Local (and travelling) freelancers all welcome to the next northside freeline get-together:
When : Friday, October 15 2010, 10am
Where: The Beach Kiosk, South Curl Curl
What: Lively discussion at a great spot with good coffee and plenty of parking.
RSVP / More details: Libby Harkness, libbymh@tpg.com.au
This has implications for any freelancer shooting pics in many public areas – Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Waverley Council for example have quite nasty restrictions. [oops! I could have been very seriously busted a few times recently!]
Duncan chairs an umbrella body, Arts Freedom Australia, which represents Australia’s major photographic associations as well as many individual photographers, is protesting the growing laws that restrict photography.
Duncan (who made his fortune before today’s regulations were put in place), says that these days, Australian photographers (professional, part-time or amateur) can risk getting a criminal record for taking a picture of a rock.
AFA recently completed a comparative study of legislation and policies imposed on photographers and film-makers within Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America and found Australian photographers and film-makers were seriously affected by a myriad of rules and regulations that impose prohibitive restrictions, high fees, and bureaucratic application protocols.
More information here: http://www.artsfreedomaustralia.com/blog/?p=99
Local (and travelling) freelancers all welcome to the first north-based freeline get-together:
When : Friday, August 6, 10am
Where: In Situ cafe, 1/18 Sydney Road Manly NSW
Getting there: This cafe is attached to The Corso, just around the corner from the Steyne Hotel. Two-hour free parking under Coles and a short few-hundred metre walk across The Corso to the cafe.
RSVP / More details: Pam Wilson, pamela.wilson@writesmart.com.au
Margaret Simons, freelance journo who writes for Crikey, has asked the Sydney Freelance Journalists Group to pass on the details of two upcoming projects for the Public Interest Journalism Foundation.
The Public Interest Journalism Foundation, established at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology, explores positive uses of new technology for journalism that matters.
The first project – YouCommNews – is within weeks of launching. It will be an audience-driven commissioning mechanism that will allow a direct relationship between audiences and journalists, without the necessary intervention of Big Media – although there is no reason why traditional media organisations can’t be part of the experiment, and the PIJF hope they will.
The YouCommNews website will allow members of the community and journalists to pitch stories they would like to see investigated, and to “crowd source” the funds to allow the journalism to be done. To learn more scroll down to the relevant post on Margaret’s blog
The second project is new – a two day conference, New News 2010, to be held as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival on 2 and 3 September this year.
There are some very interesting, top notch freelancers involved with the PIJF, so take a look at what they are up to and get involved.
You can read more about the PIJ foundation here.
The Sydney Freelance Journalists Group is holding a panel discussion evening on Tuesday March 23 to discuss Money and Business Matters.
Do want to know:
· How to manage your cash flow?
· What you can claim as deductions at tax time?
· About superannuation and income protection – do you have them?
· If you should be charging GST?
· The benefits of paying your PAYG annually instead of quarterly?
· What you should have on your personal tax checklist?
If you want to know the answers to these questions – or any other financial questions – join us for the panel discussion.
Alternatively, come along for a drink and share some nibbles and conversation with other freelance journalists.
Panel facilitator: Emily Chantiri
Emily is a freelance journalist and committee member of the Sydney Freelance Journalists Group. She is a regular contributor to a number of magazines, including NoteBook , ABC Life etc and Fairfax’s BRW Magazine. She is also the author of The Savvy Girl’s Money Book.
Panel speakers
Dianne Hill
Dianne is a Company Director and Management Consultant. Her background is in Chartered Accounting, Banking and Project Management. She has managed her own small business Sector Research Pty Limited for 20 years and has developed and presented financial training programs for non-finance people. Dianne is also one of the four authors of The Money Club, which became a bestseller with sales exceeding 25,000 copies, and of the book Financially Fit for Life. http://www.themoneyclub.com.au
Robert Peake
Robert Peake is a chartered accountant and partner with the firm, Herkess & Partners Chartered Accountants. Making it onto the MEAA’s recommended list of chartered accountants for journalists, Herkess & Partners have been providing taxation, accounting, audit and investment services for more than 60 years. http://www.herkess.com.au
Event details
Date:
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Time:
6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location:
Forresters Hotel,
corner Riley and Foveaux Street, Surry Hills
$10 for MEAA members, $15 for non-members
Call the Alliance Membership Centre 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.
Our friends at the NSW Writers’ Centre are hosting a seminar titled
GETTING IT RIGHT: THE NEWS STORY
with Dr Meenakshi Bharat
on Saturday 20 March 2010 from 10am – 4pm
Full Price – $140, NSW Writer’s Centre Members $100, Concession Members $85
Dr Meenakshi Bharat is the biographer of Salman Rushdie and is currently touring Australia to promote her latest anthology, Fear Factor: Terror Incognito Stories (co-edited with Sharon Rundle) which features stories from Australian and Indian writers. In this special one-day seminar Meenakshi will train aspiring jouralists to zero in on the right ingredients for an effective ‘telling’.
She will, among other things, specifically look at:
• the vocabulary choices;
• the different registers;
• the shape and the form chosen for the various pieces.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Food: Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided. Course participants are advised to bring their own lunch.
Size: 20 max
To read more about the seminar and Dr Meenakshi Bharat, click here
Pacific Magazines, a major local publisher in the Seven stable which publishes titles including New Idea, marie claire and Better Homes and Gardens, has issued a new contributor contract for freelancers requiring they sign away all future rights including online. The company is also seeking to strip legal protections from writers with an indemnity clause shifting liability from Pacific Magazines to freelancers should there be legal action arising from a freelance contribution.
The MEAA strongly advises all freelancers NOT to sign the contract- note the Alliance is currently in negotiations with Pacific Magazines management for a new agreement for permanent staff.
The Alliance is convening urgent meetings for freelance writers (members or non-members welcome) in Sydney and Melbourne to discuss the Pacific Magazines contract.
Just turn up – or for more info – contact Alliance organiser Claire O’Rourke at claire.orourke@alliance.org.au or 02 9333 0935.
Meetings:
Sydney: Thursday, February 11, 6pm, Alliance office cnr Chalmers and Redfern streets, Redfern. RSVP to claire.orourke@alliance.org.au
Melbourne: Wednesday, February 17, 6.30pm Melbourne Central Lion Hotel, Lvl 3, Melbourne Central Adjacent to the Hoyts cinema box office . RSVP to mike.dobbie@alliance.org.au
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.
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.
Freeline 