September 1996

People aren't so human

HACKS ANSWERING an advertisement for freelance reporters in the London office of American mass circulation weekly People are due for a disappointment. One of them telephones to ask how much they paid. "Oh, we don't discuss that at this stage. Send us your cuttigs and CV" he was told by journalist Sandy Bradley. He objected that this was a waste of time if they were going to pay peanuts, and Ms Bradley replied "Well, if it's that important to you, perhaps you should be looking for a staff job."

Yet another staff journalist who thinks freelances ought to be grateful for any scraps of work they are thrown, and should not expect to be paid properly as well.