Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 31-April 6

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:

 

From The U.S. and beyond:

 

Last week on Story Board:

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.      

Posted on April 6, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,

Canadian journalism schools and the internship issue… Work for pay or pay to work?

by Sara Tatelman

 

“Volunteer to do something which is at least somewhat related to your expertise,” Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, urged unemployed youth in a widely criticized November 2014 speech. More often than not, following this advice would mean undertaking an unpaid internship rather than helping at a food bank, and these internships are hugely problematic for the young workers who accept, or who are forced to accept, them. Many journalism students can’t graduate without interning, and numerous factors ensure their work will remain unpaid.

For starters, provincial labour laws concerning internship remuneration often exclude students in programs that require placements for graduation. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act states that unpaid internships should “encourage employers to provide students … with practical training to complement their classroom learning.” Such internships are especially common in journalism schools, but while on-the-job training makes students better reporters, it doesn’t make them any more likely to find employment.

Howard Bernstein instituted journalism internships at Toronto’s Ryerson University in the early 1990s. Journalism programs, he says, “know that when they take those students’ money, there are no jobs for 90-95% of them.”

In a recent phone interview, Bernstein suggested that undergraduate programs be eliminated entirely. “If you did away with most places in [journalism schools], there’d be more room for good internships,” he says. Moreover, most students still pay tuition, so instead of only working for free, they are paying for the privilege.
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Posted on April 2, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: , ,

2015 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards Seeking Submissions

greber_writing_award_logoIf you’ve written about social justice issues this year, you’re eligible to submit your work for the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards.

There are two awards — one for books and one for magazines — both of which are given to freelance writers of non-fiction on social justice-related topics. Books and magazines that have not yet been completed for publication are also eligible for submission.

The book award is for $5000 and the magazine award is for $2000. Both awards may be split into two equal prizes if the jury decides there are two submissions of equal merit. Applicants must be residents of Canada and spend 70% of their work time as self-employed freelance writers in order to be eligible for the awards.

The closing date for submissions is Friday, June 12, 2015 at 5 PM PST.

Check out the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards website for more information or to submit your work for an award.

 

Posted on April 1, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 24-30

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:

 

From The U.S. and beyond:

 

Last week on Story Board:

 

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.      

Posted on March 30, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,

The Cost of Saying Yes to Every Gig

How turning down projects can help you build your freelance writing business.

 

by Miranda MillerCost_of_Saying_Yes_Title_Image

Opportunity cost dictates that even when you make the best choice possible, you lose out on the benefits of the next best option.

We see this constantly as we move through life, in everything from grocery shopping to deciding which book to read to choosing a route to drive to work. When you pick your life partner, you’ve said no to all others (I hope). Every time you choose to do something, you’ve chosen not to do something else.

As confident as we are in our choices, understanding the loss of the next best choice gives valuable perspective, especially in business. Considering opportunity cost as part of our decision-making process helps us make the best choices possible.

Microeconomics was one of my favourite courses in university, not because I understood the value of it then, but because I learned early on that it was heavy on theory and light on actual numbers. Opportunity cost isn’t a complicated mathematical formula, but a way of weighing your options as you make decisions around the types of gigs you choose to accept.

In my last column, we looked at different tactics for growing your freelance writing business in 2015. Now, let’s look at the theory of opportunity cost and how you can apply it in your business, not only to make good decisions for growth, but to help you avoid costly mistakes that can hold you back.

How does opportunity cost work in freelance writing?

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Posted on March 26, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · 5 Comments · Tagged with: , , ,

Freelance Finances: Get Money Awesome!

Photo of Emily Schooley

Tax season is here, freelancers. If the thought of balancing your books and filing your taxes makes you shudder, CMG Freelance wants to help.

CMG Freelance and CWA Canada Associate Members are invited to an online workshop next month on freelance finances:

Get Money Awesome! 
Wednesday April 8
 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.

