Halifax freelancer’s firing an unfortunate reminder to watch what you tweet
An incident in Halifax this week is a sad reminder to freelancers everywhere of the dangers of social media. A long-time freelance arts reporter had their radio columns at CBC canceled over a crude tweet about the son of Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil. CBC has in place Code of Conduct and Social Media policies that […]
Lessons from the Remaking Games Work panel
by Christopher Demelo Labour issues are quickly becoming the norm in the gaming industry. Layoffs, walk-outs, crunch, poor labour conditions and abuses of power are just a few of the ongoing issues that have been reported over the past few years. Cultural Workers Organize brought together a panel recently to explore some of the different approaches […]
National Writers Union takes action against Nautilus Magazine for non-payment of freelancers
The National Writers Union is taking action this week against U.S. science magazine Nautilus for non-payment of freelance writers. Nineteen writers say they are collectively owed $50,000 by the magazine. Some say they have been waiting for payment for over a year. The NWU, an American trade union that represents freelance writers, published an open […]
National Writers Union pushes ahead with effort to get freelancers paid
The National Writers Union has been forging ahead this fall with a campaign to get a group of freelancers the $85,000 they say they are collectively owed by Ebony for work that has been published in the magazine. Thirty-eight freelancers filed a lawsuit against Ebony in September along with the NWU, an American trade union that represents freelance […]
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 […]
Alberta Publishing company and CEO Ruth Kelly leave their freelance content creators shivering through the winter – Hire now; pay much, much later
Edmonton, February 22, 2017 – Venture Publishing Inc. of Edmonton and its CEO Ruth Kelly have developed a disturbing business model when it comes to paying the freelance contributors hired to create articles, photos, and illustrations for the various magazines the company produces, such as Alberta Venture, Alberta Oil, and Heroes on behalf of the […]
Newsroom staff and freelancers mark one-year anniversary of the start of the Chronicle Herald strike
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the strike at Halifax’s Chronicle Herald newspaper. The 55 members of the Halifax Typographical Union have been on strike since January 23rd, 2016 over the company’s plan to cut wages and newsroom positions and increase working hours. Shortly after the strike began, the striking journalists launched an online news […]
Are you owed money by Venture Publishing?
In December of 2013 we posted a story about Venture Publishing in Alberta. We’d been hearing from a lot of freelancers who were having trouble getting paid for their work in a timely manner. Three years later, we’re still hearing from freelancers who are waiting as long as 18 months for their invoices to be paid. […]
CANADALAND takes on Alberta’s notoriously slow-paying publisher
The media criticism website CANADALAND published a post this week about Venture Publishing’s habit of paying its freelancers extremely late. Edmonton writer Jay Smith spoke with a number of freelancers as well as Venture Publishing’s CEO and president Ruth Kelly about the publisher’s financial troubles. The publisher, which owns Alberta Venture and Alberta Oil magazines and […]
Writers speak out against The Walrus’s new freelance agreement
Last fall, The Walrus’s contributor agreement came under scrutiny during what is referred to by many freelancers as “the Alex Gillis affair.” The incident – which you can read about in detail on Canadaland – led to a discussion on the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers listserv about kill fees and “idea appropriation.” Literary agent […]
