Missing out on all the silly season fun because you work alone? Come and join other freelancers for a casual Christmas drink – 6pm, front bar of the Forresters Hotel in Surry Hills, front bar – Dec 2nd.
Author Archives: Fran
Sydney Freelance Journalists Event: open mic night
Sydney-based freelance writers are invited to join members of Freeline and the Sydney Freelance Journalists Group at Forresters Hotel, 336 Riley Street, Surry Hills on September 29 at 6pm to hear about common freelance woes – and some tips from veteran freelancers about surviving long-term.
What’s Your Beef? Freelancing Q & A
Have you ever wondered what on earth editors want in a story pitch, how many re-writes are OK, how long it takes to build a freelance practice or whether anyone ever makes money from this caper? Are you sick of trying to work it out on your own?
Roger Fox, gardening editor, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, and lifestyle / home renovations journo Alex Brooks (formerly Alex May) will be on hand to give you answers (or at least some sympathy) for dilemmas we all share, whether we write, photograph, announce, film or blog.
This is a purely question and answer evening, so you will get your turn on the mic.
Cost:
$10 for Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) members, $15 for non-members
Call the MEAA on 1300 65 65 13 or email members@alliance.org.au to RSVP and / or pay for your ticket (credit card payments only).
Payment at the door on the night is fine, but please RSVP.
Good Editor Award
On June 29, the result of a poll held by members of Freeline who voted for the Freelancer’s Choice for 2009 Good Editor Award was announced.
The 2009 Good Editor Award winner is Roger Fox, gardening editor, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.
Testimonials from freelancers about Roger include:
“I’ve never worked for a more professional, decent person. His values are not praised often enough.”
The runners up were:
Rebecca Spicer – Empower Magazine
Susan Prior – editor of www.onlineopinion.com.au
and Fiona McGill – section editor at the Sydney Morning Herald
An online poll is planned for 2010, allowing freelancers to nominate and vote for their favorite editors; and a second award for corporate editors will be offered (for those who edit publications and programs that are in-house or exist to distribute information about a company or organisation).
The 2009 Sydney Freelance Journalists Group Committee are Rachael Osman-Chin (Chair) and committee members Fran Molloy, Jan Forrester, Christine Fogg, Emily Chantiri and Liz Swanton.
Sydney Freelance Journalists Group event: The Future of Freelance Journalism
Sydney-based freelance writers are invited to join members of Freeline and the Sydney Freelance Journalists Group at Forresters Hotel, 336 Riley Street, Surry Hills on June 29 at 6pm as our speakers deliver their very own Nostradamus imitation.
Speaker Evening – The future of Australian freelance journalism
With massive numbers of recently redundant full time journalists now on the market, what is the future of freelance journalism?
As newspapers struggle to keep the presses going and free to air TV fights to hold onto its audience, what does the future hold for freelancers who write the stories, take the pictures, speak to the public and shape the news behind the scenes?
Is our media going to be consumed by cheap, fluffy celebrity ‘news’ or are we in the mist of a monumental shift where good journalism will survive even if the current big media businesses don’t?
The Sydney Freelance Journalists Group is holding a speaker evening 29 June to discuss where it is all heading. Come and hear seasoned media observers share their views as well as the findings of recent MEAA research.
We will also announce the winner of the Freeline 2009 Good Editor Award.
Speakers are:
Steve Ahern OAM – broadcaster, author, trainer and media commentator and the founding editor of http://www.radioinfo.com.au; he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia this year for services to radio broadcasting.
Claire O’Rourke – former freelance journalist, now a Lead Organiser for the MEAA & has been part of the Future of Journalism Project, http://www.thefutureofjournalism.org.au
Rachel Hills – Rachel is a freelance writer, editor, blogger and public speaker who writes on gender, politics, media and technology, currently writing her first book and found online at rachelhills.tumblr.com
Cost:
$10 for Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) members, $15 for non-members
Call the MEAA on 1300 65 65 13 or email members@alliance.org.au to RSVP and / or pay for your ticket (credit card payments only).
Payment at the door on the night is fine, but please RSVP.
Freeline goes live
Welcome to the current web home of Freeline, a support and discussion group for Australian freelance journalists.
Founded by a small group of freelancers in 2005, this group began life as an email list in Yahoo groups, then moved to Google groups, where it continues to host moderated online discussions.
Group members are journalists, writers, and other freelancers (including some editors) with different specialities and interests.
There are now over 200 members with many attending the regular events organised by the Sydney Freelance Journalists Group.
We welcome any Australian working freelance journalist to join the online discussion. There is no joining fee and you do not have to be a member of the MEAA (journalist’s union) – though many of us are.
Members who no longer work as a freelance journalist (eg to take a position as a staff journalist, staff editor or publisher) are asked to leave the group.
To join the discussion, send a message to the group moderators at freelinesydney+owner@googlegroups.com from your preferred email address and include a brief description about yourself confirming you’re a working Australian freelance journalist. As with any google group, you’ll also need to have an active Google ID.
Freeline 