Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Sept 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:
- Former Olympic boss John Furlong wins defamation case filed by journalist [Vancouver Observer]
- Freelance journalist who sued John Furlong loses defamation case [Globe and Mail]
- CBC President Hubert Lacroix: Public Broadcasters ‘Risk Being Boiled To Death’ [Huffington Post]
- Quebec’s La Presse to scrap weekday print edition to focus on app [Globe and Mail]
- Toronto Star pins hopes of younger audience on new tablet app [Globe and Mail]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- No Unions, No Problem. How Freelancers Are Fighting For Their Rights [Mediashift]
- Facebook launches Signal, a tool to help journalists sort through the noise [Poynter]
- Writers and Editors Discuss the Delicate Dance of Story Rewrites [The Freelancer]
- Seven secrets of podcasting success [Medium] (via @NiemanLab)
- Dispirited but not defeated [Cuaderno Inedito]
- 3 symptoms of freelance burnout [Freelancers Union]
- How to Write About Anything: 5 steps for researching a new topic [The Write Life]
- The productivity paradox: Quality vs. Quantity [Freelancers Union]
- Could Working on Retainer Help You Build a Reliable Freelance Business? [The Write Life]
Last week on Story Board:
- Free podcasting webinar for CMG Freelance and CWA Associate Members: Wanna be a podcaster? JP Davidson’s upcoming podcasting webinar will help get you started… or take you to the next level…
- Two CMG Freelance members nominated for prestigious Prix Italia: Two members of CMG Freelance have been nominated for the prestigious Prix Italia radio award this year, one of them in a brand new category that is of special interest to 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.
Free podcasting webinar for CMG Freelance and CWA Associate Members
Wanna be a podcaster?
JP Davidson’s upcoming podcasting webinar will help get you started… or take you to the next level.
In this hour-long workshop, Davidson — a podcaster, radio producer and founder of the Canadian Sound & Story Workshop — will offer insights into the state of the industry, the resources available, and the best ways to launch and monetize your podcast.
The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30th from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT.
It will be recorded and made available for playback for interested members who are unable to participate live.
This webinar is free for both CWA Associate Members and members of CMG Freelance. If you’re already a member, you can register for the event on this Eventbrite page.
CWA Associate Membership is free for students, volunteers and emerging media workers. You can sign up for membership right here.
For information about the price and benefits of CMG Freelance membership check out the CMG Freelance website.
Two CMG Freelance members nominated for prestigious Prix Italia
Two members of CMG Freelance have been nominated for the prestigious Prix Italia radio award this year, one of them in a brand new category that is of special interest to freelancers.
Vancouver radio producer Willow Yamauchi is nominated in the Best Documentary category for Deaf Jam, a documentary about deaf musicians that was broadcast on CBC’s The Current earlier this year. Yamauchi’s documentary has also been nominated for a Jack Webster Award, a prize that honours outstanding journalism in British Columbia.
Toronto-based radio producer Veronica Simmonds is also nominated for a Prix Italia. Her piece Dr. Clock, about a horologist living in Halifax Nova Scotia, is up for an award in a brand new category called New Radio Formats.
This new category is significant for freelancers because it is open to independents. Previously, only broadcasters were eligible to nominate pieces for awards.
