
- Torstar hiring 20 reporters as it rebrands, revamps Metro newspapers [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 5 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Freelancing [The Freelancer]
- Why education is essential for freelance success [Freelancers Union]
- 31 Free Writing Contests: Legitimate Competitions With Cash Prizes [The Write Life]
- Framing your professional value: Tips for older freelancers [Freelancers Union]
- Onion Inc. has unionized [AV Club]
Recently on Story Board:
- Need help with your taxes? Get organized with the New School of Finance’s free course: It’s tax season, freelancers, and that means it’s time to dig out that pile of receipts and tax slips and get them organized. If that idea fills you with dread, the New School of Finance has a free course that might help…
- Halifax freelancer meet-and-greet April 18: Come and join us for this casual social night where we’ll make connections, share ideas and discuss ways we can work together to improve the working lives of freelancers…
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.
Need some help with your taxes? Get organized with the New School of Finance’s free course
It’s tax season, freelancers, and that means it’s time to dig out that pile of receipts and tax slips and get them organized. If that idea fills you with dread, the New School of Finance has a free course that might help.
The Toronto-based fee-only financial planning firm’s Tax Prep Party is a short tutorial filled with good, basic information to help you get your papers in order.
There are two video modules — one is a general tax preparation checklist and the other is specifically aimed at sole proprietors. The course explains the various slips you’ll need to submit with your return and will remind you of all the little tax credits and deductions that will help you save money on your taxes. Tax Prep Party is presented by financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons, whose entertaining and energetic personality livens up an otherwise tedious chore.
Whether you’re completing your tax return yourself or hiring a tax preparer, Tax Prep Party will help you make sense of the jumble of slips and receipts. As a bonus, if you register for this free course you’ll be offered a discount on the New School of Finance’s comprehensive business course for freelancers, Sole Prop School.
The deadline to file your personal income taxes is April 30. Self-employed people have until June 15 to file their return, but you might not want to wait until that deadline to file… because you’ll pay interest on any taxes you owe between April 30 and June 15.
For more advice on filing your tax return as a freelancer, check out these posts from Story Board’s archives.
