EVEN TIN POT LOCAL MAG HAS ‘A POLICY NOT TO PAY OUR CONTRIBUTORS’
**Looking for the latest on this story? Scroll down to Comments**
Graduate Fog isn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
On one hand, I weep for the future of an industry I love.
On the other, this story is hilariously funny.
Every budding journalist knows that unpaid internships happen within national magazines and newspapers.
When you’re starting out, we know that it’s all about collecting bylines at big-name titles.
But when tin pot local freesheets that nobody’s heard of get the idea that it’s okay to advertise for freelancers to write features for publication without paying them, I want to ask “Sorry, just checking – but is this still real life?”
I refer to a recent advertisement sent to me by a Graduate Fogger, Mark Watson.
It is an invitation for writers to contribute their work to a publication called Vine, which we are informed is “one of the most prestigious magazines in Kent” and “stands head and shoulders above its closest competitors.”
(No, I’d never heard if it either. The website calls it ‘The essential free magazine for Sevenoks’. Perhaps Kent-based Foggers will enlighten us?)
And yet – following the managing director’s detailed explanation of how journalists should apply for the honour of having their work considered for publication his prestigious title - we are informed that these writers should not expect to be paid for their work, on the grounds that:
“We have found that being printed in such a high profile magazine is compensation enough- significantly raising the writers profile within the industry and providing unparalleled material for your portfolio.”
Really?
Is it Vine – or Vanity Fair?
Here is the ad in full. Savour the delicious loftiness of this outrageous editor:
“Vine Publishing, the company behind Vine Magazine- one of the most prestigious magazines in Kent- is expanding to London. We are looking for the best freelance journalists to contribute editorial to this new London edition.
“Vine stands head and shoulders above its closest competitors. We pride ourselves on our stunning design, exciting editorial, high profile clients and unprecedented editorial to advertisement ratio (60:40). We have a distribution of 30,000 (and constantly growing) and an estimated readership of 65,000.
“If you are interested in contributing to Vine, please send an email to edward@onlinevine.co.uk, with a copy of your resume, a covering letter, accompanied by your most relevant and accomplished piece of writing. This piece should be either an article or relevant piece of editorial on a subject of your choice. Please do not send pieces over 800 words long.
“We currently have a policy to not pay contributors, and so anything, if your application is successful, anything that we do print will not be compensated for financially. We have found that being printed in such a high profile magazine is compensation enough- significantly raising the writers profile within the industry and providing unparalleled material for your portfolio.
Look forward to hearing from you,
Edward Coram-James,
Managing Director,
Vine Publications.”
Most days, I receive emails from graduates desperate to start their career as a writer and asking me how they can ‘break in’.
Increasingly, I’m at a loss to know what to tell you.
Something very strange has happened.
Publications appear to have stopped factoring ‘content costs’ into their business plan.
You know, little things like paying your writers (and photographers, stylists, hair and make up artists, etc).
We talk about unpaid internships a lot on Graduate Fog.
But the reality is that it isn’t just young people trying to ‘break in’ to media who are fed this nonsense about doing things for the experience, byline, contacts or prestige.
It’s certainly something I encounter regularly – and I’ve been working as a full-time features writer for over eight years!
I try not to take it to heart (and usually just say No), but I admit I do find it irritating.
The major reason is because without exception, the person asking me to work for free is being paid to do their job.
And yet they’re asking me to do mine for nothing. Is it just me or is there something a teensy bit insulting about that?
We all know that the journalism industry is in big trouble – particularly print media, which is struggling to adapt to the digital age.
But the trend for simply not paying your writers is not sustainable.
Journalists can’t pay their rent with bylines.
I just can’t see how this farcical situation can continue.
Without content, there is nothing for people to read.
And you can’t sell advertising against blank pages, for a publication that nobody reads because there’s nothing in it!
If you want to be a writer, my advice would be to find people who are prepared to pay you.
If you can’t, then don’t do it at all.
Because publications who expect you to write for nothing just aren’t a business.
And yes, I’m talking to you, Vine magazine.
“Head and shoulders above its closest competitors”?
You should be hanging your head in shame, more like.
*Do you find this ad insulting, hilarious – or both?
Are you trying to break into journalism? Who’s asked you to write features for free? Are you beginning to wonder how you will ever earn a living in this industry?
I agree with Edward. I think that if I were asked to write an article in a magazine, even if it were of only reasonable regard, I would do it… especially to get my name in print with some of the big fish!
-Edward… don’t listen to this lot. You can tell by the way that you wrote your first post that you write beautifully… better than Tanya at least! And when you say ‘Burnt Norton,’ do you mean the actual Burnt Norton?
I am an actress and a writer too, and I understand how infuriating it is for people to just not get it… all they want is money. Whatever happened to passion? The same is happening in the film and tv world at the moment. As you say- unions, unions, unions!
This lot are probably behind the tube strikes!
ben,
if you want to email me, I can give you mynumber and you can call to see who I am… think my scottish female accent might just persuade you otherwise! clarecleevesoton@yahoo.co.uk
And I mean that… please do email me… will be very funny…
just get a life basically and learn when you are wrong.
you can talk to Brittany as well if you like as she is here with me…my roommate… just in case you try to say the same about her!
bunch of idiots.
