Annual CAJ conference features sessions for freelancers
The annual Canadian Association of Journalists conference is less than a month away and this year’s event features some special programming for freelancers. According to CAJ Toronto president Brent Jolly, the CAJ has been working to bring more discussion about freelance journalism into this year’s conference, which is happening from May 3 to 5 at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg.
On day one of the conference, CMG Freelance is sponsoring a one-hour session dedicated to freelancing. “Going solo: 411 boot camp for the freelance journalist” features freelancers Kalli Anderson, Alison Motluk, Justin Ling, and Sunny Dhillon. They’ll be offering advice on contract negotiation, improving your productivity, and other aspects of working as a freelancer. The session will be moderated by CMG Freelance president Don Genova.
On day two of the conference, a session sponsored by the Aga Khan Foundation will explore how journalists can tell meaningful stories even if they’re employed outside of a traditional newsroom. The session “Wanted: Your journalism skills for jobs outside the newsroom” will feature guests Rosemary Quipp, Victoria Ptashnick and Emily Cain.
There are freelancers involved in other conference panels as well, including Leah Hennel and Maryam Shah. And there will be opportunities for freelancers to get some one-on-one coaching with Ramon Escobar (CNN), Jana Pruden (Globe and Mail), and U.S.-based writing coach Chuck Haga.
Jolly said another session that will be of interest to freelancers is the journalism “Dragons Den.” Participants will have the chance to pitch ideas to senior news editors and producers for feedback. The editors and producers involved in that event will be announced soon.
The conference wraps up on Saturday night with a gala dinner and the annual CAJ awards presentations. Early bird registration rates are available before April 26. For more information or to register, check out the conference page on the CAJ website.
PWAC Toronto deep research seminar April 23
Toronto-area writers, mark your calendars for another PWAC professional development seminar. “Deep Research: Practical Tips and Techniques” is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 from 7:00 to 8:45 p.m. at the Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Avenue).
The seminar will offer practical information about conducting in-depth research online, in person, at libraries and other places.You’ll pick up some tips on locating hard-to-find data, statistics, historical information, records, and transcripts and find out how to go beyond Google searches and make information requests.
The event will be moderated by crime writer Nate Hendley and the panelists will include journalist and novelist Trevor Cole, journalist George Butters and artist and author Sherry Pringle.
PWAC Toronto Chapter evening seminars are free for PWAC members and full-time students. The fee is $15 for non-members who register online, and $10 for members of partner organizations (the Association of Registered Graphic Designers, CMG Freelance and Editors Canada) who register online. Fees are subject to service charges. Online registrations close at midnight the day before the event. If you do not register online, the cost is $20 at the door (cash only). Receipts are available.
To find out more about this seminar and to register for your ticket, check out this event page.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer April 2-8
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:
- What Justin Brake’s recent win means for press freedom in 2019 [J-Source]
- SABEW Canada Announces the Finalists for the 5th Annual Best in Business Awards [SABEW Canada]
- United Church Observer Out, Broadview In [J-Source]
- Editorial Self-Care: Managing Life Changes [Editors Canada]
- UC Observer relaunching as Broadview magazine [Canadian Magazines]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- Freelancers want to join unions but labour laws won’t let them [Teen Vogue]
- Freelancers have a name for endless rounds of edits: “scope creep” [CJR]
- How to maintain your competitive edge [Freelancers Union]
- BuzzFeed Bosses Flat-Out Stood Up Their Union Today [Splinter News]
- 4 effective platforms for your freelance portfolio [Freelancers Union]
- Delivering the bad news: How to reject pitches well [Open Notebook]
- From Self-Publishing to Blogging: 7 Solid Ways to Make Money Writing [The Write Life]
Recently on Story Board:
- CMG Freelance tax time advice: Spring has sprung! And that means it’s tax time. CMG Freelance president Don Genova has a special offer that will help you learn everything you need to know about running your freelance business…
- 2019 Dave Greber Awards open for submissions: Freelancers, if you’ve written about social justice issues this year, it’s time to submit your work for the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Book and Magazine Awards…
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.
CMG Freelance tax time advice
Spring has sprung! And that means it’s tax time. CMG Freelance president Don Genova has a special offer that will help you learn everything you need to know about running your freelance business. Watch his latest video update.
For more information on the costs and benefits of membership, check out this page on the CMG Freelance website.
2019 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Awards open for submissions
Freelancers, if you’ve written about social justice issues this year, it’s time to submit your work for the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Book and Magazine Awards.
The awards are now open for submissions and the competition closes on Friday June 28, 2019 at 5:00 P.M. PST.
The awards honour the memory of Dave Greber, a Calgary-based freelancer who wrote extensively about social justice issues during the final decade of his career. The awards were created in 2004, and are given each year to writers of social justice-related non-fiction.
The book award is worth $5,000 and the magazine award is set at $2,000. Work that has not yet been completed for publication is also eligible for the awards. To submit your work, you must be a resident of Canada and spend 70% of your working time as a self-employed freelance writer.
For more details about the requirements for each award, see the Dave Greber Awards website.
And you can read Story Board’s interviews with some of the past Dave Greber Award winners right here.
Montreal Media Mixer and Post-Strike Celebration
The CWA Canada Associate Members program is inviting working journalists, freelancers, students and professors who lent their support to the recent Concordia journalism strike against unpaid internships to celebrate with a media mixer.
The mixer is scheduled for Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Montréal (Phoenix Hall) located at 5035 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest.
The strike against unpaid internships ran between March 18 and 22, while the university’s communications department held a similar strike between March 6 and 8. It was about taking a stand against the provincial government and served as an opportunity to set the record straight on working conditions for young journalists and media workers.
Come and enjoy free snacks, drinks, networking, and important conversations about how to make the journalism industry more just and accessible for all.
