The following is an open letter addressed to The Globe and Mail‘s editor-in-chief, John Stackhouse, and its publisher, Phillip Crawley, regarding the serious financial crisis the newspaper is apparently currently weathering.
22 March 2011
John Stackhouse, Editor-in-Chief
Phillip Crawley, Publisher
The Globe and MailDear Sirs:
I am writing to express my deep concern at the troubling and increasingly inescapable evidences that Canada’s august and historic national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, has fallen on hard times, and, further, to offer my apologies if I myself have been in any way responsible for the newspaper’s present difficulties.
Allow me to explain.
Last September I was commissioned to write a travel article for the special relaunch edition of The Globe and Mail that appeared on newsstands on October 2nd, 2010. (Let me just add as a sidenote: Love the gloss!) To my delight, I was able to negotiate a fee for the article that was well in excess of the frugal freelance rates The Globe is normally obliged to pay in the digital age, and indeed was nearly at the level of the premium rates that used to be in effect when I first started freelancing twenty years ago. At The Globe’s insistence I was also allowed to put all my expenses on my own credit card rather than on The Globe’s, thus accumulating points toward eventual free travel. Since my expenses included international flights, the points I was able to rack up were considerable, enough, say, for round-trip business class travel between Toronto’s island airport—were it not that political considerations make using that facility awkward—and the airport at Buttonville (had it not closed).
I had cause to regret exacting such onerous conditions from your newspaper, however, when, nearly two months after I submitted an invoice, I had yet to receive any payment or reimbursement. Enquiries to The Globe soon made clear where the problem lay: Due to cutbacks, I was told, the accounting office that dealt with payments to freelancers had suffered numerous layoffs, by that point reduced to a single secondary school student logging the community service hours she needed in order to graduate. I became concerned, on learning this, that it had been unduly selfish of me to have negotiated a fee increase or indeed to have insisted on reimbursement of my expenses, given the travel points I had accumulated. This concern grew to alarm when, after four months had passed and still no payment was forthcoming, The Globe was unable to provide any new explanation for the delay, which suggested that not only had its accounts office been gutted, but its public relations office as well. Now nearly six months have elapsed and my enquiries have ceased to receive a response of any sort, leading me to fear that despite the hope expressed in The Globe’s October relaunch, of which I was proud to be a part, whole wings of the newspaper’s offices now stand abandoned, victims of the unreasonable demands of greedy freelancers like myself.
My intention in writing to you, then, is not to lament my own fate but to express my fear and regret for yours. As a writer, I am accustomed to living frugally, and have come to believe I am a better person for it. We all know writers who through one fluke or another have come into sums of money approximating a living wage only to descend at once into profligacy, indulging in Mexican all-inclusives or brand-name clothing or, worse, allowing a distasteful optimism and joy of life to creep into their work. I have no desire to be among that class. Nor, indeed, is the carrying of debt of any great concern to me, since for the past number of years I and my wife, also a writer, have lived almost exclusively on the line of credit afforded to us by the unreasonable rise in real estate values in our city over the past decade. Unlike our unhappy neighbours to the south, whose economy was laid low by credit line excesses, we Canadians seem to have managed to limit our use of credit to the sort of bridge financing that recessions or the non-payment of fees sometimes make necessary. For writers, the arrangement is especially propitious, and indeed may represent the solution to every problem of arts funding that has ever plagued this country. Here is how it works: Every month my wife and I borrow as much money as we need to maintain the lifestyle we have grown accustomed to, our only obligation being that we make a monthly interest payment that can itself, wonder of wonders, be borrowed from our credit line. The added bonus is that should we ever reach our credit limit—which at current rates is not likely to happen before the fall, or even later, should we decide to suspend the university educations of our two eldest children—we need only turn over our home to our bank, and our entire debt is expunged.
So my concern here, as I say, is not for myself, but for your venerable newspaper, and, more particularly, for your own situations, given that people on fixed incomes like yourselves often have much less leeway in organizing their finances than those of us who are self-employed. Should it be then, that my unreasonable demands for payment have in any way compromised your newspaper’s finances or interfered with the speedy processing of your own paycheques, please let me know and I will at once cease and desist in those demands.
Yours sincerely,
Nino Ricci
What did you learn in school today? Sharing.
GOOD FOR YOU! As a wife of a freelancer (in the A.V. world) it is no different for us. My husband is continually fighting for money. He works for several companies both big and small. He always arrives early, works hard, rarely gets breaks, the end clients always love him and most days he frequently works 12 hours or more (again with no break). Guess what the companies that take the longest to pay and are almost always over due are the biggest ones. But I should be careful what I say since my husband was actually escorted off a job by security because he at one point mentioned his frustrations on facebook. He never said anything threatening and never conducted himself in anyway but professional on the actual job site. Funny that he was treated like the criminal when the real crime was not being paid within the terms agreed to by said company. Never mind the fact that they should owe interest. He did finally get paid but it wasn’t worth the stress and too late from bills being cut off and extra fees because of that. Sigh!
