Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 22-30
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:
- How My Business Ate My Money in 2015 [Rags 2 Reasonable]
- The freedom of freelancing (and other ironies) [Editors Toronto Blog]
- The union you make for the VICE you want [CMG]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Twitter unveils revised rules regarding hate speech in posts [The Guardian]
- 69 Journalists Killed in 2015 [CPJ]
- How to follow-up without being creepy [Freelancers Union]
- How to Be More Productive: 21 Ways to Start the New Year Right [The Write Life]
- How to create a simple 2-page business plan [Freelancers Union]
- 10 (Serious) Tips for Surviving the Freelance Holiday Slump [The Freelancer]
Last week on Story Board:
- The Internet ate my homework (Or: How to save your published web work): When you were a kid in grade school you probably became familiar with the worst excuse ever for losing your homework: the dog ate it. These days, it’s probably not the dog you need to look out for. At some point you’ll likely fall prey to gobbling up of another sort – the swallowing of Internet content, leaving you with a link that takes you to an empty page or error message…
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 Internet ate my homework. (Or: How to save your published web work)
by Lesley Evans Ogden
When you were a kid in grade school you probably became familiar with the worst excuse ever for losing your homework: the dog ate it. These days, it’s probably not the dog you need to look out for. At some point you’ll likely fall prey to gobbling up of another sort – the swallowing of Internet content, leaving you with a link that takes you to an empty page or error message.
So, here’s a seemingly obvious but useful piece of advice for all freelancers, particularly for those just starting out: Save your work!
A number of times recently, as I’ve been applying for fellowships, awards or professional development opportunities, I’ve set about searching for clips of my work published online, only to find that some of those webpages have disappeared. That’s not so much of an issue now that I have a large number of published pieces to draw from. However if you’re just starting out as a freelance writer, a piece of advice: don’t rely on that web content you wrote being available forever on the original web link.
What can you do to ensure that you have a copy of everything you write or produce? There is no one size fits all strategy, and a number of different options to consider.
For text published on the web, here are a few easy ways to save a copy of your post that preserves any graphics and formatting:
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 15-21
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:
- Toronto Star editor on why they decided to close comments [J-Source]
- PWAC chat recap: How to survive as a freelance writer [PWAC Toronto]
- Toronto Star closes commenting on thestar.com [Toronto Star]
- Why staff at Vice Canada are trying to unionize [J-Source]
- Why we are unionizing at Vice Canada [CMG]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 8 Ways to Strengthen Your Freelance Writing Business Over the Holidays [The Write Life]
- 5 skills you need to ensure your survival in the future of work [Freelancers Union]
- 5 Strategies for Finding Any Editor’s Email [The Freelancer]
- 7 Backhanded Compliments Freelancers are Sick of Hearing [Bustle]
- Another chilling year of killings and attacks on journalists [The Guardian]
Last week on Story Board:
- CMG launches union drive at Vice Canada: Young media workers have no problem understanding the benefits of unionization, say the organizers behind Vice Canada’s union drive…
- The Born Freelancer says all I want for Christmas… is a USB microphone: The working freelancer needs a good, reliable microphone. For radio or podcasting that’s obvious. But even print freelancers should record all interviews in best quality possible…
- “Freelance Isn’t Free” bill aims to improve working conditions for New York freelancers: A New York city councilman introduced a bill last week that would require employers to use written contracts with freelancers and pay their invoices within 30 days…
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.
CMG launches union drive at Vice Canada
Young media workers have no problem understanding the benefits of unionization, say the organizers behind Vice Canada’s union drive.
“Precarity of labour is a fact for most young people,” says Tannara Yelland, a former Vice employee who is currently working as a temporary organizer with the Canadian Media Guild.
“When you work in media, even if you have a permanent full time staff job – which is fairly rare – you still know that you are in an industry that is itself precarious. I think young people are starting to think more about what they can do to improve their work conditions. And there’s a wider awareness now that unions are a good way to do that.”
The CMG (which is the union that funds this blog) has been working with a group of Vice employees for several weeks, helping them take steps towards unionization. On Tuesday, the CMG announced the campaign in a post on their website.
Yelland says the idea of unionizing has mostly been met with enthusiasm by Vice employees.
“For the most part everybody who’s been part of the union effort really enjoys their job and really likes working at Vice,” she says. “But there are always things that can be improved and organizing just allows us to have more of a say in how those things are improved.”
Read the rest of this post »
Freelancers: Having problems at Toronto Star Touch?
Hi, freelancers. If you’ve been submitting articles or photographs to Toronto Star Touch and have been having problems of any kind, please get in touch with us at freelance@cmg.ca.
All communications will be kept strictly confidential.
The Born Freelancer Says All I Want for Christmas… Is a USB Microphone
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.
Tis the season of giving and getting.
So I could not be given a better opportunity to look into what I would really like to get.
Number one on my list of freelancing gear needing an upgrade…
The microphone
The working freelancer needs a good, reliable microphone. For radio or podcasting that’s obvious. But even print freelancers should record all interviews in best quality possible – for accuracy, for clarity and for possible repurposing at a later date.
I can’t begin to count the interviews I have conducted for one medium that ended up being repurposed for another. That I was successfully able to do so was because I had initially recorded in broadcast quality.
I had always been taught to get the best quality microphone I could afford. Garbage in = garbage out, as computer mavens say, so to get the best results coming out you need the best equipment going in. I have always used conventional analog microphones to get the best sound for my buck, and still do so when appropriate. They have always provided me with high quality audio.
I’ve written about my favourites in the past on this site. These were ideal when recording on old-school recorders with analog inputs – or when recording on a laptop with a built in sound card – or when using an external interface between analog mic and laptop USB port. (Note: Analog mics will not work directly with most laptops running digital recording apps unless plugged into an external analog-to-USB converter.)
