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December 10, 2009: Why I won't sign the Transcontinental contract: Ann Douglas
Another voice speaks out against the new Transcontinental contract: Ann Douglas, freelancer extraordinaire.
Read the original post here.
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Ann Douglas is the author of 28 books, many of which focus on pregnancy and parenting. She is a columnist for Conceive Magazine, Yahoo! Canada, and The Toronto Star's ParentCentral.ca. Her byline has appeared in Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Homemakers, Today's Parent, Canadian Family, Parents Canada, The Globe and Mail, and other publications, both print and online. She refuses to sign the new Transcontinental contract. Here's why. I feel like Canadian Living has been part of my writing life forever. Canadian Living was one of the very first magazines to carry my byline. I've written feature-length and short articles for Canadian Living magazine and its website. I've appeared on Canadian Living Television. And I've been featured as an expert in many articles written by other writers. Canadian Living was also one of the first publications to rally behind me when I starting writing pregnancy and parenting books. Shortly after The Mother of All Baby Books was published in 2001, Canadian Living named it one of the top ten reference books every Canadian household should own. And, more recently, Canadian Living ran excerpts of Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler on its website. I've been proud to be able to contribute to Canadian Living over the years because the magazine celebrates Canada and Canadians. It has also made a point of welcoming and nurturing new writers. (Every writer is a new writer at some point, after all.) Recently, I had to turn down my first interview with Canadian Living. It's not because I didn't have a lot to say about the topic. In fact, the interview was on one of my favorite subjects and, because I have been doing a lot of new research in that area, I had a lot of information I was eager to pass along. Nor was I too busy to do the interview. I always make time for Canadian Living because I feel it has a unique place in the hearts and minds of Canadians. I had to turn down the interview because I felt it would be wrong to do it while Canadian Living's parent-company, Transcontinental, is insisting that all Canadian Living writers agree to sign a contract that would erode their traditional rights as freelance magazine writers, and that could set dangerous precedents for the industry. I hated having to do this, given my long-standing relationship with the magazine and the writers and editors I have come to know and greatly respect at Canadian Living. I also hate not being able to pitch story ideas to Canadian Living - story ideas that, I feel, would be a great fit for the magazine. I want to tell them about the woman I know who has dedicated her life to a particular cause - and who has proven that there's almost nothing that one woman can't do if she puts her mind to it, including transforming attitudes in her own community. I also want so share some very personal stories about my journey as a mother in recent years. But I can't erode the rights of writers by signing my name to the contract that is currently on offer - a contract that would be binding forevermore. I hope the powers that be at Transcontinental - the company that owns Canadian Living and many other highly respected Canadian magazines - will decide to do the ethical thing by treating writers as true partners in a mutually beneficial working relationship. This would mean including writers in contract discussions affecting their livelihoods, as opposed to simply announcing contract terms after the fact. Failing to do so ignores the decades-long relationships built up between writers and editors, and the fact that readers also have strong relationships with the writers who contribute to a particular magazine. These facts may not show up on the numbers that are crunched by lawyers and accountants when contracts are drafted, but they ultimately determine which magazines thrive. As always, the readers will have their final say. P.S. I just finished ordering magazine subscriptions for family members - a holiday shopping ritual for me. I hope these contract issues will be behind us by this time next year so that I'll be able to give the gift of Canadian Living and other Transcontinental publications next year.
December 04, 2009: Fallout from Canadian Border Services' Treament of Amy Goodman Continues...
It's the story the Canadian government wishes would disappear, but us media types don't sit quietly by when our freedoms are questioned...
A growing number of Canadian groups have spoken out about Amy Goodman's 90-minute questioning and subsequent order to leave Canada to return to the US within 48 hours when she tried to cross the border into British Columbia in late November.
The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) had something to say on December 3, 2009 in an open letter to British Columbia's Premier Gordon Campbell:
Dear Premier Campbell,
On behalf of The Writers' Union of Canada, I wish to record our strong objection to perceived attempts to censor and stifle the right to express dissenting views regarding the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
On November 26, 2009 U.S. reporter Amy Goodman was detained by Canadian Border Services Agency, Pacific Region, while attempting to enter Canada to give a book promotional speech at the Vancouver Public Library. Ms. Goodman was repeatedly interrogated as to whether she was planning to speak about the Winter Olympics. She was photographed, control documents were stapled to her passport, and her vehicle and computer were searched.
This treatment of a distinguished American journalist has damaged Canada in the eyes of the world.
Earlier this year I was compelled to write with regard to intimidating behaviour on the part of the Integrated Securities Unit (ISU) while interviewing Dr. Chris Shaw, the author of Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games. Now, as then, The Writers' Union of Canada requests a formal assurance that the freedom of writers and journalists to criticize the Canadian Olympics will be respected, as befits the guarantees outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Erna Paris
Chair
The Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) issued a letter to the Canadian government on December 4, 2009:
The Honourable Peter Van Loan
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Van Loan,
The Documentary Organization of Canada represents more than 800
documentary filmmakers including journalists, producers, crafts people and
students across Canada.
We are writing to express our concerns over the questioning of the well
known US journalist Amy Goodman at the Douglas border crossing in BC, on
November 25th.
DOC members depend on free and open travel to other countries to bring back stories of interest to the Canadian public. Detaining Ms. Goodman at the border, examining her computers and materials, and questioning her on the subject of her lecture to the Vancouver public library is both oppressive and chilling. It also provides foreign governments with an excuse to disregard Canada when we object to restrictions on the free travel of journalists in other parts of the world.
In addition, the particular cross examination of her views about the
Olympics appear politically motivated. Surely this could not be a reason to
delay and possibly deny access to someone. The fact that Ms. Goodman was evidently focusing on the merits of the Canadian health system is ironic. Instead of fostering free discussion, and the promotion of the Canadian medical model, this intervention serves to bring Canada into disrepute.
We urge you to address this issue on behalf of the government, and to make it clear that Canada supports the free discussion of diverse viewpoints, and the free travel of journalists across borders. We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
John Christou, Co-Chair
Tina Hahn, Co-Chair
cc: Mr. Don Davies, NDP Public Safety Critic; Mr. Brian Masse, NDP Border Critic; Mr. Mark Holland, Liberal Security Critic.
Restrictions on the press make this PWAC blogger anxious, period. To hear of it happening in Canada? Furious. The Olympics haven't even begun, folks. With the world's media about to descend on Canada in February for the Games, how will Canadian Border Services respond? What impression will we leave on the world?
December 01, 2009: Online Consultation on Television Services
In case you've been avoiding all media to escape the bloodbath that has been the war of wars between Canadian broadcasters and cable providers, you may have missed an invitation from the CRTC to weigh in on either side of the argument.
Take the survey now.
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