I agree wholeheartedly, Nino. This is the dirty little secret of all Canadian magazines and periodicals: the fact that as freelancers we spend most of our time begging, haggling, maxing out our credit cards and pleading with everyone from payroll to the editorial board for payment.
The saddest fact that this letter implies is that Canada is losing its best writers, like Ricci & others, because of this laissez-faire attitude toward paying freelancers and low-ball rates. I have never had this experience with the Globe but have had it with several Canadian magazines.
Well said. Writing has now been reduce to mere “content generation” and there is little respect or nurturing of quality authors. The Globe has degraded in recent years, definitely, but the other newspapers I come across such as the Toronto Star have fallen even further. The quality of writing on the Star star is often barely up to the standards of a blog entry, typos and all. I often feel embarassed reading it — not for myself, but for the writers.
It alarms me that even as our means of communication have improved dramatically the quality of what we have to say has collapsed. The frightening flipside to social media is that the opinions of all become equal: the words of a seasoned, award-winning academic and writer are worth exactly the same as those of an angry, semi-literate basement dweller pounding out a comment beneath a news article on a website. The lowest common denominator wins.
I can think of no other industry aside from freelance writing where the pay scale — $1/word — has remained constant for decades, inflation ignored. We all suffer.
The Globe long ago descended into a second rate outfit. The sophomoric antics of the “feature” writers, the incessant re-printing of AP articles without editorial oversight for Canadian perspective, the “renditions” of free-lancers like jazz writer Mark Miller has caused a diminished sense of purpose and lack of gravitas that infects the whole enterprise. In short, The Globe is crap. I hope the cheap bastards pay you.
Simply brilliant!
As a writer who gave up on the industry not just because it was faltering but due to the disregard for freelancers, I thank you for this letter, sir.
Of course, I meant humiliation–which can put one in a state of humility!
Any freelancer who has ever been subjected to the humility of trying to collect fees (that means all of us) can relate to this. Well put, Nino!
Nino, I admire your being able to keep your sense of humour about this. Many good people work for the Globe, but its management, specifically Philip Crawley and John Stackhouse, display irresponsibility and a self-destructive lack of intelligence in allowing you, or any writer, to be treated this way.
Whilst you have my utter empathy and sympathy for being fleeced by Canada’s supposed national flagship newspaper, I am overjoyed to see you speaking out about it. Were I writing the letter, the tone against G&M would have been much harsher so you should be doubly congratulated for your reserved, mature approach. How the G&M has not already been embarrassed into coughing up the cash simply astonishes me.
Your battle for the appropriate payment of a now embarrassingly overdue invoice is no longer a simple cashflow matter, but a symbol for the woes of freelance writers nationwide. Neither writers nor any person should be treated with such contempt, least of all by a publication claiming to represent the opinions of the people who read it. From the abundant support you are clearly receiving, I would suggest that you have carte blanche to take this paper to the cleaners if you have to. After all, if the relaunched version is as poor as the other writers here suggest, then Canada has little to lose if you accidentally put them out of business with a lawsuit.
And if that’s what it takes to get across the message that this is no way for any invoice-paying (sic) organisation to conduct itself, then so be it. We will all be better off when you win since other publications might pay attention, and the G&M readers might get a replacement publication to read that isn’t an embarrassment to the Canadian population as a whole.
Just to update: the Globe has now promised that the cheque will be in the mail by tomorrow.
As my mantra goes, “I’ll believe it when the cheque clears.” There is nothing quite so insulting as receiving a cheque well past the promised date, except receiving a cheque that bounces. Grrrr!
The cheque should have been there within no more than one month of you submitting the invoice. Even if the cheque arrives, it is an act of damage limitation only, not genuine integrity, conscience, or good business. i would think twice before writing for them again.
With interest, one hopes…
As a fellow freelancer, I have been there so many times… Beautifully put, and I really hope that this works! I’ve found standing in the accounts dept. refusing to leave has been effective in the past – but only really as a last, last resort, when dignity has left the building and the thrill of rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner has gone…
Oh- one tiny thing “This concern grew to alarm when, after four had passed and still no payment was forthcoming,” I think you missed ‘months’.
Yrs Sub-ish-ly…
Thanks for the correction! (Unfortunately, due to cutbacks, I have had to lay off my proofreader.)
Well, the cheek of those naughty boys down on Front Street. They must be still too busy making their paper look like a website to notice your wee invoice. You can take some consolation from knowing they’ll never not pay you such a large amount again, not now all articles have to be a fraction of the size of the accompanying chart or graph or whatever that big coloured thing is that daily muscles all those old-fashioned words and stories right off the page.
