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 invaluable.

While we collect some data of our own on the state of magazine freelancing, it seems like a good time to look at other recent surveys of media workers in Canada.

Last year, the Canadian Media Guild conducted a survey of its freelance members who contribute to CBC under the CMG's collective agreement. CMG mailed a letter and paper copy of the survey to all of the freelancers covered by the CBC contract, who numbered approximately 1,800 at the time; they also had the option of completing the survey online. About 200 freelancers responded. These were the key findings:

• Half of respondents reported freelancing in the writing and broadcasting industry for more than 10 years – many of those for much longer.
• CBC freelancers are a mix of full-time freelancers (both journalistic and technical) as well as professionals with other media and non-media jobs.
• Full-time freelancers made up about 40% of respondents; two thirds of those reported earning more than $35,000 in freelance income.
• Freelancers with another full or part-time job made up 60% of respondents; the majority of these freelancers earn less than $10,000 in freelance income annually.
• When it comes to pay, a quarter of respondents reported negotiating payments above the minimum rates set out in the CBC/CMG collective agreement.
• CBC freelancers told the CMG that what they wanted from them was: market information, professional development, negotiating skills, and access to benefit plans.

Another important survey, a couple years older and broader in scope, was the Canadian Magazine Industry Task Force 2008 survey, which consulted more than 450 staff and freelance writers, editors, and publishers. The result was a report by the Professional Writers Association of Canada, in partnership with Magazines Canada and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, called “Respect & Remuneration: Attitudes about editorial working conditions in the Canadian magazine industry,” which can be viewed in PDF form here. CSME's president, Bob Sexton, called it "required reading for all editors, writers, publishers and those who care about the future of magazines in this country."

Some key findings from that report included:

• Thirty-eight per cent of all respondents felt that working conditions in the industry have deteriorated over the time they’ve been working in it.
• Forty-seven per cent of freelancers felt this way, as did more than a quarter of magazine staff (29 per cent) and management (27 per cent).
• Eighty-seven per cent of freelancers and 91 per cent of staffers felt the industry allowed them to create work of real value.
• Only 67 per cent of freelancers and 72 per cent of staffers felt they were treated with respect.
• Primary concerns for both staff and freelancers were: reliable delivery and meeting deadlines, achieving consistent and predictable editorial quality, payment (for freelance contributions and/or for salaries/benefits), and keeping editorial costs down.
• Fewer than a third of staff respondents (31 per cent) felt that relationships between editors and publishers were excellent or good.

What's changed in the past couple years? Are conditions worsening or improving for freelancers, and in what areas? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Click here to take our five-minute freelancer survey, and please share it with your colleagues.