Champion news for freelances that Fleet Street missed
The UK government announced a new 'freelance champion' as part of its Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Article by Tim Dawson, NUJ freelance organiser.A ministerial announcement delivered over the summer could improve the lives of tens of thousands of journalists. But, despite landing during the August news drought, it garnered just a single newsprint mention, buried in an unrelated article. Broadcasters too offered scant acknowledgement.
The story Fleet Street missed is the pending appointment by culture secretary Lisa Nandy, of a Freelance Champion to “advocate for creative freelances… strengthen job quality across the sector and focus on creating high-quality jobs.” It is part of a broader Creative Industries Sector Plan designed to ‘ensure long-term growth across the UK.’
The terms of reference of this putative protector of the precariat are ‘under development’. Given freelance journalists skills at crafting compelling yarns from everyday experience, though, I suspect that an overflowing in-tray will await the incoming saviour of the Saturday subs.
An initiative to deal with byline bandits is a must. Who hasn’t sweated blood over a story, only to find their scoop reworked by staffers on other papers, who rip off your quotes and reproduce photos? Some even confect entire, apparently first-person, magazine interviews from material published elsewhere. Perhaps the Freelance Champion could publish a ‘wall of shame’ to embarrass the worst offenders into doing their own reporting?
Then there will be the role of Contract Commissar – an authority figure able to insist that, to be binding, contracts must be expressly agreed and signed by both parties. Maybe they could craft some media-wide terms and conditions for freelances reflecting the interests of both sides of the commissioning contract, not just the one with greatest economic power? It would mark a welcome end to ‘implicit contracts’ and ‘industry standard’ terms used to cheat freelances daily.
A new source of authority might also corral the copyright cowboys. Those are the ones who use photographs without permission, payment or attribution. They operate secure in the knowledge that the worst penalty they face is paying what they would have done if they had proceeded honestly in the first place. Require these rights racketeers to pay a multiple of the usual fee when they are caught out, and they will soon be driven out of town.
What about work on some of the softer skills that impact freelances daily lives? Pitches should be considered quickly, decisively, and courteously. Original story pitches deserve to be respected. A code of conduct governing respectfulness between commissioners and freelances is worth consideration. Perhaps we could arrange an industry-wide seminar, away from the daily news grind, where editors and those who supply them can unload what makes them miserable? There will be lessons for both sides.
Help accessing financial services, progressing careers, dealing with isolation, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance would be welcome too. Perhaps in the early days of such a Freelance Champion, however, the ‘nuts and bolts’ issues deserve top priority.
Most pressing, of course, is the elephant in the room: freelance fees. Everyone knows that actual freelance rates have scarcely moved in quarter of a century. Taking inflation into account, this represents a 30-40 per cent real-terms cut. An investigatory panel could take evidence from the poverty-pleading news platforms, as well as the ranks of their contributors. Would paying fairly for quality content really torpedo bottom lines? Or, does the accelerating switch to digital, almost eliminating the costs of production, as well as the VAT-zero-rating boost, mean that revenue is rather stronger than most imagine? A clear, independent assessment, produced with the authority of a government office, would settle the argument and pave the way to more harmonious relations.
The benefits of such work could be profound. The UK’s news media is arguably the largest, per capita, in the world, and it serves an increasingly global audience. Its success is built on the flexibility, diversity, and iconoclasm of a profession, one third of which is freelance. With greater nurturing and respect the self-employed wing of this workforce will lend itself ever more effectively to powering an industry of truly global significance.
The Freelance Champion has a big job to do. Who on earth could ministers find that is up to the task? They require a figure who can earn the respect of industry bosses, as well as retaining the confidence of self-employed journalists. Perhaps it will be a struggle to find someone with deep industry knowledge, a commitment to freelances and the diplomatic skills to resolve long-standing grievances.
Of course, if Nandy and her civil servants find themselves casting around in vain, they might well consult the NUJ’s Freelance Directory. It lists a wealth of committed professionals with abundant experience of the travails faced by self-employed creative workers. Appointment to this role of an NUJ activist, with all their commitment and wisdom, really would be champion!