Freelance parents survey

HOW CHALLENGING is parenting for freelance journalists in London and how can the NUJ help them?

The LFB asks readers to take this survey now and pass it to colleagues in time for them to reply by the end of the year.

In 10 questions this new Branch initiative aims to paint a picture of members who are juggling gigs with parental responsibilities, whether big or small.

The survey offers the opportunity to add more personal details, while still being anonymous, or to add an email address to be part of an upcoming dedicated NUJ support group where members can meet and share their experiences.

“Parenting is challenging enough,” says LFB committee member Francesca Marchese, mum of two - “and I am convinced that freelances in London experience it differently than other freelance workers in the capital: their joys and sorrows in parenting need to be explored better in order for the NUJ to offer them the support they need.

“Also, I see parenting as a form of activism: we cannot protect our children from this dangerous world - and our job shows its perils more than others' do - but we can give them tools to navigate it safely. We cannot offer our kids all the golden opportunities - and our job has its privileges, more then others - but we have the nose to pick the best ones. As journalists and activists, we need to address all of it. For this reasons I am intrigued to listen to our fellow colleagues and to know more about their stories.”

We first need to know how many London members are parents and what is their situation, as caring for newborns or primary school children or dealing with university students is very different.

Also, we would like to explore how being a parent changes a freelance journalist’s life: does it make a difference on values, priorities or perspectives?

“I became a parent,” Marchese says, “after working 20 years as a journalist.

“This additional hat on me changed everything: physically, mentally, professionally and ethically. I am still in love with my job and in many ways I love it even more, but the arrival of my children affected me enormously: it was not just the lack of sleep or the amount of responsibilities; it was a shift in prime concerns, impinging, life frame. I am still a front burner, but in a complete different way. Am I a better journalist, now that I am a parent? I don’t know, but I am a different one.”

© Francesca Marchese

London Freelance Branch freelance parents survey `