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December 18, 2006: holiday fun
PWAC-Quebec Chapter President Craig Silverman has published a listing of 2006's greatest media errors and corrections (called The Crunks) on his very entertaining website Regret The Error.
Here's a holiday baking tip from The Crunks:
From the Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia:
A correction in this column Thursday about a June 14 Taste section recipe for French coconut pie incorrectly suggested that the recipe called for a pint of vodka. The accompanying recipe for homemade vanilla extract uses the vodka. The pie recipe then calls for one tablespoon of extract. Here's the corrected recipe for vanilla extract, adapted from Lacy Smith's "Sugar Daddy's Treats": Drop one vanilla bean in a one-pint bottle of vodka, and six months later, you have vanilla extract.
and not unrelated...
From The Oregonian:
A headline on Page One on Saturday should have made clear that Oregon Health &Science University will be studying the effects of meth, not cooking it.
The Crunks has been mentioned and/or linked to by many media outlets across North America, and Mr. Silverman appeared this morning on CBC Radio's The Current, reading a selection of his favorite 2006 media errors.
December 15, 2006: CFU Release
The Canadian Freelance Union has sent out the following release, in support of PWAC's call for freelance writers to NOT sign Sun Media's (a Quebecor company) latest contract:
Freelance writers say 'no' to Quebecor's rights-grabbing contract
OTTAWA, Dec. 13
Canadian Freelance Union (CFU) is deeply concerned about recent actions of Quebecor Media over its treatment of independent freelance writers.
Small independent writers are being forced to sign away virtually all rights to their work without reasonable compensation or even recognition of the value they bring to the newspaper. This is unfair and unacceptable, says CFU President Michael OReilly.
"Quebecor is one of Canada's largest media giants. It has revenue of over $6.3 billion worldwide, yet it wants to squeeze even more from some of Canada's lowest paid workers," says OReilly. "This is the most one-sided contract I have seen. It takes everything and leaves the writers with nothing but the legal liability should someone decide to sue. We are advising freelancers not to sign."
The CFU is a Local of the 150,000-member Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, which represents about 25,000 media workers across Canada.
CEP Vice-President, Media, Peter Murdoch says "this attack on freelancers is a direct result of staff cuts to newsrooms. In the rush to the bottom line, media corporations are eroding the wages of freelancers and jeopardizing the standards of the craft at the same time"
"CFU has the full weight of CEP and fellow media unions in calling on Quebecor to come to the negotiating table to discuss a fair deal," he says.
Last week Quebecor, through its Sun Media subsidiary, issued a 'take it or leave it' contract to its freelance writers. It demands that writers give the newspaper complete control over their works for no additional payment. It also demands exclusive use of the articles, "and any substantially similar content," for up to 60 days after publication.
"We are more than happy to work with our publisher colleagues to license whatever rights they would like. All we ask is to be treated fairly," adds OReilly.
For further information:
Michael OReilly, President, Canadian Freelance Union,
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 2040,
(807) 251-6536,
freelance@cep.ca
Link to release:
CFU Release
December 15, 2006: billable hours
The Canadian Magazines blog has posted a funny, sad, poignant (choose your own adjective) analysis of the freelance writer's billable hours based, in part, on PWAC's Professional Writers survey.
The conclusion:
Freelancers in Canada make an average of $14.26 an hour, or just about double the national minimum wage. Again, choose your own adjective to describe these findings.
See the full posting here
December 12, 2006: Mag Awards
If you have written for a Canadian magazine in the past year, please be reminded of the 30th Anniversary National Magazine Awards call for submissions, which opens December 1, 2006 and ends January 10, 2007. The 30th Anniversary Awards Gala will be hosted on June 15, 2007 at the Carlu in Toronto.
The submission process, instructions and guidelines, a list of categories, and other relevant information are available at the NMA website.
PWAC members are always in the list of finalists for these awards. Make sure you ask your assigning editor to submit your work for the NMAs, and good luck!
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