Freelance Funk

Ever since I returned from my stint in Los Angeles and Miami, I've noticed the Canadian media have made serious cutbacks on the amount of freelance material they publish. The Toronto Star, Globe and Mail and National Post used to entertain freelancers - paying them the same rate that has been paid for the last 30 years. Seriously. While most industries experienced a pay raise over the the last three decades, freelancers get paid the same drop in the bucket they always have...even though the cost of living has quadrupled. Nevertheless, it was nice to know that, as a freelancer, if I had a story worth telling I had options to get it out there.

Those days are gone.

Ironically, I tend to lay blame on the blogosphere. Where else can one find a topic being saturated so mercilessly that it takes a team of advisers just to figure out where the most reliable information comes from? Tragically, this gives more exposure and more advertising dollars to the big, reputable companies - the same companies who have decided that they can no longer afford to hire freelance writers. Telling, isn't it?

The cut-throat atmosphere of the media gets worse. I had three exclusive interviews - Paris Hilton, Matisyahu and Flo Rida - all from the Winter Music Conference. After unsuccessfully pitching these stories to major Canadian outlets, some editors had the nerve to ask me to pen the story and donate it so they could put their own name on the byline and, well, not give me even exposure. I don't want exposure really, I want to get paid - especially after accessing celebrities and securing the interviews.

So, after mulling about for a few weeks and feeling sorry for myself, I have decided to join the saturated blogging world. I don't know if I will ever get paid, but at least I know that the stories I write are original and not copied and pasted from some other disgruntled writer trying to cope with a disintegrating media. Wish me luck.