New monthly payment option for CMG Freelance members

July 07, 2016 Editor News cmg freelancefreelance union

Good news, CMG Freelance members: there's now a brand new way to pay your dues.

You've still got the option of paying the annual fee of $150. But if you'd prefer to pay on a monthly basis, you can pay $15 per month for your freelance union membership.

The monthly dues option gives you access to all of the benefits of membership -- except for the CMG Freelance media card. To be eligible for the media card, you'll need to pay annually because the card's expiry date is linked to your annual membership renewal date.

Interested in joining our freelance union? You can apply here or check out this page for more information about the benefits of membership.

And if you've been thinking of joining, now is a great time to take the plunge. While supplies last, we're offering a welcome package that includes our "Exposure Bucks" t-shirt, a notepad and pen and some other CMG Freelance goodies.

If you have any questions about membership please feel free to contact CMG Freelance president Don Genova at freelance@cmg.ca.

Freelancers helped invent digital communications tools to build online networks

July 05, 2016 Editor News cmge-lancer writesfreelance life

This post is the sixth 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 Before the Internet and World Wide Web became fully commercialized in the mid-1990s,…

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 28-July 4

July 04, 2016 Editor News newsoff the wire

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?From Canada: The BBC is coming to Canada [Poynter] Global Reporting Centre, a new nonprofit, wants to tell the world’s biggest untold stories [Poynter] BBC…

Writers speak out against The Walrus’s new freelance agreement

June 29, 2016 Editor News freelance contractsthe walrustrouble spots

Last fall, The Walrus’s contributor agreement came under scrutiny during what is referred to by many freelancers as “the Alex Gillis affair.”The incident – which you can read about in detail on Canadaland – led to a discussion on the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers listserv about kill fees and “idea appropriation.”Literary agent…

Another freelancer alleges “idea appropriation” by The Walrus

June 28, 2016 Editor News idea appropriationthe walrustrouble spots

During the past year, management at The Walrus magazine has been accused of poor treatment of staff and freelancers. This month, another freelance writer has come to Story Board with new allegations.Ontario writer Ann Silversides told Story Board that she pitched a story about a new business to The Walrus last July. The magazine told her that her…

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 21-27

June 27, 2016 Editor News newsoff the wire

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?From Canada: Columnist's firing at B.C.-based Chinese paper stirs press-freedom concerns [Globe and Mail] Briarpatch magazine says it is on the brink, "running…

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 14- 20

June 20, 2016 Editor News newsoff the wire

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?From Canada: Copyright-free material edging out Canadian educational texts [CBC] OWL Magazine launches current affairs website [Masthead] Crowd-sourced map…

Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer June 7-13

June 13, 2016 Editor News newsoff the wire

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?From Canada: Announcing the Winners of the 39th National Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards] National Observer goes behind paywall [J-Source] Canada Periodical…

Freelancers represent at the 2016 CMG convention

June 09, 2016 Editor News cmgcmg conventioncmg freelancefreelance unionsunionization

[caption id="attachment_12098" align="alignright" width="566"] Your 2016 CMG Freelance delegates. Left to right: Elle Andra-Warner, JP Davidson, Rachel Sanders, Paolo Pietropaolo, Don Genova (CMG freelance branch president) and George Butters. Photo by Andrew Meade.[/caption]Last weekend media workers from across Canada came together in…

CMG plans to raise freelance issues at Vice Canada bargaining table

June 07, 2016 Editor News canadian media guildcmgunionizationvice union

A staff representative from the Canadian Media Guild says the union plans to address the working conditions of freelancers and temporary workers at Vice Canada when collective bargaining negotiations begin.Last week employees at Vice voted in favour of unionization. CMG organizer Karen Wirsig says the employees who started the union campaign were…