Webinar: Cyber Security for Journalists
Buzzfeed reporter Jane Lytvynenko
CMG Freelance is hosting a webinar called Cyber Security for Journalists on Tuesday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The webinar will focus on tangible and easy steps reporters can take to secure their everyday activities online and off. It will cover some of the best apps to use for communication, setting up PGP encryption, and other key operations security activities.
It will be led by journalist Jane Lytvynenko, a reporter for BuzzFeed news who focuses on online disinformation (yes, that means fake news). Previously Jane was the editor at media criticism publication Canadaland. Jane’s freelance work has appeared in the CBC, Maclean’s, NOW Magazine, and others.
You can register for the webinar at this link. CMG Freelance and CWA Canada Associate Members can use their membership numbers to register. For a limited time, CMG Freelance is making live viewing of our webinars available to non-members. If you’d like to watch this one, you can use the special code “Storyboard” in place of a membership number.
Archived webinars are available for viewing by CMG Freelance and CWA Canada Associate Members on this members-only page on the CMG Freelance website. Subjects of previous webinars include contract negotiation, pitching, freelance finances, and brand storytelling.
Students, volunteers and emerging media workers can sign up for a free CWA Associate Membership right here.
For information about the price and benefits of CMG Freelance membership check out the CMG Freelance website.
Hey, CBC Freelancers, You’re Getting A Raise!
By Don Genova, CMG Freelance Branch President
Journalists who contribute to the CBC on a freelance basis are now subject to new minimum rates as of April 1, 2017. The Canadian Media Guild and CBC have agreed to a 1.5% across-the-board increase in rates contained in the collective agreement.
This means the rates have risen by a total of 4.5% since the last agreement between CMG and CBC was signed in 2014. The current collective agreement doesn’t expire until 2019.
If you are regular contributor who has negotiated more than the minimum rates in a ‘blanket contract’, note that the new rates should not undercut your overscale amount. So, if the minimum rate was $100 and you were making $110, your new rate should be $101.50 + $10.00 for $111.50.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to advise you to make sure you are being contracted in the right category. I’ve heard from a number of freelancers wondering about where they fit into the list of options. The categories should be attached to each freelance contributor contract you receive from the CBC.
Those categories can make quite a difference in your final pay. For example, frequent contributors or columnists on radio programs often write their own introductions and question lines, along with some recorded audio clips. This puts you into the ‘analyst-specialist’ category. A 5-minute item pays a minimum of $304.21. If you were contracted instead at the ‘commentator’ rate, you would only be paid a minimum of $114.72, or as an ‘analyst’, a minimum of $177.04. Quite the difference.
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Indemnity clauses – the rickety bridges of freelancing
by Lesley Evans Ogden
Imagine you want to climb up a mountain to a beautiful viewpoint. You’ve done some research, figured out how to get to the trailhead, packed your backpack, and climbed most of the way up the mountain.
But on the final ascent you arrive at a deep chasm. The only way across is a rickety bridge. The viewpoint is otherwise inaccessible, and it’s too wide a gap to jump. You’ve invested so much time and effort in getting here. It seems silly to quit now.
So what do you do? Do you throw your pack across the gap and gingerly make your way across the bridge? Or do you run across the bridge as fast as you can, hoping that in haste, you won’t exert your full weight on the dubious infrastructure?
This dilemma, to me, is a lot like how freelancers approach new clients. We are goggle-eyed by the possibility of a new byline or credit. We’ve found a good story. We’ve located the trailhead – the contact details for the editor or producer. We’ve packed our backpack and made progress up the path by successfully researching and pitching the story. Yet we’ve invested all this time without knowing there is a rickety bridge — an unfavourable contract — to cross at the summit.
This recently happened to me. About a year ago, an editor at The Walrus contacted me, complimenting me on a story I had written for Nature. The Walrus editor encouraged me to pitch them a story. The embarrassing truth is that it’s hard not to be flattered by these kinds of out-of-the-blue solicitations for pitches. So I did pitch them. My first pitch failed, so I pitched them two more times. My third pitch was successful, and I was excited to have broken new ground.
