Q and A on the TC Media freelance contract
By André Dumont, former AJIQ vice-president AJIQ (The Quebec Association of Independent Journalists) has gotten a lot of questions about the new TC Media contract. Here are a few of them, along with our answers. Q: I signed the contract. Can I translate my articles and sell them to a French-language magazine? A: No. You […]
The TC Media controversy Storified
We’ve Storified the controversy over the new TC Media freelance agreement. Thank you to Simon Van Vliet for the original French version! [View the story “Freelancers react to contract imposed by Elle publisher” on Storify]
Are publishers delaying the magazines best practices guide?
With the recent uproar over freelance contracts, the time seems ripe for change in the Canadian magazine industry. Last year Story Board reported on the long-awaited best practices guide for the magazine industry, a set of guidelines that could help establish professional standards for magazine freelancers, editors and publishers. The document has been in the […]
Intellectual property lawyer responds to TC Media agreement
The new Transcontinental Media contributor agreement has raised a furor among freelancers over the past few weeks. TC Media, which publishes a variety of magazines including Canadian Living, Elle Canada, and The Hockey News, has increased the copyright demands in its new agreement and requires contributors to waive their moral rights. This week Story Board contacted Warren Sheffer — […]
An Open Letter to Transcontinental by Jay Teitel
Dear Transcontinental Media: In the past decade or so online theft of intellectual property has become not just a problem, but a cause celebre, with a lot of people who should know better claiming that all information belongs to everyone, gratis, and that appropriating a piece of writing a professional writer has executed, and […]
Transcontinental Media responds
Last month we told you about the new Transcontinental Media contributor agreement, an agreement that demands full copyright from freelancers as well as a waiver of moral rights. Story Board requested an interview with TC Media Senior Vice President Pierre Marcoux to ask about the reasons behind the changes to their agreement. We were granted […]
From the Toronto Star to Transcon…freelancers unite!
Yesterday, magazine writer and author Ann Douglas wrote a post for Story Board explaining why she quit her column for the Toronto Star. The tremendous response to her post – in the blog comments, on Facebook and on Twitter – proves how fed up freelancers are with the unfair contracts being imposed by publishers. Yes, publishers are […]
Why I Am No Longer Writing The Column I Loved for The Toronto Star
By Ann Douglas Three weeks ago, I was confronted with one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my career as a freelance writer: sign a highly objectionable freelance writing agreement or stop writing a column I loved. In mid-February, I was presented with a copy of The Toronto Star’s […]
Transcontinental Media agreement expands copyright demands
There’s a new Transcontinental Media contributor agreement and it’s not going to bring writers any joy. The publisher, whose most popular titles include Elle Canada, Canadian Living, Style at Home, The Hockey News and Vancouver Magazine, has made significant changes to the 2009 version of their agreement – an agreement that led to a boycott […]
The E-Book Show Down: Part Three
E-books are emerging as the latest battleground between writers and print publishers seeking to monetize online content. In this “reset” moment, writers need to be sure they set a fair precedent early on. Read Part One and Part Two of this three-part series. By Derek Finkle The Walrus In late October, The Walrus approached […]
