July 2015 Crowdfund news! CROWDFUNDING news was the British TV ten years ago was in a Initially he went to the phone theme of June’s LFB meeting. Among “similarly parlous state” to journal- hacking pre-trail hearings only “to the speakers was Peter Jukes (www. ism – “top heavy management, rev- update my book,” but Peter started peterjukes.com), who crowd- enues down.” In 2009, Peter wrote live-tweeting from the trial, and very funded his coverage of every day of a “Why can’t we write The Wire?” quickly had 2000 followers. last year’s phone hacking trails, then piece for Prospect, about how “70 He later learned that “the police two books on these trials. He’s now per cent of BBC drama was com- didn’t bother to come in, they just a columnist on byline.com, already missioned by one man”, how it was followed my feed” from their offices. the world’s biggest crowdfunded more a baronial court than a mar- He broke the revelation of the Coul- journalism site despite being only ketplace. In TV scriptwriting, this was son-Wade affair 20 seconds before seven weeks old. Also speaking were a “career suicide note”. the Guardian’s Nick Davies. Near the Peter’s colleagues on byline.com But “when the phone-hacking trial’s end, he could see “everyone in Martin Hickman and Byline.com’s story broke, I understood about court watching my tweets.” CEO Seung Yoon: see page 4. media monopolies,” he noted. Via The trial, which was “supposed Given the “parlous state of jour- his sideline blogging for the Daily to be over by Christmas… went on nalism,” said Peter, crowdfunding Kos website, whose readers’ recom- deep into summer”. Peter told his might be able to “help you guys mendations floated him to the site’s followers, “Sorry, guys, I can’t afford out.” He described “how I ended front page, a publisher approached it”… and everyone said “so crowd- up crowdfunding” after a career of Peter to write the book that became fund it”. He initially asked for £4000 writing screenplays, scriptwriting The Fall of the House of Murdoch. He’d to continue covering every day of (Waking the Dead included), novels become a correspondent covering the phone hacking trial (having a vid- and only then journalism, helped by a “the problems of monopolies” from eo of him on CNN helped): within “series of successful accidents.” News International to Google. six days he had £6000. You are “owned by your audience”, says Peter, but they are “90 per cent of the time helpful: they will check and spell-check you”. He developed some premium perks – £25 gets you an invite to the launch party, £200 and you could have dinner with him. But even the big donors just passion- ately “want you to get the story out there… it’s not a market equation, there’s a public good that people are willing to finance.“ There is “a lot of trust involved, they’re pre-paying”, there’s a “lot of schmoozing going on” with your crowdfunders: but then “you used to have to schmooze editors.” Peter Jukes: photo © Hazel Dunlop © Matt Salusbury Making contracts fair AS YOU MAY have heard, the Euro- ists, insist that every battle must be contracts under which authors and pean Union’s civil service, the Com- between precisely two armies. performers, including journalists, mission, is considering changes to Günther Oettinger’s position, as work. The Commission would be the law on authors’ rights – the UK stated to us, was at least as strong as wasting its time, we said, if it puts incarnation of which is the copyright that of his predecessor Michel Bar- more effort into amending the law that you have in your work. We ex- nier, who was and is widely vilified by for “rightsholders” but still does not pect proposals in November. anti-copyright forces for “blocking” address this question of contracts. In April I was one of a delegation their ambitions. For example, we understand that from the European Federation of We raised two main issues. Firstly, when in 2001 it introduced a new Journalists – of which the NUJ is a the need to rein in demands for more right for authors to licence the right FREELANCE member – to meet EU Commission- “exceptions” to authors’ rights – the of “making available”, the idea was LFB meetings er Günther Oettinger. The Commis- rules that say when someone can that it would guarantee authors in- 13 July sioner opened by explaining that he use your work without asking, or come from the then-new online was committed to a sustainable eco- paying. We gave examples of how exploitation of our work – and thus Parliamentary meet- nomic environment for journalists important income from copying is, fulfil the purpose of authors’ rights ing on what can be and other creators. He understood including a quote from an NUJ mem- law in ensuring the supply of high- done about unfair the arguments over authors’ rights ber about their £1000 from the col- quality new work. But there is such contracts being as a three-way battle between cre- lecting society ALCS, mostly for use an imbalance of power in contract- imposed on ators (authors and performers); in- of their work in education, making making that we know of no cases in journalists termediaries (publishers and broad- the difference between solvency and which journalists have been able to See back page & casters) and “users”. its opposite. negotiate extra pay for exploitation www.twitter.com/ That was refreshing: some in the Secondly but primarily, we spoke NUJ_LFB Commission, like almost all journal- of the need for regulation of the See FAIR CONTRACTS on p 3 2 • Freelance July 2015 The Rate for the Job THIS time we have rather few rates extra payments negotiated for extra online reporting day £85 XXXX; that members and others have sub- uses, like the Web – or for print if it’s HarperCollins copy-editing per mitted – but some with which the a Rate for the Online Job. These are hour – member quoted Fees Guide recipients were quite happy. We shown as (eg) £400 + 100. We now rate and got it – £24. do need more rates to help update record rates paid in € euro as well. Teaching: A writers’ association, www.londonfreelance.org/fees- Rates marked X are, in the editor’s day teaching £450 ; University in guide – which we can produce only fallible opinion, below par. Treat all UK, two-hour group activity £60/ A smartphone will convey if we have regular survey results. rates as minima, even perhaps the day subsistence + £250 max travel you directly to the Rate You can submit rates online, in happy few. expenses £250. for the Job page (www. confidence, at any time, atwww.lon - Broadcasting: Major UK broad- Tip-offs: Private Eye 20-word tip- londonfreelance.org/ rates) by means of the above donfreelance.org/rates – please caster, producing a series of pro- off £10 XX. QR code. give not only the basic rate (e.g. for grammes, per week, negotiated up Words, per 1000: VICE 1000 FBS, First British Serial rights) but from £1200 per week, plus expenses, words kill fee (not sure what the £1400; BBC News Channel 5-min £60 is for – Ed) £120 + 60 XX; Mirror expert pundit TV interview £75. feature £1000 ; Good Housekeeping Photography: Health Service Jour- feature, retained copyright £666 ; nal day, expenses paid £260; Which? The Humanist feature £550 ; Classic half-day £220; Nursing Standard half- Pop features paid £60 per page, ap- day, exes paid £160; Health Service prox 500 words, terms vary, some- Journal half-day, expenses paid £160. times 3 months exclusivity £120 Punditry: University in UK one- XXX; Catworld £30 XXX; hour talk followed by Q&A, up to Words, other: Sun feature one hour, £60/day subsistence + spread £1500 ; Pitchfork op-ed with £250 max travel expenses £150. a little reporting, regardless of word Shifts: European NGO per day, count, Work For Hire (US-speak for work not specified €300; Nature per “all rights” & worse) $150; Choose. day, work not specified £200; The net Consumer news writing, per Times subbing day £150; Independent piece, no exes all rights £30 XXX. The Trireme Award Low budgets bringing out bad behaviour WE HEAR via an email network ager. The packager then invoiced the can’t afford to upset them.) This is of This month’s Trireme Award, used by freelance editors and au- publisher for the complete material. course a breach of contract. for terms and conditions “worse than I was last thors, including NUJ members, that Meanwhile, the publisher who com- In the same sector, a writer had chained to the oars” in the there is “some funny stuff going on missioned the book “package” has earlier turned down an offer of words of one freelance, goes out there.” Low budgets are bring- had a change of personnel – the new appallingly-paid editing work. They to the BBC. Its “shadow ing out some dodgy behaviour so we incumbent has made it clear to the were recently asked by the same scheme” (sounds like need to be on our toes. packager that a change of “direction” publisher to “rescue” the appalling something from The X-Files!) One incident involves a packager means they have no intention of pay- half-finished mess the writer they pays would-be scriptwriters (sub-contracted by a publisher to ing for what their predecessor com- eventually commissioned had pro- £1000 for a “trial script”, deliver a book to a certain format) missioned.