‘Journalism’
Journalism internships should be paid fairly and offer personal mentoring
This post is the eighth in a series called “E-Lancer Writes,” exploring the working conditions, rights, and collective organizing strategies of freelance journalists, interns, and other low-wage or temporary digital media workers. By Errol Salamon Entry-level media workers can confirm that some journalism internships aren’t as glamorous as they may seem because they’re neither […]
Equity issues at VICE Canada highlighted by unionization effort
This post is the seventh in a series called “E-Lancer Writes,” exploring the working conditions, rights, and collective organizing strategies of freelance journalists, interns, and other low-wage or temporary digital media workers. By Errol Salamon The VICE Canada bargaining committee has been looking closely at equity issues as it prepares for upcoming meetings in […]
Roberta Staley on crowdfunding, connection and independent journalism
Roberta Staley is a Vancouver-based magazine writer and documentary filmmaker. Her current film project, Mightier Than The Sword, is about about female journalists and filmmakers in Afghanistan. She is also the editor of Canadian Chemical News and the winner of the 2015 Amnesty International Canada Media Award. She took the time to speak with Story Board recently about […]
Freelancers in conflict zones still waiting for fair treatment from the industry
by Rachel Sanders The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 622 journalists have been killed as a result of their jobs over the past ten years — nearly twice as many as the previous decade. What’s more, nearly 200 journalists are currently in prison worldwide. And conflict zone journalists have harrowing […]
Vice Media workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your unicorn!
By Errol Salamon This post is the second in a series called “E-Lancer Writes,” exploring the working conditions, rights, and collective organizing strategies of freelance journalists, interns, and other low-wage or temporary digital media workers. Workers at Vice Media are leading efforts to unionize digital media workplaces. These efforts have spread internationally from the United […]
Links between freelancing and gender inequality highlighted by Chronicle Herald labour dispute
By Errol Salamon This post is the first in a series called “E-Lancer Writes.” The series will explore the working conditions, rights, and collective organizing strategies of freelance journalists, interns, and other low-wage and temporary digital media workers. The Halifax Chronicle Herald made headlines last week for contacting freelance journalists to replace the newspaper’s […]
All media work has value: Notes from the Media Workers Forum
by Lisa Ferguson At a time when unpaid internships prevail and precarious employment seems the norm, how should institutions better protect interns, and what can we media workers do to protect ourselves? These questions were the focus of the Media Workers Forum, an event for CWA Canada Associate members — student, aspiring and precarious (intern, […]
Debate on unpaid internships still evolving
Toronto panel discusses why, despite crackdowns, unpaid internships remain all too common. By Marielle Torrefranca The past few years have seen a crackdown on corporations and organizations that are still hiring unpaid interns. Despite the pushback, there is still a demand for internships, most unpaid. Why is the demand still so strong? That […]
The Problem of Press Trips
by Keph Senett Freelance writers are masters of ingenuity. We have to be. Decreasing wages and increasing demands have made full-time freelance writing a losing proposition. Those of us who wish to remain in the field quickly develop strategies to make it work: We stack assignments, boost our incomes with part-time jobs, and network like […]
Expertise Finder: Quick source search for journalists
by Rachel Sanders Next time you need to find that perfect “expert source” for a story you’re working on, forget Google and head straight for Expertise Finder instead. Type in the subject you’re writing about and the website will comb through its database of 20,000 media-friendly academics from universities and colleges across North America to find the ones that fit. The […]
