Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Nov 28-Dec 4
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:
- Canada’s top court to hear Vice Media fight RCMP demand for reporter materials [National Post]
- Give Competition Bureau Teeth to Protect the Public Interest, Says Hedy Fry [The Tyee]
- No newspaper is safe including London Free Press: Postmedia CEO [CBC]
- The Postmedia/Torstar newspaper deal is cynical and destructive [CAJ]
- Union urges feds to help news media after Postmedia, Torstar shutter local papers [iPolitics]
- Torstar and Postmedia swapped 41 newspapers total this week, and are closing most of them [J-Source]
- What Canadian journalists can learn from the life and career of Gord Downie [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- The news industry has a sexual harassment problem. #NowWhat? [Nieman Reports]
- Can co-working with virtual strangers enhance your freelancing business? [Freelancers Union]
- Global press freedom plunges to worst level this century [The Guardian]
- How to Stay Productive During the Holidays [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- How to write about Nazis [Poynter]
- 10 lessons from 10 years of freelancing [Freelancers Union]
- IFJ survey: One in two women journalists suffer gender-based violence at work [IFJ]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer on Drawing a Line in the Sand: Every working freelancer will eventually confront employer demands so egregious, so patently unfair, that they will be forced to draw a line in the sand and say “no.” Most of us are hesitant to do so for fear of the consequences…
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 Born Freelancer on Drawing a Line in the Sand
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? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Sooner or later it will happen.
Every working freelancer will eventually confront employer demands so egregious, so patently unfair, that they will be forced to draw a line in the sand and say “no.”
Most of us are hesitant to do so for fear of the consequences.
I am here to argue that the power it gives you will set you free – and that is worth far more than any imaginable so-called consequences.
Some background
Like many of you, I have been offered freelance working conditions in radio, television, film, print and online that seemed patently unfair but that I was afraid to reject. I wanted to work.
I can even recall contracts requiring me to surrender all my rights forever, in any medium ever to be invented, in any jurisdiction ever inhabited by man.
Once I was so taken aback by the audacity of this robber baron-esque mentality that I called the corporate lawyers.
Read the rest of this post »
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Nov 21-27
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:
- Tax changes could take a bite out of local news [J-Source]
- What the Giller Prize means to Michael Redhill [Globe and Mail]
- Meet the journalist behind The Sprawl, Calgary’s newest independent media outlet [J-Source]
- Opinion: Mair on media’s ‘unholiest of alliances’ with energy industry [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 7 people every freelancer should know [Freelancers Union]
- 16 fun gifts for writers [The Write Life]
- How to find and attract editors for pitching articles [Dianne Jacob]
- Revision: how long should it take? [Poynter]
- Are you undercharging? Here’s how to price your freelance writing gigs [Freelancers Union]
- This journalist built a tool to help others save their own archives [Poynter]
- The best automatic transcription tools for journalists [Poynter]
- Freelance photojournalist Alexei Wood faces criminal trial [Huffington Post]
- Three years in, Discourse Media looks to membership to power its national expansion [Nieman Lab]
Recently on Story Board:
- Reaping what you sow – Five writers talk about their websites: For most of us, writing is a business. And if you’re a businessperson, you need some kind of online presence where, at the very minimum, you can post your published clips to prove to a prospective editor or client that you are, in fact, a professional…
- Freelancers’ concerns highlighted at Democracy Project journalism summit: Journalists from across North America gathered in Banff last month to discuss the importance of deeply researched journalism in the era of alt-facts. And at panel discussions populated by major publishers and established journalists, freelancers made themselves heard…
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.
Reaping what you sow: Five writers talk about their websites
by Steven Threndyle
For most of us, writing is a business. And if you’re a businessperson, you need some kind of online presence where, at the very minimum, you can post your published clips to prove to a prospective editor or client that you are, in fact, a professional.
In today’s post, we talk to five writers with very different looking websites or blogs. John Lee is a Vancouver-based travel writer who roams the world and tweets about it to his 12,500 followers.
NYC-based Caitlin Kelly’s Broadside blog features often-brilliant essays on travel, aging, finances, and the writing life.