Nino – bravo!
I actually work in digital media – and I deplore the levels to which the Grope & Flail (borrowed, from above…love it) has descended. They seemed to have absconded from featuring actual reportage, at least on the site, to a sad teenage version of “and then, like, that happened…” writing.
As for deep, investigative, insightful pieces? Um, I think they spent that on new glossy paper, and a new size.
No format change will drive readers to a page, a book, or a site – good, great, insightful writing will. Invest in the writing. (…and photography, too).
Terrific piece. I hope it gets quick results from the accounting (and editorial!) offices at G&M. It’s an astonishing (but not surprising) story. Please do post the results!
Bravo!
I laughed, I cried. Good luck, Nino.
Excellent work, Mr. Ricci — right on the money . . . or, rather, the absence of money, or the money you’re still waiting for. All too reminiscent of my own freelance follies with the shiny, listing death ship “Globe and Mail.” You’d think all the forces buffeting traditional newspaper might at least scare the outfit into working smarter, into investing in content, into making the product better, if nothing else. Nope, just shinier. And meaner and cheaper.
invest in writers, and photographers, and videographers…invest in content!!!! Not the paper – no one gives a crap about the paper.
This piece reflects the times we live in, people working ‘freelance’ (emphasis on the free), no benefits, no security, no leverage – short of lawsuits or embarrassing blog-posts. How did we let this happen in Canada? Jean Chretien? Paul Martin? 1994? Oh yeah.
I shed no tears for the Mop and Pail, their silly payola internet schemes, their glossy garbage image. But count me as never believing for a second that they are in any financial difficulty whatsoever, Bell Globe Media has deep pockets, and plenty of reasons to keep the institution in the black.
Love this, Nino. Nicely put.
Sadly, many arts institutions continue to do the same to artists, writers, and all form of creative folk. Stand up, state it and get paid!
Yes, my goodness,
I thought, due to my experience at QMI, four months was the minimal standard.
Pretty funny, Nino. And so bad that they didn’t pay you for the trip (and the piece)! Please do post the reply when it comes. If it comes …
Beautifully written. I didn’t see your article that week–the Globe moved to a new distributor or something and for an entire month—my paper arrived late, if at all. I suspect that the Globe is too busy paying that sordid lot in the advertising department—for what, I’m not sure.
Has the National Post called yet?
Nino. I would say, well, you’re writing for a newspaper. Should you be paid? Of course. The G&M does not quite deserve your gentle tone (love the tone) but freelance wages for newspapers are awful and getting more and more so. Alas. My real bone of contention, as a Montrealer, is that you consider the G&M “national.” That’s your right, of course, but I would suggest a careful reading of the “edition” we are unlucky enough to receive in Montreal is far from “national.”
PS: I sincerely hope you get paid eventually.
Arjun, I call the _Globe_ (but I do like the other names given) upper canada’s national newspaper.
Good piece, Nino. I used to write reviews for a canadian publication that depended on grants. It folded, and the money owed me for several reviews never did make it my way. On the plus side, my tax return was simpler that year. Maybe there’s your silver lining.
Jeff Bursey,
author of _Verbatim: A Novel_,
a parliamentary satire
Jeff, you had me on the floor laughing with your line, “Upper Canada’s national newspaper.” I also like to call it hiring from the talent pool at Skull & Bones 🙂
You’re welcome, Robert. If you’d like to laugh some more, and get a breather from murder files, check out my book. Nice line about Skull & Bones.
Thanks Jeff, I will check out Verbatim this week. All the best.
So well done, Nino. Wonderfully constructed. All good to you,
Frank
“Due to cutbacks, I was told, the accounting office that dealt with payments to freelancers had suffered numerous layoffs, by that point reduced to a single secondary school student logging the community service hours she needed in order to graduate.”
Considering the many egregious spelling errors, poorly-written headlines, and seeming lack of adherence to Canadian Press style (“wot’s dat?”) at The Globe, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn the same student isn’t doing double-duty as a “proofreader.”
Over the past year or so, I lost all respect for The Grope and Flail, for reasons other than yours. Their sycophantic editorial last year on Michael Bryant walking away scot-free – the headline was something like “Justice Was Served,” I believe – made me wonder if the editors haven’t developed calluses on their knees and elbows from so much bowing, scraping and butt-kissing. Revolting.
As someone who has made a living as a writer since 1989, I have one suggestion regarding payment: just show up at 444 Front St. It is a lot harder for these lackeys to ignore you when you’re standing three feet in front of them, demanding your money.
Good luck.
The Michael Bryant was one of the best articles I’ve ever read in the Globe. In a time when everyone was rushing to ignore all evidence, they actually wrote the real story of what happened and who he was. It apparently disappointed a number of people, yourself included, that an innocent rich man wasn’t sent to jail. Bravo.
