By NYU Staff

One journalist union is trying to make life a bit easier for freelancers.

A branch of The California Media Workers Guild has started a freelance segment of the union to attempt “to boost working conditions for freelance journalists,” according to a recent press release. That involves helping freelancers and recently unemployed journalists get press pass creditation, which has traditionally been a stumbling block for writers not sponsored by a media organization.

A quick look around Internet forums about freelancing shows that getting a press pass without working for one media outlet is not an easy feat. There are arguments about whether freelancers should pay for press passes or try to get sponsored by a company for which they do a significant amount of work.

 

Not just anyone will get credentials – everyone will undergo scrutinization, according to the press release.
“Our goal is not to exclude anyone based on the type of journalism they practice or the platform they use to publish or broadcast their work. But we need to separate the dabbler, the dilettante and the publicist from the ranks of freelance working journalists,” [Don] Lattin said in the press release.

 

According to the press release, “The freelance unit welcomes journalists who are no longer employed by a traditional media company and those who never have been.”

Also quoted in the press release: “We need some new approaches to reach workers in today’s economy,” said Carl Hall, a staff representative for the California Media Workers local, one of the many Chronicle reporters who left the paper during the past year.

It wasn’t so long ago that many in the journalism profession railed against bloggers and amateur upstarts who played the role of reporters, saying they didn’t have the same standards and ethics as those trained in the profession. The Guild’s attitude is inclusive and so refreshing.

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