But today most of my recording is done on a laptop. And there is a new generation of microphones, USB microphones, that plug directly into a laptop without an additional interface device. This seemed to me to be a positive step forward because every extra piece of gear is something else you have to carry that can fail, get broken, stolen or lost.
So I decided to get my first USB microphone.
“Freelance Isn’t Free” bill aims to improve working conditions for New York freelancers
A New York city councilman introduced a bill last week that would require employers to use written contracts with freelancers and pay their invoices within 30 days.
According to an article in the Washington Post, Councilman Brad Lander was inspired to introduce the bill by the Freelancers Union, a U.S. organization that advocates for freelancers. The Freelancers Union has been campaigning under the slogan “Freelance Isn’t Free” this fall in an attempt to draw attention to the problem of nonpayment of freelancers by deadbeat clients. After a recent survey, the organization determined that freelancers in the U.S. lose an average $6,400 a year to wage theft.
In addition to requiring written contracts and 30-day payment terms, the bill, if passed, would allow freelancers to make complaints against nonpaying clients to the Department of Consumer Affairs in New York. If the freelancer litigates against a deadbeat client and wins, the client will be responsible for the legal fees incurred. If found guilty, the client will also be fined double the amount owing to the freelancer. Criminal misdemeanor charges are also possible against employers who “knowingly and willingly engage in the unlawful payment practices set out in the bill.”
In a statement on his website, Councilman Lander said the bill is “first-of-its-kind legislation that would provide freelancers with protection from nonpayment.” New York city council has taken other steps to protect workers recently. Earlier this fall, New York mayor Bill Blasio signed a law creating the Office of Labor Standards to enforce employment laws and educate workers about their rights.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 8-14
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:
- Professional Association Profile: CMG Freelance [The Jenn Report]
- Entries open for National Magazine Awards [Canadian Magazines]
- Social media shakes things up in journalism [J-Source]
- Call for Submissions: 39th annual National Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
- News director of two BC radio stations resigns after editorial staff asked to sell ads [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- For freelancers, getting stiffed is part of the job. Some in New York City want to fix it [Washington Post]
- 3 tips for pushing through your backlog [Freelancers Union]
- Full House: How to work at home with kids during the holidays [The Write Life]
- How to Make It as a Travel Writer, According to Four Veteran Freelancers [The Freelancer]
- 25 ways to write better emails [Freelancers Union]
- U.S. wage-theft bill threatens employers with jail, requires contracts for freelancers [Crains]
- Interaction on Twitter enhances journalists’ credibility [American Press Institute]
- Checklist: How to Write a Query Letter That Doesn’t Suck [The Write Life]
Last week on Story Board:
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #25 — Frances Bula: Frances Bula knows Vancouver. She covers the city’s wide-ranging urban issues — from drug addiction and prostitution to property development and transportation — for publishers such as the Globe and Mail and Vancouver 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 #25 — Frances Bula
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.
Frances Bula knows Vancouver. She covers the city’s wide-ranging urban issues — from drug addiction and prostitution to property development and transportation — for publishers such as the Globe and Mail and Vancouver Magazine. She went freelance eight years ago after spending 20 years on staff at the Vancouver Sun. Bula is also the chair of the Langara College journalism department and an instructor at UBC’s Graduate School of Journalism.
She took the time to speak with Story Board this week about the purpose of journalism, tricking yourself into writing, and developing an instinct for finding good stories.
When you’re just starting out as a writer, is it better to specialize or be a generalist?
I think it’s good for people who are freelancing to work, if they can, at just a general assignment job for a few years. And just perfect their skills and figure out what they like covering. And then move into freelancing. Yes, I’m a person who likes specialization. Even when I wasn’t a freelancer, that’s what I liked. I do think it does give you a certain edge because when you specialize you’re offering the editor an expertise they can’t really get from just any reporter.
And with specializing, you might think “well isn’t the problem that you really narrow what you can write about?” But it doesn’t. Good beat reporters and good niche freelancers know that you can sort of take a basic area and cover the world from Vancouver city hall or a science lab or whatever.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Dec 1-7
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:
- Important dates for the 2016 National Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
- Help update the pay rates for work in factual TV [CMG]
- National Newsmedia Council aims to bring more media into the fold [J-Source]
- S&P cuts Postmedia’s credit rating, warns capital structure “unsustainable” [Globe and Mail]
- Uncivil Dialogue: Commenting and stories about Indigenous people [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Why I stopped calling myself a “freelancer” [Fast Company]
- Struggling authors applying for emergency funds in record numbers [The Guardian]
- Huffington Post joins the union movement – but what about their freelancers? [Freelancers Union]
- Don’t Let This Small Mistake Ruin Your Personal Essay Pitch [The Write Life]
- Glenn Greenwald Talks Freelancing and the Future of Investigative Journalism [The Freelancer]
- 4 must-dos for freelancers before the holidays take over [Freelancers Union]
- Huffington Post the Latest Web Publication to Unionize [Newsweek]
- ‘Overwhelming majority’ sign up for union at Huffington Post, ask for voluntary recognition [Poynter]
- Free spec work? Watch people in other industries say no to spec [Freelancers Union]
- 5 Veteran Freelancers Reveal Their Best Negotiating Tips [The Freelancer]
Last week on Story Board:
- Media workers gather in Louisville to plot path to better workplaces: In early October, journalists, labour organizers, activists and academics converged in Louisville, KY, at the Media Workers Unite Founding Convention to discuss industry-wide campaigns to organize media workers…
- Content Marketing Needn’t be an Ethical Quandary for Canadian Freelancers: In my last column, we looked at “following the money;” at the need for Canadian freelancers who want to continue writing and editing as a career to consider new types of clients…
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.