Steve, there is a great deal more to the Bryant story than what was reported, which is why many people questioned the Globe’s less than objective editorial.
My payments from the Globe are always prompt. Maybe the future lies in obit writing.
That’s no way to treat a poor little newspaper. Imagine how the G&M must feel, afraid to put its nose out the door lest it be dunned and bullied by beefy, well-fed freelancers, demanding with menaces their vast extortions.
Thank you for bringing a smile to my day. I immediately ordered one of your books that I’d been planning to borrow (and another author’s, to get the free shipping).
I love the “Modest Proposal” tone of the missive and understand perfectly how it might smack the G & M right between the eyes. And, boy, do they deserve it.
We have a different twist to the story. We pay the Globe & Mail to deliver the morning paper daily (we live in London, ON) but in recent months the Globe has been unable (or unwilling) to actually deliver the paper in a timely fashion so my husband and I read yesterday’s news the following day at breakfast. Guess the Globe had to cut back on delivery people too. Thank goodness for the CBC News.
Thanks for your story. Hope you’ve been paid by now.
We should all thank you for this, Nino. Very funny, and very necessary.
— Paul
Well said. I just sent your link off to the Globe & Mail, telling them that I think your letter deserves an article and a response given that they’ve just been doing a series on CanLit and whether Canada is a good place for writers.
What can a fellow freelancer say? Understated wit of the highest order, but an all too familiar story nowadays. One can only hope that the Globe will come to terms with its distressed financial situation and do the right thing. If the Globe and Mail can’t deliver on this one, then all hope is truly lost for freelancers everywhere. The day may soon come when you might be better off delivering the paper than trying to write for it.
“The day may soon come when you might be better off delivering the paper than trying to write for it.”
LOVE that line, Doug!
And Nino, I hope your cheque has arrived. Your experience is precisely why I’ve decreased the amount of periodical writing I do and have turned my attention to writing books and doing speaking engagements based on them (and other things.) So much more lucrative, and the payment for speaking engagements is often made right on-site after the gig. No waiting involved.
Love it!
Been there – for all of that – for over 20 years too!
I love freelancing – & hate the begging to be paid woes that sometimes occur.
Barb
I am in awe. This is amazing. Well played. Well said.
BRAVO! Brilliant. Wow.
Mille grazie, from the bottom of my hell-no-Huff-Po heart.
You do us all proud.
I admire your courage and conviction. I truly hope you get paid.
Simply delightful. Thanks for writing this.
Love it Nino.
I stopped writing for them ages ago. Try the Ottawa Citizen which actually pays, though it wants all rights in all formats in perpetuity. I also resent the Globe’s big “editors’ pieces” where they ask 25 writers to do 500 words or 200 words each (for free obviously) and then run it over 2 pages w big pictures” free content!
Please everybody stop contributing these media bytes for free!
This is so delightfully tongue in cheek yet at its core a harsh condemnation of how news and other cultural industries treat artists and writers on whose creativity and imagination they totally rely. The real story of our age is that the means of communication multiply exponentially while those that supply the content to fill these pipes shrink and wither.
Brilliantly articulated. All writers have not been paid, or been paid very slowly. But it’s the attitude of the non-payers that so often gets to me. An attitude very seldom adopted when dealing with, for example, painters, renovators, plumbers, electricians, self-employed computer IT folks, etc. All “content-providers” of a sort but all treated with greater respect — or maybe apprehension at the greater risk of legal action — than writers.
A very funny but sad comment on the state of affairs at The Globe and Mail. In order to consistently pay our own freelance writers at the Beacon Magazine we’ve taken slightly different measures — simply shovelling vast sums of our own money into our business account where it bounces around inside our line of credit until the writers’ cheques are cashed — then we repeat the process.
The jewellery’s been sold, so too the paintings, the RRSP funds are gone, the travel fund is a figment of my imagination, there’s a second mortgage, and we’re now subsisting on tube steaks and grilled cheese sandwiches – but our freelance writers are paid and happy to write again for us next month. We’re happy too. Well…sort of.
If media isn’t soon dead…certainly its publishers, especially small market publishers, will be. The consolation? We’ve left a damn nice legacy of our life and times for future generations.
Interested in investing in a rural community publication? ~ L
Well, the absolute ruffians. Perhaps they will be obliged to pay you in newsprint scrip. I suppose that will be a lesson in bad associations for you, Mr. Ricci; thugs and bums and news-men. Thanks for sharing this amusing missive. I bet they aren’t even embarrassed.
It was a pleasure to read. Thank you, sir.
Peter G.
Brilliant. We need more people like you standing up for freelancers. You made my day. Thank you for this. Hope you get paid. Rumour has it the Globe did very well last year so let’s see if freelancers like you will get their earned share.
Amazing.