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Webinar April 4: Health Care Benefits via CMG Freelance
Membership in CMG Freelance comes with affordable access to the Actra Fraternal Benefit Society and the Writers’ Coalition Program — an affordable health insurance program designed to help members manage their health care costs.
CMG Freelance is hosting an informational webinar about the program tomorrow, Wednesday, April 5, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The webinar will be led by Jason Saulay, a program representative. Jason will explain how the program works, how to get a quote, and will answer any questions you have about coverage. CMG Freelance members are guaranteed acceptance into the program, with no medical questionnaires necessary and no refusals based on pre-existing conditions.
To register, go to this registration page and enter your name, email address and CMG Freelance membership number. If you’re not a CMG Freelance member but would like to learn more about the program, you can enter the code “StoryBoard” in the membership number field.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 28-April 3
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:
- Finalists announced for Magazine Grands Prix awards [Canadian Magazines]
- Opinion: ‘Nationalize’ Postmedia? That’s just the first step [J-Source]
- Quebec Budget 2017: Newspapers to get $36 million in government help [Montreal Gazette]
- CTV sports coverage cuts undermine local TV [Unifor]
- Peter Mansbridge: Debating his legacy [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Land More Freelance Writing Gigs: 10 Tips to Pitch Like a Pro [The Write Life]
- How to get excited about a networking event [Freelancers Union]
- Should You Diversify Writing Gigs or Specialize in One Area? [Freelance Writing Gigs]
- Work-at-home parent? 6 ways to better manage interruptions [Freelancers Union]
- 8 Places to Find Your Next Story [Mediabistro]
- Want to Make Money Writing? Give These 5 Books a Read [The Write Life]
- When She Asked About Payment, Editor Cut Her Story [National Writers Union]
- Get Paid to Blog: 6 Obvious Signs Content Marketing is A Fit For You [The Write Life]
- Local edition: What skills do journalists need? Thick skin, vision, patience, all the basics [Poynter]
- ‘I thought I’d give it a shot’: Two sportswriters find success crowdfunding [CJR]
- 6 Free Tools That Will Help Any Freelance Writer Get Better at Pitching [The Write Life]
- Stop and listen: A beginner’s guide to planning and recording an audio story [Journalism.co.uk]
Recently on Story Board:
- 2017 Public Lending Rights Program registration deadline May 1: If you’re a Canadian author, illustrator or photographer with a published book, it’s time to register for the Public Lending Rights Program…
- Urban Worker Skillshare April 8 in Vancouver: CMG Freelance is partnering with the Urban Worker Project to present a day-long workshop and after party for freelance and contract workers to get together, network and share resources…
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.
2017 Public Lending Right Program registration deadline May 1
If you’re a Canadian author, illustrator or photographer with a published book, it’s time to register for the Public Lending Right Program. PLR is a Canada Council for the Arts program that distributes payments to Canadian creators to compensate them for the lending out of their books through Canadian public libraries.
This year’s registration period runs from February 15 to May 1. In order to register, you’ll need to fill out and mail in a signed registration form along with photocopies of the title page, copyright page and table of contents of the book or books you’ve contributed to. But it’s worth the effort — last year the average payment sent out to registrants was $568.
For details on eligibility criteria or the application process, see the Public Lending Right Program’s website.
Urban Worker Skillshare April 8 in Vancouver
CMG Freelance is partnering with the Urban Worker Project to present a day-long workshop and after party for freelance and contract workers to get together, network and share resources.
Join us on Saturday, April 8th from 9:30 to 6 p.m. at Creative Coworkers (343 Railway Street). There will be lawyers, accountants and other experts leading sessions on the business side of self-employment, including seminars on taxes, setting rates, writing contracts, invoicing, getting paid on time and more.
