CMG freelancers score access to health/dental benefits

March 09, 2011 Editor News benefitscanadian media guildsuccess storieswriters coalition

The Canadian Media Guild announced today that members of the union's freelance branch can now enroll in group medical and dental benefits through the Writers Coalition. The program has been designed specifically with artists and media freelancers in mind.

"We are glad to make this opportunity available to our members," says Don Genova, president of the CMG freelance branch. "Benefits are part of the safety net that is often missing for freelancers."

You can find out more about the benefits program at: http://www.cmg.ca/freelancegroupbenefits.shtml. To enroll, visit www.writerscoalition.com or call 416-967-6600, extension 254. If you're not already a member of the CMG's freelance branch, contact freelance@cmg.ca to join.

Union asks freelancers to stand with Metroland staffers

March 09, 2011 Editor Journalism collective actionmetrolandreplacement workersunion organizing

Metroland newspapers in the Ottawa area are running ads looking for freelancers to fill their pages, as staff reporters at the Kanata Kourier-Standard, Ottawa This Week and other Metroland papers enter their first negotiations to establish a union. Staff are reportedly concerned that Metroland may be looking for freelancers to serve as defacto…

German freelancers say “Ja” to minimum pay rates

March 08, 2011 Editor News collective actioneuropefreelance contractsfreelance unionsfreelancer ratesgetting paidsuccess stories

Freelance journalists may be the lone wolves of the media world, but many are starting to form packs, too. Look at Germany: freelancers there are biting back against “all rights” contracts and establishing fair pay models, after a pair of German journalists’ unions concluded an agreement with nine of the country's biggest newspaper…

Freelance class action cheques hit the mail - should we be celebrating?

March 07, 2011 Editor Journalism compensationdigital rightsgetting paidglobe and mailrobertson casethomson reuters

Freelance writers across Canada were raising their glasses to Heather Robertson over the weekend, after cheques started hitting the mail boxes of claimants in the former Globe and Mail freelancer's class action lawsuit against the Thomson Reuters Corporation and others.Robertson v. Thomson, the 2006 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, found…

Longing for long form

March 03, 2011 Editor Journalism digitalkindle singleslong formnonprofitspublishing

As it gets tougher and tougher for journalists to successfully pitch long-form pieces to traditional publications — without mostly writing them first — other options are opening up.A not-so-new option for long-form writers is to approach a nonprofit for funding. But even the partnerships between nonprofits and high-profile publications that get…

“Web 3.0 is the era of experts — not writers”

March 02, 2011 Editor Journalism advicedigitalfreelancer ratesgooglepitching

The above quote is from CEO Jason Calacanis of Mahalo.com, a "learn anything" site that repurposes content from around the web. When he began his venture, he reportedly said that the site wasn't reliant on Google, and that he could build a loyal base of visitors without it.But when Google announced its algorithm change — which aims to weed out…

Churnalism.com: A Writer’s Best Friend?

February 28, 2011 Editor Journalism churnalismdigital

Google's recent announcement that it is cracking down on "content farming" was bad news for media outlets producing low-quality regurgitated or repackaged stories.Further scrutiny now comes in the form of Churnalism.com, a website that asks users to paste press releases into a search engine, which then compares the text with as many as three…

Update: Editors respond to VIDA stats on female writers

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Union representing Globe staff files grievance

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As reported previously, editors at the Globe and Mail asked staff—and freelancers, though it's not clear how many—not to write for Toronto Life and Chatelaine, claiming that they are competing publications (though we suspect it may have more to do with this).Now a rep from SONG, the union that represents Globe staff, has confirmed that as of…

The Big Three and what they own

February 22, 2011 Editor News bellownershiprogersshaw

Sometimes we need a reminder that, despite having a strong public broadcaster, media ownership is as concentrated in Canada as it is south of the border. Recently, a brave Reddit user took the time to compile this very long list of everything that falls under the Rogers, Bell, and Shaw umbrellas. It just goes on and on and on...Hat tip to…