Daphne Gray-Grant is a former Vancouver Sun editor who now coaches writers—both neophyte and experienced—from her Publication Coach website.
Christine Thompson is a White Rock, BC-based travel writer and corporate scribe who specializes in advertorial and sponsored content at Jellybean Communications.
And Eve Lazarus is a former Vancouver Sun reporter who shines a light on hidden, sometimes sordid, tales from Vancouver’s past on Every Place Tells A Story.
It’s worth noting from the outset that often writers will refer to stories as being “up on my blog” or “posted on my website.” Most writers have blogs, but not all writers have websites. As Daphne Gray-Grant says, “I do not use the terms interchangeably. The blog is the one section of my website that brings me the greatest number of readers.”
Freelancers’ concerns highlighted at Democracy Project journalism summit
The “Investigations for Small Newsrooms” panel at the Democracy Project summit in Banff.
Journalists from across North America gathered in Banff last month to discuss the importance of deeply researched journalism in the era of alt-facts. And at panel discussions populated by major publishers and established journalists, freelancers made themselves heard.
The Democracy Project journalism summit happened at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity on October 20 to 22. It followed a week-long intensive investigative journalism course taught by journalists Patti Sonntag and Rob Cribb. Of the twenty participants in the intensive, over half are currently working as freelancers.
As newsrooms continue to shrink and cut staff, freelancers play an increasingly important role in journalism. At the Banff summit, several spoke out about challenges such as harsh contracts, low pay, and lack of support in the face of online abuse.
Contract concerns and online abuse
At a Saturday morning panel called “When Social Media Is the ‘Paper of Record,” editors from Vice, The Walrus, The Atlantic and CBC-Radio Canada talked about their efforts to reach a fragmented audience and the importance of bringing in diverse voices. During the following Q&A session, freelance science journalist Lesley Evans Ogden rose to question the panel about their contracts.
Read the rest of this post »
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Nov 15-20
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:
- Union accuses Corus of punishing newly unionized workers [iPolitics]
- Canadian Hillman Prize now accepting submissions [J-Source]
- Canadian Online Publishing Awards announced [Canadian Magazines]
- What do we mean when we say “solutions media”? [J-Source]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- This is what you do if you want to start a new union [Vox]
- “Unsafe and just plan dirty”: Women accuse Vice of “toxic” sexual-harassment culture [Daily Beast]
- “Fixing” the journalist-fixer relationship [Nieman Reports]
- Pantser or Planner? What Your Writing Style Says About You [The Write Life]
- The definitive guide to freelance payment terms [Freelancers Union]
- There is power in the union: The Writers Guild of America successfully negotiates concessions from Joe Ricketts after the closure of DNAinfo and Gothamist [Melville House]
- It’s not just a Hollywood problem: Freelancers and sexual harassment [Freelancers Union]
- I am a freelance journalist. Do I need to buy liability insurance? [CJR]
- The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Staying Sane During the Holidays [The Write Life]
Recently on Story Board:
- New webinars posted for members on CMG Freelance website: We’ve been inviting non-members to watch our CMG Freelance webinar series recently. But members get an extra benefit: access to archived webinars. That means you can watch them at your convenience whenever you like. We’ve posted a few new ones recently in the members section of the CMG Freelance website…
- Want to make the most of Lynda.com? Check out their tutorials: If you’re a CMG Freelance member but haven’t yet accessed this valuable resource, you should check out Lynda’s series of video tutorials that demonstrate how best to use the video library…
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.
New webinars posted for members on CMG Freelance website
We’ve been inviting non-members to watch our CMG Freelance webinar series recently. But members get an extra benefit: access to archived webinars. That means you can watch them at your convenience whenever you like. We’ve posted a few new ones recently in the members section of the CMG Freelance website.
The most recent webinars include one on lifestyle writing with award-winning reporter and editor Arti Patel a national online journalist at GlobalNews.
We’ve also posted the first two of our ongoing social media webinar series with marketing strategist Katt Stearns. Katt’s webinars on Twitter and Facebook for journalists are now available for streaming. We’ll be posting her LinkedIn webinar soon. And stay tuned for her upcoming webinar on Instagram.