We wish our members the best of luck in their categories! The 67th annual Prix Italia awards ceremony takes place in Torino, Italy next Thursday, September 24th.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Sept 9-14
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:
- Overwhelmed by Your To-Do List? Start Here [Freelance Hustle]
- Writers Vote: Election “How To” for TWUC Members [TWUC]
- Glacier Media to close three more B.C. community newspapers [Globe and Mail]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Here’s Why the Freelancer Economy is on the Rise [Fast Company]
- Are matching donations key to crowdfunding journalism? Beacon is betting on it. [Poynter]
- Staying Healthy as a Freelance Writer: 9 Important Self-Care Strategies [The Write Life]
- 5 Things To Consider If You Are Planning To Freelance [Jobs & Hire] (via @Mediabistro)
- 12 tips for writing fast – or at least faster [Poynter]
- The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now [Four Hour Work Week] (via @LuigiBenetton)
- Greenpeace hires team of investigative journalists [The Guardian]
- 6 steps to kickstart your fall [Freelancers Union]
- Budgeting for the Self-Employed [The Every Girl] (via @KayliBarth)
- The Unionization of Digital Media [The Nation]
- If You Don’t Click on This Story, I Don’t Get Paid [The Awl]
Last week on Story Board:
- Students’ voices can create change in the fight for fair wages: TIFF offers a wealth of opportunities for students and aspiring newbies as it takes over downtown Toronto with screenings, meetings, deals, and parties. As the excitement and hype ignite the city many of us dream of attending TIFF as industry professionals…
- The Born Freelancer Looks Back Over Four Years, Part 2:Having had some time off to pause and reflect, today I would like to conclude my look back on columns I have written as “The Born Freelancer”…
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.
Students’ voices can create change in the fight for fair wages
by Priya Duguay
Toronto International Film Festival is creating quite the buzz again this year as a flurry of fans, film aficionados, and film fraternity (aka. Hollywood’s elite) arrive for the highly respected film festival. As a media student at Ryerson University’s Radio and Television Media Production Program (RTA) I’m constantly, like many of my peers, seeking employment and experience in the industry. TIFF offers a wealth of opportunities for students and aspiring newbies as it takes over downtown Toronto with screenings, meetings, deals, and parties. As the excitement and hype ignite the city many of us dream of attending TIFF as industry professionals.
So when I received an email from my program department a few weeks ago about an opportunity to work with the entertainment show etalk during TIFF, my interest was immediately piqued. As I read the email, however, I realized that this was yet another unpaid gig. The email asked for volunteers to help promote etalk’s coverage of the festival and distribute swag bags. For many students, an opportunity like this one seems glamorous and filled with exciting prospects. But the question is, why is it not a paid position?
To break it down, etalk is broadcast on CTV, which is owned and operated by Bell Media. According to their website, Bell has a multi-platform brand that includes television, online, specialty and digital media. Since Bell Media is such a major player in Canadian media, one would imagine that paying people fair wages would be common sense?
I decided to do a little investigating.
Read the rest of this post »
The Born Freelancer Looks Back Over 4 Years – 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? Your input is welcome in the comments.
Having had some time off to pause and reflect, today I would like to conclude my look back on columns I have written as “The Born Freelancer”.
Here, listed in no particular order, are some additional thoughts on topics I have written about in the last four years. (Part One, which ran in July, is here).
Overcoming inertia
Nothing strikes fear in the mind of a freelancer like the possibility of confronting writer’s block. I’ve written about it here.
I’ve also written about the power of creating lists in helping freelancers organize and effectively take control of their own tendencies towards inertia.
I’ve read many interesting articles on this subject since then. All have had invaluable advice to share.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Sept 1-8
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:
- Media Fact Check: What the Press Got Wrong About Alan Kurdi, and What It Got Right [Canadaland]
- Mohamed Fahmy: Egyptian court releases ruling details against Canadian journalist [CBC]
- Expert’s forecast: Canada will have few if any print newspapers by 2025 [Poynter]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How to write an “About Me” page that gets you hired [99U]
- Vice News journalists back in UK after release from Turkish prison [Guardian]
- When Freelance Writing Goes Wrong: How to Avoid a Work-From-Home Disaster [The Write Life]
- No Unions, No Problem: How Freelancers Are Finding New Ways to Fight for Their Rights [The Freelancer]
- Contributoria closes but its team still sees a future for ‘people-supported journalism’ [journalism.co.uk]
- How to manage writing-related health issues [The Write Life]
- It’s time to apply for a visiting Nieman Fellowship [Nieman Lab]
- 15 tips for handling quotes [Poynter]
- Why following-up counts [Freelancers Union]
- How to Become a Successful Writer: 5 Habits to Practice Daily [The Write Life]
Last week on Story Board:
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #23 — Josiah Neufeld: Josiah Neufeld is the winner of the 2014 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for social justice writing…
- New Tyee Master Class series includes CMG-sponsored courses: Vancouver publisher The Tyee has just announced their fall Master Class series and many of the eight upcoming courses will be of great interest to 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.
