Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer August 5-12
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Postmedia announces refinancing transaction [Postmedia]
- A millennial’s perspective on the future of journalism [J-Source]
- Competition for third annual Fraser MacDougall Prize now open [National NewsMedia Council]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How I Failed at Freelancing — And Why I’m Glad I Did [The Freelancer]
- Get Paid to Write Personal Finance Articles: 18 Outlets to Pitch Now [The Write Life]
- The politics of criticism [CJR]
- Pacific Standard is shutting down, cut off from its major foundation funder [Nieman Lab]
- You don’t have to be a culture zombie to pitch on trend [The Freelancer]
- 5 ways to legitimize your freelance business [Freelancers Union]
- Help clients discover your services with a new feature on LinkedIn [LinkedIn]
- How journalists’ jobs affect their mental health [Journalist’s Resource]
Recently on Story Board:
- Lessons from the Remaking Game Work panel: Labour issues are quickly becoming the norm in the gaming industry. Cultural Workers Organize brought together a panel recently to explore some of the different approaches to alleviating the ongoing stresses that game workers face…
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.
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 to alleviating the ongoing stresses that game workers face. The July 17 event was held at 32 Lisgar and hosted by TMAC (Toronto Media Arts Center), which has hosted many games-related events in the past
Austin Walker, an Editor of VICE Games and the host of the podcast Friends at the Table, led the event. Before his career as a critic, he studied the intersection of play and labour at the University of Western Ontario, where he was a Research Associate in the Digital Labour Group.
The other panelists were games industry researcher Johanna Weststar; Jennifer R. Whitson, whose research centres on game developers, digital media surveillance and social influences on software development; animator and experimental game designer Sagan Yee, who is Executive Director of the video game arts not-for-profit organization the Hand Eye Society; Dan Joseph, an organizer with Game Workers Unite Toronto, CWA Canada/Canadian Media Guild organizer Katherine Lapointe; and Tannara Yelland, who was co-founder of the Vice Canada union drive.
Austin Walker started the evening off by urging game workers to think critically about working conditions in the industry.
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer July 16-22
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Media fund panel asks Ottawa to help small newsrooms and spend ad dollars at home [J-Source]
- UBC researchers lead $2.5-million journalism innovation project [J-Source]
- The Guardian paves the way for Canadian media to be more blunt about climate change [Canadaland]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- BuzzFeed reaches deal to recognize union after months of talks [Bloomberg]
- The biggest lessons I learned in the first six months of freelancing [Freelancers Union]
- Tip: Use this contract advice for freelance journalists [Journalism.co.uk]
- Interviewing sources about traumatic experiences [Open Notebook]
- 5 Simple Steps to Write a Headline Your Editor Will Love [The Write Life]
- Not the gig economy: on the immense value of the growing freelancer ‘project economy’ [LSE Business Review]
- Get Noticed: 7 Tips for Writing a Killer Freelance Resume [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Don’t make these freelance contract mistakes [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer on the True Value of a First Paid Job: Up to that moment in my very young life I had done relevant courses, spent time volunteering at community stations and passionately studied the media. I highly recommend all of these activities. But none of them will ever teach you more than your first paid media job, whatever it is…
- Media freedom global pledge comes up short says CWA Canada: A media freedom global pledge that emerged from a London conference is laudable, but doesn’t go far enough, said CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon, who attended the July 10-11 gathering…
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 the True Value of a First Paid Job
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.
It’s a warm day in July so I’ve selected a sloppy old t-shirt to wear while writing this post.
It’s faded over the years but has served me well. It even has splotches of paint on it from when I removed it off “active wear” duty to “wear when painting walls” duty.
But that’s not why I’ve kept it.
It originates from the first commercial radio station I worked at on-air. (One of my many parallel freelance career threads). It displays the station logo, frequency and call letters from an era when they still branded themselves that way.
I’ve kept it because of the memories it evokes.
It’s a reminder how critical that first paid work experience was to my subsequent career. Up to that moment in my very young life I had done relevant courses, spent time volunteering at community stations and passionately studied the media. I highly recommend all of these activities.
But none of them will ever teach you more than your first paid media job, whatever it is.
It’s a numbers game
Media freedom global pledge comes up short: CWA Canada
A media freedom global pledge that emerged from a London conference is laudable, but doesn’t go far enough, said CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon, who attended the July 10-11 gathering.
“If you really want to make things better, you’ve got to hit the offenders in the pocket book,” said O’Hanlon. “Do that and things will improve overnight.”
In advance of the Global Conference for Media Freedom co-hosted by the Canadian and British governments, he said the media union had four recommendations for Ottawa that would “have a tremendous impact.”
Chief among them was to form a coalition of progressive governments to establish an agreement on promoting press freedom, as well as an action plan to pressure countries that continue to hinder free expression. “This should include economic sanctions along with individual sanctions against government leaders and officials that would prevent travel and the transfer of funds. We also support the idea of a rapid response mechanism to deal with threats to journalists.”
