FREELANCE MONTH

It's kind of ironic that this month is designated by the NUJ as Freelance Month as this month is when I cross the Rubicon from scraping by to being seriously skint. Of course, I'm far from being on my own. Which is why the NUJ is highlighting the plight of freelances.

Most journos I know are either facing redundancy, scratching their heads and wondering how on earth they are going to replace the work they have lost, or seeking alternative means of employment.

At 51, the reality is that my chances of getting a staff job ( if they still existed) on a local paper are precisely zero. My only option is to contact as many people as I can and try and pick up PR or other forms of writing work to tide me over. But I'm not particularly optimistic.

My young nephew is a hotshot on using the internet to make money and has informed me of one or two sites which pay up for reviews of books etc. This blog earns me a tiny amount of money and I'm thinking of setting up a credit crunch blog to cheer up others in the same boat by sharing tips on saving cash.

One step I have taken is to lock away what remains of my savings to ensure they do not fritter away - so that if push comes to shove I will have to take whatever work I can find. It is probably time to stop going to the pub and to invite friends round, get the pulses out of the back of the cupboard, and hope that at some point in the future things will improve.So, solidarity to all the other freelances I know who are prowling the supermarkets for red stickers, discovering the charity shops, and harking back wistfully to the days when we took all that well-paid work for granted. In the meantime, I am open to offers.........and please click the ads!

A PLEA ON BEHALF OF TEMPORARY TEACHERS

I don't mean to sound sorry for myself but I am staring into an abyss of under-employment. Which has kind of taken me by surprise as I was too busy working to really think about it. Six months ago, I stepped in at the 11th hour to teach media studies at a local university and was delighted to do so. I taught years ago in London and have always hankered a little for the classroom so took a deep breath and said "yes." The initial stomach-churning fear has given way to a decent relationship with (most of) the students, the knowledge that as long as you put in the work then there's nothing really to be scared of. Plus the obvious reward of working with colleagues who value your contribution. Now the bad bit.
From Monday, I'm out on my ear. My contract is terminated -with no guarantee (although there may be promises) of work at the end of September. It's now April.
So, although I would like to carry on the part-time work I have no choice but to look for other things.And then there's the marking issue..... at the end of April I face the prospect of five days' worth of assessing complicated essays on media ethics with no extra money. Despite the fact that, again, I stepped in in February at the 11th hour and took on additional hours.
My initial glee at the rate of remuneration has given way to the realisation that the pay per hour iie £37.00 includes preparation time (so halve that) plus the expectation that I check e-mails, correspond with students etc etc . And of course I don't get sick pay......or pay in holiday time. In short, part-time staff are cheap labour for what they are actually expected to do.
Worse, such expertise as I may have acquired will go to waste if I find other work so they will have to start all over again . So students, frankly, lose out. But it suits our universities to work this way because everything is about balancing the budgets and saving money. They could pay retainers, they could give an absolute commitment to work to come. But it doesn't work that way.
Having lived the precarious life of a freelance for 17 years, I daresay work will transpire and in the meantime I'm open to offers of child-minding, cat-sitting, whatever. And scouring the red stickers in the local co-op.....