In Get Money Awesome!, Toronto-based creative professional Emily Schooley will cover some of the essentials of successful financial management for freelancers. From budgeting and bookkeeping, to tax preparation and filing, to financial goal-setting, Emily will help take the stress out of managing the money side of your freelance business.

Click here to register for the workshop and you’ll be sent an invitation for the Spreecast webinar. If you’re not able to attend in person but are interested in watching later, sign up anyway: the invitation will contain a link where you’ll be able to watch the recorded workshop afterwards.

If you’re not currently a member but are interested in taking this workshop, check out our membership options with CMG Freelance and CWA Canada Associate Members (a membership for students, volunteers and precarious media workers).

 

Posted on March 25, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 17-23

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:

 

From The U.S. and beyond:

 

Last week on Story Board:

 

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.      

Posted on March 23, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,

After the death of freelancer Pamela Cuthbert, colleagues recall a generous person and great writer

2e6819bToronto freelance food journalist Pamela Cuthbert lost her life to a stroke on March 11th, leaving a husband and young son as well as a wide circle of extended family, friends and colleagues, many of whom have posted messages online expressing shock and sadness at her sudden passing.

Cuthbert was an award-winning journalist who wrote for such publications as Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail, Saveur and The Economist. She was a passionate advocate for food sustainability and a volunteer for a variety of sustainability-related NGOs. Cuthbert founded the Slow Food Toronto Convivium in 2002.

Maclean’s managing editor Sarmishta Subramanian worked with Cuthbert on a number of stories over the past six or seven years. She says Cuthbert was a meticulous researcher and a vivid storyeller.

“She had a way of finding poetry in the most unlikely places, and an eye for whimsy that helped define the kinds of food stories we do in Maclean’s,” Subramanian told Story Board this week via email.

“Here’s how she pitched a story about the ecological costs of almonds: There’s ‘a bee bordello in California.’ When everyone else was starting to cotton on to the trend of eating insects, Pamela wanted to do a story about the backlash against ‘industrial insect farming.’ Who could say no? Her painstaking research would turn up amazing details, and she was writing about food or agriculture, but would ultimately tell a rich story of how we live,” said Subramanian.

“I will miss her voice in my pages.”

Toronto writer Jason McBride tweeted about Cuthbert’s passing earlier this week, describing her as a generous and extremely decent person and a great writer. McBride says Cuthbert hired him as a young writer in 2002 and was a supportive and generous editor.

Andrew Clark, a Toronto writer and instructor at Humber College, also tweeted about Cuthbert’s generosity and talent. Clark told Story Board that as well as being an excellent writer, Cuthbert was encouraging of other writers and those just starting out in the business.

“In a field that is generally categorized by envy and back-biting she was a positive and constructive force,” said Clark.

For the past year, Cuthbert was also a regular contributor to Zoomer magazine, writing about foodie destinations around Ontario. An article that she wrote about Creemore, Ontario will be in the next issue of Zoomer, and her story about the Blue Mountain area will run in their fall issue.

 

Posted on March 20, 2015 at 3:53 pm by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,

The Born Freelancer on Spring Cleaning for Freelancers

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.

bornfreel2

With the coming of Spring (sorry, Maritimes, but your Spring will eventually arrive too – I hope) there is no better time to reappraise and reevaluate our freelancing life – to take stock and have a thorough spring cleaning.

Refreshing your brand

Nothing says more about your commitment to serving others than your commitment to serving yourself. This is a great time of year to look at how you are representing yourself in public and – when appropriate – taking action to reenergize that presentation.

Revitalize your website

Are your graphics the same ones you have been using for years? Is the promo blurb about yourself still making reference to the work you did on shows that have been off the air for most of the current century? It’s time to update and revitalize your site.

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Posted on March 19, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · One Comment · Tagged with: , ,

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 9-16

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:

 

From The U.S. and beyond:

 

Last week on Story Board:

 

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.      

Posted on March 16, 2015 at 9:00 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: ,