ABSTRACT
As a career choice, freelance journalism has long had a romantic cachet. It promises no bosses, no shiftwork and no petty office politics. It holds out the possibility of writing about what you want and when you want, the prospect of a front-row seat on history, and the promise of a big payoff when you land the big story. Sure, it lacks security. But who could deny the allure of a job in which, as a UK-based home-study writing program puts it, “if you fancy travelling the world reviewing the latest luxury products, [ . . . ] you can” (Writers Bureau 2012). Of course in any occupation, there’s a gap between the romance and reality. For freelance journalists in Canada and the United States, however, that gap has never been wider than it is today. Incomes are in decline. Layoffs in the mainstream media have thrown more journalists onto the freelance market, which means more competition for work. Tight newsroom budgets mean freelance opportunities are in short supply. The pressure to work for free is growing.
