Crackdown on unpaid internships a positive step, but the collective struggle must continue
This week, the Ontario Ministry of Labour told The Walrus and Toronto Life to bring their internship programs into compliance with the Employment Standards Act (ESA). Both publications had a long history of offering full time, months-long, unpaid internships for contributing to the main work of the publication. Instead of apologizing and figuring out […]
Tragic death of camera assistant in Georgia highlights on-set safety issues
Last week Peter Driftmier’s Story Board post about the death of his brother on a factual TV shoot got a lot of attention from people in the television production industry. Tweets about the post came from all corners of Canada, as well as the United States and England. It seems the story struck a nerve with […]
One year after factual TV director dies on job, workers speak out for safety
by Peter Driftmier One year ago, my talented and beautifully spirited brother, John Driftmier, died on the job shooting adventure factual TV. It was by no means an isolated accident, though a fatal one: a plane he was taking aerial footage from crashed in a foreign country. The fact of the matter is that the hard-working […]
Warning to freelancers: The Revelation Magazine
Freelance writers, photographers and web developers are advised that a Toronto-based startup magazine is behind on payments to its contributors. The Revelation Magazine, an online publication that bills itself as a “non-denomination Christian lifestyle magazine,” published one issue in December before suspending publication in mid-January. More than two dozen freelancers — writers, photographers and graphic […]
2013: The Year of the Angry Freelancer
by Rachel Sanders Back in January I wrote a post called 2013: The Year of the Freelancer. The number of freelancers worldwide had grown hugely in 2012 and the freelance trend was showing no signs of stopping. Freelance work was making mainstream news, which seemed to indicate a big year ahead. Well it was a […]
Freelancers report delayed payments from Venture Publishing
** Update Dec 17/13: Chris Turner has reported that he received his overdue cheque from Venture Publishing this week. Some of the other freelancers that Story Board contacted are still waiting for payment. ** Venture Publishing has told at least one freelancer that it is behind in payments to its contributors, blaming poor summer ad […]
NDP petition calls for Urban Worker Strategy
The NDP has launched a petition calling for the implementation of a “pan-Canadian Urban Worker Strategy” to better support the growing number of Canadians who suffer under precarious working conditions. The petition, titled “Urban workers deserve better” singles out unpaid internships as one of the main problems facing urban workers today. It also says the self-employed, […]
Unpaid internships under the microscope at last
It seems as though the issue of unpaid internships has reached a breaking point this summer. The watershed Black Swan ruling last month appears to have led to a flood of lawsuits by former interns alleging breach of labour laws. U.S. publishers Gawker and Condé Nast have been hit with intern lawsuits over the past few weeks. And here […]
Striking Saint John 7 hit one-year anniversary
Today is a big day for the Saint John 7. One year ago — on June 25, 2012 — the seven radio employees began their strike against the Halifax-based Maritime Broadcasting System after trying for almost a year to negotiate a fair wage. Lise Lareau, National Vice-President of the Canadian Media Guild, wrote a post […]
CMG Freelance Branch investigates call for submissions
Regular freelance contributors to CBC Radio’s DNTO program received an email a couple of weeks ago from DNTO on behalf of a new summer radio program called, ‘How To Do It’. It was a call for submissions which included these paragraphs: “We’re looking for 3-5 minute anecdotes that you’re willing to share on the radio. […]