We’ll also talk about the big picture issues we’re facing – like access to affordable housing, benefits, childcare and income security and what we can do to make change.
Participants will leave with a package that includes contract templates, resources useful to freelancers and swag from partnering organizations.
Tickets to the daytime event are $100 with a sliding scale option. For details and to register for the event check out this Eventbrite page.
The after party will be held at the headquarters of the Vancouver Mural Festival (207-877 East Hastings Street) at 7 p.m. Tickets to the after party are being sold separately and can be purchased right here.
CMG Freelance has a limited number of free tickets to give away for both events. If you’d like one of them, you can email Don Genova at freelance@cmg.ca for a promo code. Priority will be given to CMG Freelance and CWA Canada Associate Members. Please include your CMG Freelance membership number in your email and indicate which of the events you’re interested in — the Skillshare, the party, or both.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 21-27
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:
- Here is who was laid off at the Vancouver Sun and The Province [J-Source]
- New Trail, Canadian Rockies Annual, Avenue Magazine top winners at 2017 Alberta Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
- What do journalists think about journalists? [J-Source]
- Vice Canada’s ongoing legal case is about bigger issues in Canadian journalism [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- The majority of U.S. news is still produced by men, new report finds [Poynter]
- 5 Universal Annoyances That Test Your Patience as a Freelancer [The Freelancer]
- How a freelance journalist told the real story of the U.S. Yemen raid [Poynter]
- Reporters, Know These 3 Source Types? Tips for Interviewing With Ease [The Write Life]
- 8 techniques for finding and fixing errors in your writing [Poynter]
- Tip: Try out these tools to help you write and edit your stories [Journalism.co.uk]
- Writer’s Block or Perfectionism? How to Figure It Out and Fix It [The Write Life]
Recently on Story Board:
- 2017 Forum Freelance Fund applications open: The Forum Freelance Fund provides bursaries for Canadian freelancers to attend dangerous environment training courses. Applications are now open for the 2017 bursary program…
- The Born Freelancer on the Sanctity of Deadlines, Part 2: In my previous post I talked about why deadlines should be considered sacrosanct. Today I want to talk about how to ensure you always make deadline. Everybody will develop different strategies; these are a few of my own…
- CMG Freelance member wins RNAO media award: CMG Freelance member Alison Motluk has won an award from the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario for her story Ottawa family sues fertility doctor for use of wrong sperm — his own, which aired last November on CBC Radio’s The Current…
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.
2017 Forum Freelance Fund applications open
The Forum Freelance Fund provides bursaries for Canadian freelancers to attend dangerous environment training courses. Applications are now open for the 2017 bursary program.
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 15. Winners will be notified by May 31. Bursary winners will then have two months to choose a hostile environment training course and register for it. Most courses run for 4 or 5 days.
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 24 bursaries to freelancers since then.
More information and application requirements are available on the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma website.
The Born Freelancer on the Sanctity of Deadlines, Part 2
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.
In my previous post I talked about why deadlines should be considered sacrosanct.
Today I want to talk about how to ensure you always make deadline. Everybody will develop different strategies; these are a few of my own.
When is it due?
When a deadline is given, you can accept it or attempt to negotiate it. In many cases a deadline is set in stone; in others there is room to manoeuvre. It will depend on many external factors that your employer may have no control over.
Ultimately, only experience will tell you how much time you will need.
Some freelancers work fast. Some require multiple time-outs during the process. Others will plough through in a mad fit of productivity. Only you know your own needs. You must learn to assess a project before you begin it to roughly determine how long it will take you to complete. If you don’t, you won’t last long as a freelancer.
If you can negotiate the deadline, always ask for more time than you think you need. First, it is a useful tactic as they may come back to you with a revised deadline more to your liking but still less than you requested. Secondly, it gives you built-in cushioning for unforeseen developments.
As a freelancer you always have to expect the unexpected.