CWA Canada also called on governments to:
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Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer July 9-15
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- “Thunder Bay” podcast to be adapted for TV [J-Source]
- Canadian Media Is Getting A Bailout. Its Freelancers Aren’t. [Canadaland]
- Meet BIPOC of Publishing in Canada, a new industry collective looking to foster connections and support [Quill and Quire]
- Vice reporter Ben Makuch loses final bid to block RCMP demand for background material [J-Source]
- Globe and Mail staff member tweets that 79 people are taking buyouts at his newspaper [Georgia Straight]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How to Start Writing a Book (For Real This Time) [The Write Life]
- 5 tips for balancing wellness and freelance work [Freelancers Union]
- 3 Writing Jobs You Might Not Know Existed [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- New international press card will help keep freelance journalists safe [Frontline Club]
- How to ask for feedback from editors [Open Notebook]
- Ten essential resources for nonfiction writers [The Writer Magazine]
- 4 key tips for reporting on and writing about people with disabilities [Journo Resources]
- Why you, a freelancer, deserve some guilt-free time off [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- Toronto Remaking Game Work Forum July 17: Join us at a public forum with game developers, media work researchers, and digital labour activists to discuss working conditions and social inequalities in the video games industry and strategies to improve conditions in digital media…
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.
Toronto: Remaking Game Work forum July 17
Studio closures, harassment, crunch time, rumblings of unionization – game labour issues currently have unprecedented public profile.
Join us at a public forum with game developers, media work researchers, and digital labour activists to discuss working conditions and social inequalities in the video games industry and strategies to improve conditions in digital media.
The event is scheduled for Wednesday, July 17 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the mezzanine of the Toronto Media Arts Centre (32 Lisgar St). It will be moderated by Austin Walker, the Editor of VICE Games. Six speakers – game workers, union organizers, and researchers – will participate in a moderated conversation, followed by Q&A and refreshments.
This event is hosted by CWA Canada, Cultural Workers Organize, Game Workers Unite Toronto, and Toronto Media Arts Centre. It marks the launch of “Contested Formations of Digital Game Labor,” a special issue of the journal Television & New Media, currently freely available as an open-access publication.
For more information about the guest speakers, or to register for your free ticket to this event, check out this Eventbrite page.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer July 3-8
Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?
From Canada:
- Where is the disability beat in Canada? [Canadaland]
- Vice reporter loses final bid to block RCMP demand for background material [CTV]
- How to extend your contract [Gig.gd]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- School’s out for summer! How to work in a full house [Freelancers Union]
- This is an non-obnoxious way to follow up on a cold email [Fast Company]
- How to turn negative self talk into positive action [Freelancers Union]
- Successful launch of the legal action fund [National Writers Union]
- How to Spot and Stop Burnout Before You Give Up On Freelancing [The Freelancer]
- Why freelancers should consider leaving megacities [Work Notes]
- Why younger generations are embracing labour unions [Rewire]
- Tip of the day: Become an expert note taker [Journalism.co.uk]
Recently on Story Board:
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #41 — Ayesha Barmania: Ayesha Barmania is an independent journalist, radio producer, audio artist and podcast consultant based in Peterborough. They’re the co-host and co-producer of the Peterborough Currents podcast, which was recently nominated for a 2019 Digital Publishing Award…
- Worker Rights in the Gig Economy: With employment activists working in communities to build better jobs and workers in several app-based jobs voting to unionize, precarious workers in Ontario are developing a better awareness of their situation and working together to change 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.
The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #41 — Ayesha Barmania
In this regular feature, Story Board asks Canadian freelancers to share a few details about their work habits and their strategies for navigating the ups and downs of freelance life.
Ayesha Barmania is an independent journalist, radio producer, audio artist and podcast consultant based in Peterborough, Ontario. They’re the co-host and co-producer of the Peterborough Currents podcast, which was recently nominated for a 2019 Digital Publishing Award.
Ayesha took the time to speak with Story Board recently about setting your freelance rates, the advantages of working on passion projects, and the importance of mentorship for emerging journalists.
How did Peterborough Currents come about?
I live in Peterborough and I was involved in community radio here for a number of years and still am. I was working for CBC Toronto but still was living in Peterborough and pitching a lot of Peterborough stories to CBC and some were getting picked up, but then it hit home for me that there wasn’t really a dedicated current affairs radio or podcast program for the Peterborough area.
So I used some resources with community radio and started this as a podcast called Peterborough Currents. There are all these amazing stories in our community but no one is publishing them as long-form docs. So my co-host Will Pearson and I decided “why don’t we do it?”
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Worker Rights in the Gig Economy
by Laura Kenins
Photo by Don Genova
Precarious employment is never far from the minds of those in journalism.
Even for those lucky enough to still hold full-time jobs, staff at most news outlets wonder when the next round of layoffs is coming. Rarely does a day pass when one’s Twitter feed doesn’t have at least one former staff journalist announcing their return to full-time freelancing and asking for leads on work.
Over the years, freelancers have had more and more company in precarious employment of all varieties. But even as the Ontario government erodes labour protections and as the federal election approaches, there’s reason for hope.
With employment activists working in communities to build better jobs and workers in several app-based jobs voting to unionize, precarious workers in Ontario are developing a better awareness of their situation and working together to change it.
Representatives from several groups gathered in west end Toronto on June 26 to discuss their strategies and hopes at an event called Worker Rights in the Gig Economy. Panelists at the event included former and prospective NDP MP Andrew Cash of the Urban Worker Project, United Way policy worker and researcher Stephanie Procyk, organizer Nadira Begum of the Workers’ Action Centre, the CMG’s Lise Lareau, Foodora couriers and union organizers Ahmad Jarbou and Ivan Ostos, and Jan Simpson, president of CUPW (with whom the Foodora workers have opted to unionize).
Hours after 300 Uber drivers in Toronto announced their unionization with United Food and Commercial Workers, the UFCW’s Pablo Godoy was also able to make a last-minute appearance to speak to issues facing the drivers.
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