The event is free to attend, but please RSVP for your free ticket on this Eventbrite page.
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Mar 26-April 1
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:
- New Magazines Canada program supports paid interns for members [Magazines Canada]
- BuzzFeed Canada news staff officially members of Canadian Media Guild [CWA Canada]
- Court decision a victory for journalists covering Indigenous protests [APTN News]
- 2019 Canadian Magazine Writing Contests: The Ultimate Guide [Magazine Awards]
- The Trudeau government’s tax subsidy for journalism puts the Halifax Examiner in an impossible situation [J-Source]
- Huge and True: BuzzFeed Canada editorial employees receive union certification [Medium]
- Black Press axing half of Alberta daily’s unionized staff [CWA Canada]
- Clean Up Your Copy: 10 Common Spelling and Grammar Errors [Magazines Canada]
- Throwing Money at Media Won’t Fix Canada’s News Deficit [The Tyee]
- Liberals’ journalism funding makes it harder to launch news startups [The Discourse]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How freelancers are fighting for their pay [Financial Times]
- Hidden Gold: A Massive Freelancing Niche Overlooked by Most Writers [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Vice Media Agrees to $1.87 Million Settlement for Paying Female Staffers Less Than Men [Hollywood Reporter]
- How to vet PR industry claims [Open Notebook]
- Yes, Freelance Writers Can Take a Real Vacation: Here’s How [The Write Life]
- This is the one simple act that helps me be more creative [Fast Company]
Recently on Story Board:
- CMG members vote 80% in favour of ratifying new deal with CBC: CBC workers who are represented by CWA Canada through its largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), have voted 80 per cent in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with the public broadcaster…
- Vancouver freelancers invited to NPAC “mix and mingle”: BC media freelancers are invited to a “Mix and Mingle” with members of the News Photographers Association of Canada as they begin their conference in Vancouver next month…
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.
CMG members vote 80% in favour of ratifying new deal with CBC
Photo by Laurence Butet-Roch
CBC workers who are represented by CWA Canada through its largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), have voted 80 per cent in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement with the public broadcaster.
The five-year deal contains wage increases of 1.5 per cent this year and next for the 4,300 employees across the country (outside Quebec and Moncton, N.B.) who are covered by the contract. Increases in the final three years of the agreement will be pegged to the Treasury Board rate that applies to unionized federal government employees.
More than 1,200 CMG members took part this week in online voting on the tentative agreement, which comes into effect on April 1. Official results released today show 977 in favour and 241 against.
Jonathan Spence, president of the Guild’s CBC branch, said there are several improvements with this deal. These include allowances for members in Canada’s North and those who do out-of-country work; relocation subsidies; and better terms for temporary workers to convert to permanent status.
“We’ve spent the better part of six months bargaining this agreement,” said Spence. “There was a lot to update in an agreement that had not changed substantially in the last 10 years, in an industry that has significantly shifted.”
CMG President Kamala Rao said, “Our bargaining team brought a great deal of goodwill and focus to the table. Members at CBC/Radio-Canada believe in the value of our work at the public broadcaster and we’ve succeeded in raising the floor for everyone who works there.”
Read the rest of this post »
Vancouver freelancers invited to NPAC “Mix and Mingle”
BC media freelancers are invited to a “Mix and Mingle” with members of the News Photographers Association of Canada as they begin their conference in Vancouver next month.
Please come and join in the fun and network with photographers and other freelancers at the opening night of the Capture Photography Festival on Thursday, April 11th at 6 p.m. at the Pendulum Gallery (885 West Georgia Street).
Check out the amazing work of the nominees of the National Pictures of the Year Awards. There will be a cash bar, but if you say hello to CMG Freelance president Don Genova he just might buy you your first drink. And there will be snacks, too!
This event is free to attend, but if you’re planning on coming, please feel free to drop us a line at freelance@cmg.ca so we know to expect you.
Freelance at the CBC? You may be eligible to vote on the new collective agreement.
CMG-CBC agreement – Freelance workers eligible to vote
From Tuesday, March 26 to Thursday, March 28, Canadian Media Guild (CMG) members working at CBC/Radio-Canada will have the opportunity to vote on the tentative agreement reached between our union and the Corporation. The vote will take place online using our electronic voting system.
In order to vote, freelance members must have been paid for at least 13 occasions in the past 12 months or made at least $10,000 in freelance income in the past 12 months. An ‘occasion’ would be any time a payment was made on a freelance specific services or freelance contributor or technical freelancer contract.
Independent members of the CMG Freelance Branch are not eligible to vote on the tentative agreement
Voting process
The vote will take place online using our electronic voting system.
You will need your 9-digit CMG member number in order to vote. CMG member numbers are different than CBC employee numbers.
If you don’t have your CMG number or have misplaced it, please contact vote@cmg.ca and it will be provided to you.
Members will vote on the following question:
Do you ratify the tentative agreement between the Canadian Media Guild and CBC/Radio-Canada?
The online ballot box will open on Tuesday, March 26 and close on Thursday, March 28.
Here are the voting hours, by time zone:
Newfoundland – Tuesday 10:30 a.m. to Friday until 1:30 a.m. NDT
Atlantic – Tuesday 10 a.m. to Friday until 1 a.m. ADT
Eastern – Tuesday 9 a.m. to Friday until 12 a.m. EDT
Central – Tuesday 8 a.m. to Thursday until 11 p.m. CDT
Mountain – Tuesday 7 a.m. to Thursday until 10 p.m. MDT
Pacific – Tuesday 6 a.m. to Thursday until 9 p.m. PDT
We expect to announce the result on Friday, March 29. For more information, please read the explainer document provided by CMG which mentions the highlights affecting freelancers on page 14.
