Another freelancer alleges “idea appropriation” by The Walrus
During the past year, management at The Walrus magazine has been accused of poor treatment of staff and freelancers. This month, another freelance writer has come to Story Board with new allegations.
Ontario writer Ann Silversides told Story Board that she pitched a story about a new business to The Walrus last July. The magazine told her that her pitch overlapped with a story they had already scheduled for an upcoming issue.
Several months later, Silversides, a former reporter with The Globe and Mail, discovered that the exact same small business she had pitched – a biocremation facility in the town of Smiths Falls, Ontario – was the focus of The Walrus’s February cover story.
“Their message back to me said there were overlaps, and I thought: ‘Oh, they’re doing something about green cremations.’ You know there’s a big deal these days about burying people in shrouds and under trees and this kind of stuff,” Silversides told Story Board during a recent phone call.
“And that was why I was so angry when I saw their cover story. Because it wasn’t about overall green cremations. It was about biocremation and specifically this place in Smiths Falls,” she said. “I didn’t pitch a topic. I pitched something very, very specific. And that was very, very specifically what The Walrus cover story was about.”
The biocremation facility, said Silversides, who lives approximately 20 kilometres from Smiths Falls, had seen hardly any media coverage at that point, only a few small pieces in local newspapers.
“It all feels very mucky to me. My first thought was just ‘What do they think, I’m just a rube because I live in the country and so they can do what they want with my pitch?’ I don’t know what happened, but that certainly occurred to me,” she said.
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Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 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:
- Columnist’s firing at B.C.-based Chinese paper stirs press-freedom concerns [Globe and Mail]
- Briarpatch magazine says it is on the brink, “running on empty” [Canadian Magazines]
- What can media do better in reporting on missing Indigenous women? [CMG]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 10 Fun Writing Ideas to Help You Get Creative This Summer [The Write Life]
- AdBlock Plus’s revenue model was just ruled illegal by a German court [Business Insider]
- 3 Skills That Will Help You Get More Freelance Writing Jobs [The Write Life]
- 5 tips for freelancing while parenting [Freelancers Union]
- How journalists practice self-care while covering tough stories [Poynter]
- The “no shame” formula for rising from failure [Freelancers Union]
Last week on Story Board:
- CBC Advises Freelancers on How to Get Paid in the Event of a Canada Post Labour Dispute: There may be a disruption in postal services across Canada as soon as July 2nd, 2016 and the CBC has advised us on some options aimed at making sure freelance contributors who currently receive their paycheques in the mail can make alternate arrangements…
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #30 – M. Jay Smith: M. Jay Smith is an Edmonton-based writer of non-fiction and poetry. Her writing has been published by such outlets as Reader’s Digest, Adbusters, the Los Angeles Times, and Canadian Running magazine…
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 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #30 — M. Jay Smith
In this regular feature, Story Board asks Canadian writers to share a few details about their work habits and their strategies for navigating the ups and downs of freelance life.
M. Jay Smith is an Edmonton-based writer of non-fiction and poetry. Her writing has been published by such outlets as Reader’s Digest, Adbusters, the Los Angeles Times, and Canadian Running magazine.
In the fall, Jay is quitting freelance writing to go to law school. She took the time to speak with Story Board recently to share some of the wisdom she’s gathered during her decade as a freelance writer and to offer a few words of parting advice.
What kinds of stories inspire you as a writer?
I really enjoy writing about art and writing about books because I enjoy the idea of participating in public discourse about art and books. I don’t know if we do enough of that anymore.
The majority of my income has been freelance for the past 10 years. And when I started out, local newspapers had local people on staff to do movie reviews and book reviews and now they don’t. It seems like there’s a paucity of public discourse about the things we create in our society
In terms of my feature writing, I’ve always enjoyed stories about social issues and stories that really challenge people to look at things closely. And that aren’t necessarily an easy read. Stories that challenge how comfortable you are with yourself.
What’s the most important thing you’ve done over the years for your professional development?
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Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 14- 20
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:
- Copyright-free material edging out Canadian educational texts [CBC]
- OWL Magazine launches current affairs website [Masthead]
- Crowd-sourced map tracks what’s happening to local news outlets across Canada [J-Source]
- What 12 months as a Nieman fellow taught journalist Stephen Maher [J-Source]
- Rush to make money from amateur video can leave creators behind [CBC] (via @yellowjkt)
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 4 Ways to Turn Vacation Into a Freelance Assignment [The Freelancer]
- The 4 most common excuses for underpricing your work [Fast Company]
- 5 freelancers share their worst client horror stories [The Freelancer]
- Reporting on the refugee crisis [Frontline Freelance Register]
- The shadowy war on the press: How the rich silence journalists [CJR]
- Freelancing isn’t for everyone, but it will be soon [Freelancers Union]
- 3 legal issues freelancers can’t afford to ignore [Freelancers Union]
- Newspaper declines accelerate, latest Pew Research finds [Poynter]
- 5 tips to avoid a cash flow crunch this summer [Freelancers Union]
Last week on Story Board:
- Mixer for factual TV workers in Toronto: The Canadian Media Guild is holding another mixer in Toronto for factual television workers…
- The Born Freelancer on Working for a (Possible) Sociopath: They are unusually intelligent and adept at disguising their true natures. You need to be vigilant for their constant lies and the ever-changing reality that they manufacture around them…
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.
Mixer for factual TV workers in Toronto
The Born Freelancer on Working for a (Possible) Sociopath
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? Your input is welcome in 
the comments.
“I just like f***ing with your heads”.
That was the undeniably truthful but totally unexpected explanation I received once upon a time from an employer who had exhibited increasingly incomprehensible and contradictory behavior.