Okay folks – that’s ENOUGH!
; )
@ Clare and Brittany, thanks for your comments. But please don’t respond again if you’re going to continue to abuse my users. As you have witnessed, unpaid work is an issue we feel extremely strongly about on Graduate Fog. If you don’t agree with that, I suggest this may not be the website for you! Although of course you are always welcome to visit share your views, as long as your comments are respectful.
@ Everyone else, I think we must assume that Clare and Brittany are who they say they are, in the absence of any real evidence to suggest otherwise.
Great debate today though – thanks everyone! : )
Tanya x
@Brittany @Clare
Unfortunately it’s precisely this attitude which is promoting the idea of graduates “needing to get a foot in the door” and therefore being perfect targets for exploitation in the form of unpaid “internships”. I work entirely freelance and am a recent graduate. And I have worked for many prestigious organisations and had my work published by them, including the European Commission, the European Union, Médecins Sans Frontières (a charity who paid me for my work), Universities in the UK, Spain and Portugal (who paid me for my work) as well as several major firms working in the areas of PR, marketing and journalism. The type of attitude you seem to have towards graduates working for free is damaging and corrosive. It is leading to more and more exploitation (particularly of young, educated people) and to the belief among businesses that it is acceptable to not pay employees (either freelance or contracted, regardless of their age or level of experience) for their work. It is not greedy or “entitled” to expect to be paid for your work. Fair remuneration is a basic human right to which we are all entitled. Yes passion is essential and yes, so is hard work, but since when does being paid for your work mean that you are not passionate and hard-working?
Yes and I feel very strongly as well. I am not being any more abusive than your readers.
If you guys cannot get to grips with the idea of doing something nice for someone else and not asking for pay then shame on you.I love reading magazines and would love to be published in one but probably never will be. For a mag to offer that chance is great. fine, maybe if they was the times or something who could really afford to pay their writers then that would be another thing but they are not they are small.
to be honest I would even take a free gig at the times! and they are a profit company!
UPDATE #3
EDWARD CORAM-JAMES ASKS ME TO REMOVE THIS ENTIRE POST FROM GRADUATE FOG – THEN THREATENS TO COME AND HAVE IT OUT WITH ME IN PERSON
I have just received a string of astonishing emails from our friend at Kent’s most prestigious magazine.
On Tue, 7/9/10 at 15.42 Edward Coram-James wrote:
On 7 Sep 2010, at 15:45, Tanya de Grunwald wrote:
At 15.57 Edward Coram-James wrote:
At 16.11, Tanya de Grunwald wrote:
At 16.19, Edward Coram-James wrote:
At 16:20, Edward Coram-James wrote:
WTF?!?!?
Seriously, I have NO WORDS!!
Tanya; as somebody who deals with legal documents on a regular basis, but speaking in a personal rather than a professional capacity- I REALLY wouldn’t be worried!!! Any lawyer approached by Mr Coram-James will have a good laugh at this one. I’m afraid what we are dealing with is a highly inexperienced, ignorant and naive young man with an enormous ego who simply doesn’t like to be challenged or questioned in any way… Who does a good job in writing incredibly patronising but very amusing rubbish!
Edward,
Are you angry that you are being deformed or defamed? I think the term you’re looking for is “defamation of character”, rather than your version “deformation of character” which suggests that some warping is going on.
If you really are the writer you claim to be, please get to grips with the apostrophe.
“it’s MD” means “it is MD” or “it has MD”. The possessive adjective form is “its”.
Clare (no relation to the other Clare who has been posting)
Tanya,
I am doing a journalism MA. There is nothing libellous at all about this post or any of the comments
Edward, you need to relax. Seriously. Calm down. We are all allowed to have opinions about your venture.
This discussion falls into the fair comment remit of debate and therefore no libel.
Co-sign with Christopher’s points.
@Clare – Stop it!
You’ll only wind up the poor lamb even more! ; )
(But seriously, thanks for the support!)
Good grief, nobody told me that running a careers advice website could result in threats like this… Oh well, it goes with the territory I guess
xx
I’m really enjoying the comments on this.
I found Edward’s comments on how he only distributes his magazine to wealthy, educated people really forward-thinking and enlightening.
Also, his impressive use of the apostrophe.
I’d like to know how he pays his bills, if he too has yet to receive a penny for his work? If anyone, in any profession, freelance or otherwise, had to work without payment to get a foot on the ladder we’d all be starving and/or homeless. This assumption that that is what graduates should be doing to make an impression is very frightening especially given the escalating costs of higher education. If this prestigious magazine is run as a not-for-profit venture this needs to be clearly publicised on the advert instead of making holier-than-thou claims as to its credentials.
You have my full support, Tanya.
Clare and Brittany are mad. Prestige is one thing, but some of us have to eat.
Oh I get it, are they students? I’d happily have freelanced for free when I didn’t need to pay for living…
I freelanced for a local magazine for years, writing reviews and columns. I didn’t get paid, but I didn’t expect to, it was just for my portfolio (which given how frickin’ hard it is to get into the media has kind of just become a doorstop) and it was fun. Rather like writing for Vine. But the difference is that that magazine didn’t advertise itself as ‘head and shoulders above its competitors’…