Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Jan 29-Feb 4
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:
- The new partisan press [The Signal]
- Applications open for workplace mental health reporting awards [J-Source]
- VICE Canada workers face job cuts – collective agreement rights apply to union members [CMG]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- How to Survive Your First Month of Self-Employment [Entrepreneur]
- How foundation funding changes the way journalism gets done [CJR]
- How to find just about any email address [Freelancers Union]
- Are you ready for a rainy day? [Freelancers Union]
- Vice Media to cut 10 percent of staff [Poynter]
- How to thrive, not just survive, as a freelancer [Freelancers Union]
Recently on Story Board:
- The Born Freelancer on Being a Frugal Freelancer: One of the basic strategies of surviving a long life in freelancing is to spend as little as you can while making as much as you can…
- IATSE joins forces with CWA Canada in fight for better working conditions for factual / reality TV workers: Two of Canada’s top media and entertainment unions announced an innovative partnership today to improve working conditions and organize workers in factual/reality television…
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 resolution for 2019
CMG Freelance president Don Genova has some advice for you now that we’re into 2019…
The Born Freelancer on Being a Frugal Freelancer
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.
Let’s talk money.
(Got your attention, didn’t it?)
Today I want to talk about the money we spend.
Or rather, shouldn’t.
You see, one of the basic strategies of surviving a long life in freelancing is to spend as little as you can while making as much as you can.
This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. On the contrary. Living as a frugal freelancer means that when something comes up you absolutely need (or really really want) you will almost always have the money saved to afford it.
It means being responsible for the day to day expenses that seem invisible to most and curtailing those which are unnecessary or the least rewarding.
Sounds so simple, right? And yet for so many, so hard. For others even – unthinkable!
A new year begins…
Read the rest of this post »
IATSE joins forces with CWA Canada in fight for better working conditions for factual / reality TV workers
TORONTO (Jan. 29, 2019) – Two of Canada’s top media and entertainment unions announced an
innovative partnership today to improve working conditions and organize workers in factual/reality
television.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), North America’s largest entertainment
union, is joining forces with media union CWA Canada in its Fairness in Factual TV campaign.
The campaign was launched five years ago by CWA Canada and its biggest local, the Canadian Media
Guild, in an effort to improve health and safety, and establish fairness in pay and working conditions in
the industry.
“What we’ve learned after five years of being a voice for factual TV workers is that they need and want
union contracts similar to those in the scripted TV industry but tailored to factual,” CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said. “They’re done with being treated as poor cousins. This alliance will help them improve their working lives.”
IATSE, which represents factual/reality workers in the United States and a large majority of workers in
scripted TV in Canada, brings its experience and influence to the campaign.
“Workers in factual TV need a strong, experienced voice that can represent them when they are fighting
for better working conditions,” said John Lewis, IATSE International Vice President and Director of
Canadian Affairs. “We have decades of experience representing entertainment industry workers and
understand their unique needs.”
Read the rest of this post »
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Jan 22-28
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:
- Canadian Journalism Innovators launches to accelerate digital media growth [J-Source]
- Is Journalism “Essential”? Doug Ford’s government doesn’t think so [Canadaland]
- CBC Bargaining – Getting into the final crunch [CMG]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 5 ways to build your brand without being an extrovert [Freelancers Union]
- Freelance Journalism: From idea to published article [Medium]
- How to use every spare 15 minutes to grow your freelance business [Freelancers Union]
- 5 useful tips to build an amazing freelance portfolio [Flipsnack]
- Why You Need to Join a Writing Group (And How to Find One) [The Write Life]
- Freelancers are being exploited by businesses that fail to pay their invoices – this damaging culture must change [City A.M.]
- #MediaTransparency and Why Freelancers Should Share Their Rates [The Freelancer]
Recently on Story Board:
- The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #39 — Lesley Evans Ogden: Lesley Evans Ogden is a B.C.-based science journalist whose clients include Natural History, Scientific American, BBC, Nature, and CBC. She just finished her first documentary for the Nature of Things, called Stay-at-Home Animal Dads…
- Post-holiday freelancer meet-up in Vancouver January 29: CMG Freelance members and non-members are all welcome. Get away from your desk and join us for a drink and some conversation with other local freelancers…
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 #39 — Lesley Evans Ogden
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.
