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for a freelancer although the path to being published is often strewn with obstacles and decisions unfamiliar to the unpublished…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.
Halifax freelancer meet-and-greet April 18
Halifax-area freelancers, mark your calendars: CMG Freelance is hosting a spring meet-and-greet on Wednesday, April 18 at The Marquee Ballroom (2037 Gottingen Street) from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
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.
Enjoy a slice of pizza and a drink on us while you network with other freelancers and learn about the CMG and the support we provide to freelance workers.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer March 27-April 2
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:
- Forum Freelance Fund Bursaries [Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma]
- Opinion: How Ottawa should spend its $50 million to support local news [J-Source]
- These journalists help deliver a community newspaper on the weekends [Poynter]
- Survey Reveals Canadian Freelancers Saddled With Unpaid Invoices [WWD]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Unequal Rights: Contract Workers Have Few Workplace Protections [NPR]
- 6-Step Guide to Writing a Killer Project Proposal [The Write Life]
- 4 Tips for Breaking Into Branded Podcasts [The Freelancer]
- 40 time-tested tips for journalists that never go out of style [Poynter]
- Time is on your side: Building client relationships [Freelancers Union]
- Interviewing for career-spanning profiles [The Open Notebook]
- Paste Magazine is too indie to pay its contributors properly [Huffington Post]
- Should you compete or collaborate with other freelancers? [Forbes]
- Before you quit your day job, make sure you can deliver [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- Vancouver media mixer on April 18: Vancouver media workers, freelancers and journalism students, come out and join us for a free networking event on Wednesday, April 18 at Shebeen Whiskey House in Gastown from 6:00 until 8:30 p.m…
- 2018 Forum Freelance Fund competition for hostile environment training bursaries now open: The fund provides bursaries for Canadian freelancers to attend dangerous environment training courses. It provides bursaries of up to $2500 to Canadian freelancers. Foreign freelancers doing significant work for Canadian publications are also eligible to apply…
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.
Vancouver media mixer on April 18
Vancouver media workers, freelancers and journalism students, come out and join us for a free networking event on Wednesday, April 18 at Shebeen Whiskey House (212 Carrall St.) in Gastown from 6:00 until 8:30 p.m.
There will be free snacks and drinks on offer as you make connections, test pitches, and share advice with people working (and studying) in the media across the city. Mentors from a variety of media outlets will be in attendance.
The event is sponsored by CWA Canada, the country’s only all media union, with 6,000 members at media companies and newspapers coast to coast. 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. CWA Canada also has a free membership for student, volunteer, precarious and emerging media workers through its Associate Member program.
This event is free to attend, but please register to reserve your spot on this Eventbrite page.
2018 Forum Freelance Fund competition for hostile environment training bursaries now open
The 2018 Forum Freelance Fund competition is now open for submissions. The fund provides bursaries for Canadian freelancers to attend dangerous environment training courses.
The fund provides bursaries of up to $2500 to Canadian freelancers. Foreign freelancers doing significant work for Canadian publications are also eligible to apply.
The deadline for this annual bursary competition is April 19. Winners will be notified by May 31. Bursary winners will then have two months to choose and register for a hostile environment training course.
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. The competition was founded in 2011 and has awarded 27 bursaries to freelancers since then.
More information and application requirements are available on the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma website.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer March 20-26
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:
- Student journalist award winners honoured at the Emerge Media Awards [Canadian Magazines]
- Radio-Canada reporter won’t face harassment charge [CBC]
- Torstar and Postmedia talked job cuts before deal, Competition Bureau says [Globe and Mail]
- CBC’s Carol Off discusses the ethics of source relationships at 2018 Atkinson Lecture [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Miss Having Coworkers? Here’s How to Start a Writing Group [The Write Life]
- 4 ways to improve productivity when you work from home [Freelancers Union]
- A Smarter Way to Price Your Freelance Projects [The Freelancer]
- How to keep your credit score stable as a freelancer [Freelancers Union]
- How writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning story is like eating a big slice of pizza [Poynter]
Recently on Story Board:
- 2018 Dave Greber Awards open for submissions: Freelance writers, if you’ve focused your work on social justice issues this year, it’s time to apply for the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards. The competition opened this week and the submissions deadline is Friday, June 22at 5 p.m. PST…
- Build your freelance business with these five small social media tweaks: When I got into social media marketing there were three networks with straightforward strategies. Today, there are many more platforms and the rules seem to be ever-changing. Tactics that worked a few years ago don’t seem as effective anymore. So what is a freelancer to do?…
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.