True, we freelance creative staff had almost unlimited freedom. And the money was very good.
But to balance that, we constantly found their verbal promises to be worthless.
Support staff were routinely verbally abused and always within earshot of the creative staff.
Writer-friendly contracts were frequently later found to contain writer-unfriendly loopholes.
Our work was never quite good enough. It was always accepted but we were made to feel that it had somehow failed to reach the ever-shifting required standard.
Meet the boss
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 7-13
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:
- Announcing the Winners of the 39th National Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
- National Observer goes behind paywall [J-Source]
- Canada Periodical Fund changing with the times [J-Source]
- There is journalism beyond journalism [J-Source]
- Vice Canada workers have voted to join a union—now what? [J-Source]
- The Next Phase of Commenting at CBC [CBC]
- Chronicle Herald salary offer not ‘richest’ in Atlantic Canada [CBC]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 3 ways to be more productive when you sit down to write [The Write Life]
- 28 life hacks that every freelancer should do now [Freelancers Union]
- Gawker Media files for bankruptcy [Poynter]
- 10 productivity hacks for procrastination-prone writers [Freelancers Union]
- Keeping Tabs on Who Pays Writers [National Writers Union]
- 8 Productivity Habits Of The Most Successful Freelancers [Fast Company]
- 6 Ways to Make Time to Write: A Guide for Busy Parents [The Write Life]
- Associated Press Rolls Out Native Advertising Agency [IB Times]
- How to create a pitch log using Trello [Journalism.co.uk]
Last week on Story Board:
- Advice on finding work and selling your skills from the Beyond Journalism panel: Last week freelance journalists came together at the Page One café to discuss life beyond journalism. The event, put on by CWA Canada and CMG Freelance, saw panelists discuss the importance, in the ever-changing media world, of using journalism skills in careers within and beyond media…
- Freelancers represent at the 2016 CMG convention: Last weekend media workers from across Canada came together in Toronto to discuss working conditions and the future of our industry. The biennial Canadian Media Guild convention took place on June 4th and 5th at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale. And freelancers, as always, were part of the event…
- CMG plans to raise freelance issues at Vice Canada bargaining table: A staff representative from the Canadian Media Guild says the union plans to address the working conditions of freelancers and temporary workers at Vice Canada when collective bargaining negotiations begin…
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.
Advice on finding work and selling your skills from the Beyond Journalism panel
by Jennifer D’Agostino
Errol Salamon introduces Beyond Journalism panelists Angela Misri, Veronica Simmonds, Josephine Basch and Buffy Childerhose. Photo by Jennifer D’Agostino.
Last week freelance journalists came together at the Page One café to discuss life beyond journalism. The event, put on by CWA Canada and CMG Freelance, saw panelists discuss the importance, in the ever-changing media world, of using journalism skills in careers within and beyond media.
Journalists were able to hear advice from a panel that consisted of four talented journalists who have all created multi-dimensional careers as writers, authors, radio producers and television producers.
A little bit about the panelists:
Freelancers represent at the 2016 CMG convention
Your 2016 CMG Freelance delegates. Left to right: Elle Andra-Warner, JP Davidson, Rachel Sanders, Paolo Pietropaolo, Don Genova (CMG freelance branch president) and George Butters. Photo by Andrew Meade.
Last weekend media workers from across Canada came together in Toronto to discuss working conditions and the future of our industry.
The biennial Canadian Media Guild convention took place on June 4th and 5th at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale. And freelancers, as always, were part of the event.
CMG Freelance branch president Don Genova and a group of freelance delegates (pictured above) met to discuss plans for the freelance branch of the union and to join in on the convention’s plenary sessions.
One highlight of the convention included news that, after three years of steady job losses at our employers, things seemed to have levelled off. Loss of dues income to the union’s budget was drastic for the past few years, but members are hopeful that the worst is over.
The vote by employees at VICE to join the CMG was another major topic of conversation. Genova says the news, which broke late last week, represents good news for the future of the union.
“It gives us hope with organizing other digital broadcasters ,” he said. “There’s a younger demographic of media workers that’s not afraid of unions but realizes the benefits that come from membership.”
CMG members also said goodbye to CMG Vice-President Lise Lareau and CBC Branch President Marc-Philippe Laurin, both longtime union activists. Both have announced that they won’t seek elected office when their terms run out at the end of this year.
“Lise Lareau in particular has long championed the concept of the independent membership at the freelance branch and the importance of keeping the issues of precarious workers in mind while we bargain with our employers and stand up for their rights in the media landscape at large,” said Genova.
And CMG Freelance delegates were happy to hear that funding from our parent union, the Communication Workers of America, has been renewed.
This means we’ll be able to keep building our freelance branch over the coming year. We plan to continue providing support and advocacy for our members in areas such as contracts, rates, and professional development.
For information about the cost and benefits of membership in CMG Freelance, check out this information page.
CMG plans to raise freelance issues at Vice Canada bargaining table
A staff representative from the Canadian Media Guild says the union plans to address the working conditions of freelancers and temporary workers at Vice Canada when collective bargaining negotiations begin.
Last week employees at Vice voted in favour of unionization. CMG organizer Karen Wirsig says the employees who started the union campaign were aiming to improve the working conditions of everyone who contributes to the publication.
“People at Vice have never made huge distinctions between people who work here full time in the office and freelancers and contractors who come and go,” she told Story Board last week.
Although the bargaining unit that will negotiate a contract does not formally include freelancers or casual employees, the union is as concerned about those workers as they are about full time employees.
“Because we know that’s the tendency in this industry: to have more and more precarious work,” said Wirsig.
Lower pay and the convenience of hiring “just in time” producers has long made casual employees and freelancers attractive in the media industry, said Wirsig.
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