Lesley Evans Ogden is a B.C.-based science journalist whose clients include Natural History, Scientific American, BBC, Nature, and CBC. Her work can also be found here on Story Board.
She just finished her first documentary for the Nature of Things, called Stay-at-Home Animal Dads. One of her current projects is a World Conference of Science Journalism Fellowship profiling Simon Fraser University associate professor Wendy Palen.
She took the time to speak with Story Board recently about the challenges of managing multiple projects, how to keep your energy levels up, and the importance of aiming high with your pitches.
Why do you freelance?
The primary reason is that the flexibility is something I really love. And I also love being my own boss. I can basically just follow my curiosity. Provided I can convince an editor that it’s a story that is worth writing, then I can work on anything that piques my interest.
You seem to always have a lot of different projects on the go at the same time. How do you keep track of them?
Read the rest of this post »
Post-holiday freelancer meet-up in Vancouver January 29
Vancouver-area freelancers, come and meet some colleagues for a freelancers’ social night on Tuesday January 29th at 5:30 p.m. at Red Racer Taphouse (formerly Central City Brewing at 871 Beatty St).
CMG Freelance members and non-members are all welcome. Get away from your desk and join us for a drink and some conversation with other local freelancers.
Please RSVP this week to freelance@cmg.ca to let us know if you can make it. Hope to see you there!
Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Jan 15-21
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:
- Ontario Tuition Reforms Could Spell Disaster For Student Newspapers, Unions [Huffington Post]
- Protecting the workers of the future with portable benefits [Policy Options]
- CWA Associate Members stand in solidarity with Concordia Journalism Student Association [CMG Freelance]
- Unpaid internships no more: step one [The Concordian]
From The U.S. and beyond:
- 6 Client Red Flags Freelancers Should Run From [Freelance Writing Jobs]
- Freelance Wars has given us a year of hilarious, oh-too-true GIFs about nightmare clients and spec work – and now it’s over [Digital Arts]
- No, tech companies shouldn’t fund journalism [CJR]
- Why freelancers should embrace slow travel [Freelancers Union]
- Six pieces of honest advice for freelance journalists [Journalism.co.uk]
- Netherlands: Photojournalists on strike to demand decent rates [IFJ]
- The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2019 [The Write Life]
Recently on Story Board:
- Notes from the Decent Work City conference in Seoul: I was part of a panel of speakers who hailed from such diverse locations as Vienna, Austria, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Tauranga, New Zealand. Each had a story to tell about how their cities have implemented policies aimed at creating fair workplaces…
- Entries open for Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award: Canadian photojournalists with less than five years of experience can now apply for the tenth annual Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award. This six-week paid internship at The Canadian Press head office in Toronto will take place sometime between April and September 2019…
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.
Notes from the Decent Work City conference in Seoul
by Don Genova
Deep-fried soft-shell crab, freshly fried pork dumplings, skewers of chicken drenched in fiery hot sauce. All served within a cacophony of street food vendors shouting out their offerings in a trendy shopping district of Seoul, South Korea.
As I crunched down on my crisp crab, I considered where I had been just hours before: near the top floor of the ultra-modern design of Seoul City Hall, where my Canadian Media Guild colleague Lise Lareau and I had been asked to speak at an international forum organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on transforming cities for decent work.
Our work with freelancers and factual TV workers had garnered some attention, and our presentations at the conference in early December were designed to share our efforts in making work ‘decent’ and less precarious for the media workers we represent.
I was part of a panel of speakers who hailed from such diverse locations as Vienna, Austria, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Tauranga, New Zealand. Each had a story to tell about how their cities have implemented policies aimed at creating fair workplaces.
Read the rest of this post »
Entries open for Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award
Canadian photojournalists with less than five years of experience can now apply for the tenth annual Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award. This six-week paid internship at The Canadian Press head office in Toronto will take place sometime between April and September 2019.
Students, freelance photographers and photographers employed at regional or non-daily publications are all eligible to apply. The successful applicant will be paid a weekly salary of approximately $875. The winner will also be invited to attend the annual Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards on June 13.
You can submit your application until February 22, 2019. The winner will be selected in March. For more information about the application process, check out this page on the Canadian Journalism Foundation website.
