So, what happened at the NMAs?

June 13, 2011 Editor Bit of fun national magazine awardsstorify

Ah, the National Magazine Awards. A night that begins with expectations and ends, so the legend goes, with a chocolate fountain.

For an authoritative roundup of the night from an attendee, award winner, and all-around NMA expert, read DB Scott's highlights on the Canadian Magazines blog (you can also read a portion of his acceptance speech for the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement here.)

A big congrats to all the winners, and especially to DB Scott, MoneySense (Magazine of the Year, Print), Macleans.ca (Magazine of the Year, Digital), The Walrus (who led all magazines with six gold awards and 10 total) and Report on Business (who also received nine awards: three gold and six silver).

The full list of award winners and honourable mentions is available in this PDF.

Canadian Magazine Freelancers Survey: The results

June 10, 2011 Editor Bit of fun national magazine awardssurvey

The big day is here! Tonight, the National Magazine Awards will be handed out at the annual awards gala, where Canada's journalists will sashay down the red carpet in their designer duds and borrowed gems from Tiffany's, wave to the screaming crowds and pose for the paparazzi, stopping now and then to sign their fans' dog-eared copies of last…

Roger and Me: Why every freelancer needs a mentor

June 09, 2011 Editor Advice actra fraternaladviceborn freelancermentoringroger abbott

This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments. "You can't always get what you want but you get what you need" - The Rolling Stones The recent death of Canadian comedy legend Roger Abbott…

Blogs as steady income earners: how it’s done

June 08, 2011 Editor Advice advertisingadviceblogdigitalgetting paidnew york times

Freelancers maintain personal blogs for all sorts of reasons: to have an all-in-one-place online portfolio, to increase their profile in a particular community or gain a reputation as an authority on a particular topic, to experiment with different types of writing than they get to do in their freelance work, or, often, to post photos of their…

Taking stock: what have previous freelancer surveys uncovered?

June 06, 2011 Editor Journalism broadcastingcanadian media guildcanadian society of magazine editorscbcmagazines canadaprofessional writers association of canadasurvey

Keeping track of what's happening in the media field is of benefit to everyone, whether you're on staff, in management, or a freelancer. When negotiating terms for your own work, knowing industry standards and how other freelancers are faring is essential. And when collective action is called for, having hard data to back up your group's demands is…

Extreme Budget Makeover: Freelancer Edition

June 03, 2011 Editor Advice adviceborn freelancerbudgeting

This series of posts by the Born Freelancer will share personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? Your input is welcome in the comments.Some 9-to-5ers I know were complaining that the recession was so brutal that they felt they had to sacrifice their usual early morning caffeine…

CWG sends “A World Without Words” poster to 2,000 agencies

June 02, 2011 Editor News canadian writers grouppublishingregistered graphic designers of ontario

In April, the Canadian Writers Group announced it had become the official Content Sponsor for the Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario. We told you about the agency's ambitions to get its writers on the Ontario design community's radar, producing content for DesignThinkers 2011 and for RGD’s professional development and training activities…

The Canada Post strike: more than an “inconvenience” for freelancers

June 01, 2011 Editor Journalism canada postpayment methodsstrike

After seven months of talks, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Canada Post have yet to reach an agreement, and union members could strike as early as tomorrow night. CUPW has amended its demands as recently as this week, asking for more modest wage increases than it had previously.While we support the postal workers' use of collective action…

Take the Canadian magazine freelancers survey

May 30, 2011 Editor Bit of fun national magazine awardssurvey

Gearing up for the NMAs this month, we thought a survey on the state of magazine freelancing in Canada was in order. It's also a chance to take your own picks for the best work in Canadian magazines last year (see the NMAF's list of nominees). Results of the survey will be published here on Friday, June 10, the date of the NMA gala.The survey is…

A too-familiar story: one freelancer’s run-in with plagiarism

May 27, 2011 Editor Journalism digitallawyers weeklylexisnexusplagiarism

[caption id="attachment_1105" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="A screen capture of Benetton's article, published by Lawyers Weekly."][/caption]Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but not when your work isn't credited — or compensated. Earlier this month, freelance writer Luigi Benetton received a message from an editor…