Archive for December, 2011
It’s a small world, after all: The Born Freelancer warns against burning bridges
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? Your input is welcome in the comments. A 9-to-5er recently commented to me, “It must be great being freelance. You can always tell your boss where to go if they’re […]
2011, in errors
Craig Silverman of Regret the Error, a blog that Poynter recently acquired, has published his annual roundup of notable media errors. It provides many reminders about the importance of careful reporting and editing, as well as laughs (with a dash of schadenfreude). Taking the prize for typo of the year is the “Osama/Obama” mixup, which […]
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011)
“My life is my writing before it’s anything,” Christopher Hitchens said to the Globe in 2010. The British-born journalist, author, speaker and debater, passionate atheist, and unrelenting instigator passed away yesterday in Houston, after battling esophageal cancer. We wanted to share some of our favourite quotes from the Hitch on journalism and writing—words from a […]
Thomson Reuters Moves 22 Canadian Jobs to India
The Thomson Reuters newsroom in Toronto will lose a third of its employees this spring, when the news agency will offshore its online desk. Management informed employees today that 17 permanent and 5 temporary positions will move to Bangalore, India, in March. This will reportedly leave five online desk employees in Toronto. The Canadian Media […]
Count coffee as a food group? Yep, you’re a journalist
Your Monday laugh comes courtesy of Chris Ortiz, creator/editor of Stuff Journalists Like. While judges in Oregon might disagree with his 20-item “Checklist for being a ‘real’ journalist,” we think it hits the nail on the head. Some of our favourite “signs”: Corrected a loved one’s grammar in a greeting card Forgotten what it’s like […]
Blogger must pay $2.5 million after judge decides she’s not a journalist
Freelancers, here’s something to consider. If you’re not affiliated with a particular publication, are you still a journalist? If you self-publish investigative pieces, or really anything that could be deemed defamatory, are you protected by the law? Crystal Cox, a Portland-based writer, is the target of a lawsuit from Obsidian Finance Group, reports a Seattle […]
Dealing with gig loss: The Born Freelancer’s 10-step program
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? Your input is welcome in the comments. Getting that first gig is perhaps the novice freelancer’s hardest obstacle to overcome. But the endless hours of toil, of self-doubt and of […]
Call for submissions: Short fiction and artwork for a revenue-sharing publication
If you’re a freelancer who writes short fiction or creates visual art, or if you’re interested in unique revenue steams, here’s something to consider. ZenFri, a company based out of Winnipeg, is looking for short stories and artwork for their upcoming anthology, Warpaint. Interested writers and artists can consult the submission guidelines for exact word […]
A “brave” experiment: Brunswick News puts faith in pay wall
Brunswick News, owner of nearly all of New Brunswick’s print newspapers, is going to start charging readers to access its content online. The Chronicle Herald‘s Brett Bundale reported on Friday that the company would activate a “hard” pay wall on its online newspaper editions today. Brunswick News owns 10 French-language weeklies, six English-language weeklies, and […]
Digital publications now eligible in most National Magazine Award categories
The National Magazine Award Foundation opened up the submission process for its 2011 awards yesterday and also announced that this year digital publications can apply to nearly every category. Digital publications can now submit work for consideration in a number of visual and integrated categories, in addition to the written categories that were opened up […]
