Le Devoir: TC Media freelance contract changed
The Montreal paper Le Devoir is reporting that TC Media – publisher of such magazines as Elle Canada, Style at Home and Canadian Living – has revised the contentious freelance contract that they introduced earlier this year. That contract demanded full copyright and a waiver of moral rights from its freelance contributors and provoked a widespread outcry from freelance […]
Freelancers and crowdfunding
We all know how tough a career in journalism has become over the past few years. Newspapers are in poor shape, many magazines are struggling, and CBC has been hit with budget cut after budget cut. This week, J-Source took a close look at how all of this affects freelancers, with a post on the challenges […]
New audio app offers collaborative potential
“It’s like Google Docs, but for audio,” says The Scope at Ryerson of the new app they’re developing. Jacky Tuinstra Harrison, one of the leads on the project, says the enRUe app will allow several people to work on the same audio file remotely, making edits and adding comments that can be seen by all participants. […]
CMG resolves complaint, gets freelancer paid
The Canadian Media Guild helped get a CBC freelancer paid this week. The freelancer had not been paid the appropriate rate for several years and had never been asked to sign a contract. Despite the fact that the problems occurred a number of years ago, the CMG settled the dispute and managed to negotiate appropriate […]
CFU makes progress in negotiations over Canada Wide Media contract
A couple of months ago, we brought you details of Canada Wide Media’s new freelance contract. The contract raised a number of concerns for writers — concerns that include a lack of specifics regarding kill fees, a lengthy waiting period for submission approval, the lack of specific wording related to e-book rights, and a clause that attempts to […]
Some progress for Toronto Star freelancers
At a meeting last week with a coalition of freelancers, Toronto Star management confirmed that it has removed a clause from the contract for contributors to the Grid. The clause was intended to shield the publication from libel, placing more responsibility on the freelancer. The coalition, including members of the Canadian Media Guild, the Canadian […]
Striking workers on the air with Radio Free Saint John
After nearly a month on the picket line, the seven striking employees of MBS Radio have been back on the air for the past few days. The striking members of the Canadian Media Guild are broadcasting from a web-based station called Radio Free Saint John, playing music as well as using the internet airwaves to […]
New York State considers legislation to help freelancers with deadbeat clients
When an unpaid invoice is gathering dust, and numerous emails, phone calls, threatening letters and even “F*ck you. Pay me” hasn’t worked, where is a jilted freelancer to turn? Our friends south of the border are hoping that they can turn to their government for backup, reports the Star. New York State’s legislative assembly has […]
Canadian Writers Group launches ebook venture with Russell Smith’s Blindsided
In May last year, the Canadian Writers Group’s Derek Finkle was talking about the need for a long-form journalism platform in Canada similar to sites like Byliner and The Atavist operating in the U.S. This week, CWG launched a series of non-fiction ebooks with novelist and Globe columnist Russell Smith’s Blindsided, a story of about […]
Settlement reached between writer Patricia Pearson and Rogers Publishing
When freelancer Patricia Pearson wrote an article called “It’s Just Nuts” for Chatelaine in 2009, she probably didn’t think a dispute that followed from that piece would end more than two year later. But late last year Pearson — with the help of legal representation from the Canadian Media Guild and support from the Canadian […]
