From the Toronto Star to Transcon…freelancers unite!
Yesterday, magazine writer and author Ann Douglas wrote a post for Story Board explaining why she quit her column for the Toronto Star. The tremendous response to her post – in the blog comments, on Facebook and on Twitter – proves how fed up freelancers are with the unfair contracts being imposed by publishers. Yes, publishers are […]
Why I Am No Longer Writing The Column I Loved for The Toronto Star
By Ann Douglas Three weeks ago, I was confronted with one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my career as a freelance writer: sign a highly objectionable freelance writing agreement or stop writing a column I loved. In mid-February, I was presented with a copy of The Toronto Star’s […]
The E-Book Show Down: Part One
E-books are emerging as the latest battleground between writers and print publishers seeking to monetize online content. In this “reset” moment, writers need to be sure they set a fair precedent early on. By Derek Finkle October 2010 was a watershed month for e-books. That’s when Amazon announced that Kindle e-books had outsold hardcover […]
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 […]
Event for TorStar freelancers Thursday to discuss contracts
There’s an event Thursday afternoon in Toronto for freelancers who contribute to the Toronto Star and The Grid. It’s an opportunity to talk about the campaign to improve the freelance contracts that TorStar began imposing a year ago that give enormous rights to the publisher. The Toronto Star contract covers all work the freelancer has […]
What was in reporters’ pockets in 1920, according to Ernest Hemingway
This week the Toronto Star launched a micro-site dedicated to a reporter who wrote for them nearly a century ago. His name was Ernest Hemingway. Maybe you’ve heard of him? The Hemingway Papers includes contemporary reports about Hemingway’s time at the Star — including how it shaped his writing style and what he thought of […]
Event: Better Watchdog Workshop, November 5 & 6 at Ryerson
The group Investigative Reporters & Editors, partnering with the Ryerson University School of Journalism and the Canadian Association of Journalists Educational Foundation, is bringing its Better Watchdog Workshop to Toronto. Sponsored by the Toronto Star, the two-day workshop will focus on investigative journalism skills, including tips on online research, developing sources, how to deal with […]
CWG/CMG representing Toronto Star and The Grid freelancers in talks with senior management
Do you freelance at the Toronto Star or The Grid? There have been talks between the Canadian Writers Group/Canadian Media Guild and the Star‘s senior management about the new freelance agreement at the paper, which contains a couple of, in our view, unnecessary and troublesome clauses. The most recent meeting took place in late August, […]
New Star freelance contracts raising eyebrows
The Toronto Star has been issuing new agreements to its freelancers that contain broader language than previous ones. According to some freelancers we heard from, there was less pressure to sign and return the contracts when they were first distributed, but after questions were raised about its wording, a hard deadline was set. There are […]
Star editor slams Globe cover
We hear that Star editor Michael Cooke made fun of the the Globe over its choice of chocolate over Egypt for an above-the-fold cover story last week – in the middle of the African country’s revolution. Cooke was speaking at Toronto’s Massey College. A little bird told us he said something like “If the Globe knows what it’s doing, […]
