Lisa Hrabluk

More than the pages there were once printed on, I hope.

Two interesting developments, one here in Canada and the other in the U.S., provide insight into the evolution of journalism and freelance writing.

Eye Weekly, a free arts and culture tab in Toronto, writes about Derek Finkle’s attempts to start a freelance writers agency, to represent the interests of Canada’s top freelance writers and demand higher fees from publications. Finkle, the former editor of the defunct men’s mag Toro!, decries the Canadian mag industry’s refusal to raise freelance rates.

“Why shouldn’t I be able to have a career trajectory? The problem is, the system doesn’t make any sense … What needs to happen can’t be done by individuals, but the idea of putting together an agency that represents 150 or 200 of the top freelance writers in the country, it could certainly impose a career arc on the industry.

“One of the consequences is that the talent pool starts to dry up. What happens is you’re in your early to mid-20s, you want to be a freelance writer, you go gung-ho, you work at it, you try to move up the ladder as it were, and write for bigger and more prominent publications. And then, if you happen to be one of the people who manage to get to the top of the ladder, and you stay there for a few years, you realize that it’s still a real struggle. What happens is, the good ones end up in New York.”

To find out more, check out www.canadianwritersgroup.com.

So while Canadian freelancers are fighting the good fight to raise rates for everyone – Go Finkle! Go! – The Christian Science Monitor announced that it was putting its print edition to bed for good. The ink-stained wretches of the print edition will henceforth be the tendonitis-afflicted hackers as the Monitor goes online in April 2009.

The method of delivery and format are secondary” and need to be adjusted, given Mrs. Eddy’s call to keep the Monitor “abreast of the times.”

As paper gives way to pixels, dare we dream that resources will be directed towards content, otherwise known as writers, photographers and editors?

Now that’s change I want to believe in.

I’m a bit late reading this piece on CBC’s website – Gay author speaks to residents, students after venue change.

Alex Sanchez, a popular Florida-based author who writes about gay teen issues, was booked to speak to two small high schools in southwestern New Brunswick, but then some parents complained – surprise, surprise – and so the principal backed down and the moved the venue to the United Church.
CBC paraphrases the principal as saying that allowing someone no one knew locally to speak to teens on such a sensitive topic would have been irresponsible.

Sadly typical response.

Isn’t a school supposed to expose students to people and ideas they might not be familiar with in their communities?

I’m off to the 11th annual New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Tuesday and I expect it will play out like past nights. Long lines at the bar, tight seating arrangements (they always oversell these fundraisers by a few tables) and three guys up on the stage.

As of this year, there will be 45 laureates in the NB Business Hall of Fame and only one of them is a woman. Her name is Ruth Cook Wilson and she was inducted, posthumously in 2000. Ms. Wilson was the driving force behind the creation of what became Medavie Blue Cross, serving as its first executive director in 1944.

Yea Ruth!

But seriously, one woman? Eleven years and 44 names later the people who nominate and select these laureates couldn’t think of any other women in the history of New Brunswick to pick out of the crowd and say; “Hey, you’ve accomplished something impressive.”

The easy retort, and I’ve heard it, is to suggest that there might not be any women deserving of being inducted into the hall. To that I say, why don’t we have a look first and then decide.

The province is 224 years old.

New Brunswick holds tight to an orthodox vision of its history, particularly in its business and political circles. It has singled out some people and given them great praise and a lot of credit for helping to develop the province. The Great Man way of telling history is very strong in New Brunswick. But how can we be sure that these few tales of greatness tell the whole story? A little research might reveal a far more colourful and nuanced history than the one oft-repeated.

For instance, David Adam Richard’s novel River of the Brokenhearted, was based on the life of his grandmother, who ran the local movie theatre in Miramichi. She certainly wasn’t the only woman to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

Journalist Sally Armstrong released a novel last year based on one of her ancestors entitled The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor: The First Woman Settler of the Miramichi.

The Hall of Fame includes a list of many celebrated New Brunswick business leaders. High time it opened up the party to a more diverse group of worthy people.