The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #23 — Josiah Neufeld
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.
Josiah Neufeld is the winner of the 2014 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for social justice writing. The Winnipeg writer has been published in The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, Utne Reader and Geez magazine. His Dave Greber award-winning story “A Quiet Slaughter” was published in Hazlitt and tells the story of Erick, a young man who escaped war and genocide in Burundi. Neufeld took the time to speak with Story Board this week about the elements of a good story, balancing work with family life, and finding inspiration in rejection.
You write about some fascinating people in your work. Many of them seem to be old friends and acquaintances. Are your story ideas always inspired by people you meet by chance, or do you sometimes seek out characters to illustrate a topic that you want to write about?
No I certainly seek out characters to illustrate a topic that I’m interested in. A piece I did last fall for a magazine called Geez, I did quite a bit of work to find the main characters of that story. It took me quite a bit of emailing contacts I know and poking around to find them.
Read the rest of this post »
New Tyee Master Class series includes CMG Freelance-sponsored courses
Vancouver publisher The Tyee has just announced their fall Master Class series and many of the eight upcoming courses will be of great interest to freelancers.
CMG Freelance is sponsoring three of the courses, and is offering CMG Freelance members a $50 discount on the $200 registration fee. Non-members will have the option of signing up for a one-year CMG Freelance membership (worth $150) as part of the $200 course registration fee.
The CMG Freelance-sponsored courses are:
• Non-Fiction Writing with Maximum Impact with John Vaillant on September 26th
• Freelancer’s Survival Guide: What You Need to Know as an Independent Creative Worker with Don Genova on October 3rd
• Visual Journalism with John Lehmann on November 21st
If you are a CMG Freelance member in the Vancouver area and you are interested in taking one or more of these three courses, please email freelance@cmg.ca for a discount code before you register.
And you can check out The Tyee’s website for the full fall 2015 Master Class course list. The series starts on September 19th with a fiction writing workshop with acclaimed author Zsuzsi Gartner.
Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer August 25-31
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:
- Ottawa formally petitioning for Mohamed Fahmy’s release [Toronto Star]
- Egyptian court sentences Canadian journalist Fahmy to three years in prison [Globe and Mail]
- Tips for Breaking Into Travel Writing [PWAC Toronto]
- Freelancers’ Fall Checklist [Living Freelance]
- Things You Can Do To Grow Your Business When You Only Have 10 Minutes [The Freelance Hustle]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- An expert’s forecast — Canada will have few if any print newspapers by 2025 [Poynter]
- How Freelancers Are Fighting For Their Labor Rights [Fast Company]
- When journalists write for free it hurts our democracy [The Conversation]
- Writing for Corporate Blogs: How to Get Hired as a Freelancer [The Write Life]
- NO to the Huffington Post, YES to these sites that pay writers [Alyssa Royse]
- Crowdfunded journalism site Contributoria folds [Politico]
- 10 Mistakes That’ll Ruin Your Freelancing Career [The Freelancer]
- “The rapacious Ms. Huffington seems to believe that journalism skills are worth nothing.” [Romenesko]
- Why It Benefits Freelancers to Be Inflexible [The Freelancer]
- Will Unionizing Gawker And Vice Help Freelance Writers Earn A Living Wage? [Forbes]
- The 5 Commandments of Pitching for Freelance Writing Gigs [Freelance Writers Online]
- A year after James Foley: Safety advice for conflict reporters [Journalism.co.uk]
Last week on Story Board:
- The Problem of Press Trips: Freelance writers are masters of ingenuity. We have to be. Decreasing wages and increasing demands have made full-time freelance writing a losing proposition. Those of us who wish to remain in the field quickly develop strategies to make it work: We stack assignments, boost our incomes with part-time jobs, and network like crazy…
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.