Another recent addition to our webinar library is “Cybersecurity for Journalists,” led by Jane Lytvynenko, a reporter for BuzzFeed news who writes about online disinformation. Jane gives a rundown of some steps reporters can take to secure their everyday activities, both online and off.
We’ve also got webinars about contract negotiation, brand storytelling, freelance finances, and more.
If you’ve missed any of our recent offerings, be sure to take a minute to scroll through the list of webinars — you’ll find a wide variety of topics to help with your professional development. And if you’re not yet a CMG Freelance member, you can find out more about the cost and benefits of membership right here.
Want to make the most of Lynda.com? Check out their tutorials
Membership in CMG Freelance comes with a lot of great benefits. One of them is access to Lynda.com, a huge online library of training videos and tutorials. Lynda has thousands of courses on dozens of subjects, from tutorials in creative fields such as graphic design, web design and photography, to videos on business management skills, to training on software programs such as Excel.
If you’re a CMG Freelance member but haven’t yet accessed this valuable resource, you should check out Lynda’s series of video tutorials that demonstrate how best to use the video library.
Start with this video, which gives a brief welcome to Lynda.com. To move on to the next video, hit the “next video” button that appears at the bottom of the viewing window after the video ends. Or you can browse the menu of tutorial videos, which can be found in the lower righthand corner of the page.
Lynda.com memberships usually cost around $35 per month. But CMG Freelance members get full access to this resource as part of their annual $150 membership.
You can see a more comprehensive list of the topics covered in Lynda.com’s tutorials here. And if you’re not yet a CMG Freelance member, you can find out more about the cost and benefits of membership right here.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Nov 7-14
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:
- Big stories from small places [J-Source]
- Here’s the future of profitable public service journalism in Canada [Discourse Media]
- CMG launches petition on behalf of factual and reality TV workers [CMG]
- Eden Robinson awarded $50K Writers’ Trust of Canada Fellowship [CBC Books]
- Canadian campus newspapers offer a study in diversity [J-Source]
- Student Journalists Caught In Crossfire Of Ontario College Strike [Canadaland]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Pay Your Goddamn Writers [The South Lawn]
- Women who freelance get paid a third less than men: Time to change that [Inc.]
- Why archiving your freelance work matters [The Freelance Beat]
- 4 Tips For Building a Following As a Freelance Writer [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Work from home? Develop these habits [Freelancers Union]
- Female journalists set up network to fight sexual harassment in the media [Evening Standard]
Recently on Story Board:
- 2017 Ali Mustafa Memorial Award for freelance photojournalists open for applications: Freelance photojournalists are invited to apply for the 2017 Ali Mustafa Memorial Award for People’s Journalism. Applications for this year’s award close on December 15, 2017…
- Free tuition to Sole Prop School for CMG Freelance members: CMG Freelance has teamed up with the New School of Finance to offer a limited number of spots in Sole Prop School to new and current CMG Freelance members. If you’ve been thinking about joining the union, now would be a great time to do it…
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.
2017 Ali Mustafa Memorial Award for freelance photojournalists open for applications
Freelance photojournalists are invited to apply for the 2017 Ali Mustafa Memorial Award for People’s Journalism. The award is granted to young photojournalists in honour of Ali Mustafa, a Canadian freelance photographer killed in Aleppo, Syria in 2014. Applications for this year’s award close on December 15, 2017.
Mustafa’s work had been featured in The Guardian, Le Nouvel Observateur, Journal du Dimanche, Les Echos, and The Times of London. The award was set up by the Ali Mustafa Memorial Collective as a way to honour his memory and pay tribute to the work of freelance photographers.
Applicants are asked to submit a proposal for a project that helps increase awareness of social justice issues.
The winner of the award will receive a maximum of $3,000 to cover such costs as travel expenses, equipment, training, visa, insurance, and living expenses.
The successful candidate will also receive a one-year Freelance Membership in the Canadian Media Guild (valued at $150) and a one-year Professional Membership in the News Photographers Association of Canada (valued at $75).
For more details about the award and how to apply, visit rememberinalimustafa.org. To contact the organizers, you can email AliMustafaAward@gmail.com.
