THE RORY PECK AWARDS 2004
Sponsored by Sony

The Freelance World

In Haiti

Coup d’états and protests. US Marines, UN peacekeepers, Voodoo, disasters, art. Haiti is full of stories. Think it’s a freelancer’s dream? Think again.

Photo: Daniel Morel

First, there is danger. In a little over two years, two journalists were assassinated and over 30 fled into exile. Last year the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists called Haiti the Americas’ second most dangerous country for journalists. They have just warned that things haven’t gotten much better, despite a change of government.

Next, the health care system, even for those who can afford the best, is terribly lacking. Only a few hospitals have electricity or a functional emergency room and there is only one blood bank. Freelancers don’t get benefits, of course, so medical evacuation is out.

Add to that, there is no television feed point, little electricity, few paved highways, only spotty cell phone coverage and huge swaths of the country with no internet access.

And then there is the remuneration.

While the cost of living has tripled over the past eight years, freelancers’ pay has barely budged. Even those paid in dollars have seen their real buying power go down. As one freelance journalist says “When it was a busy story, I made quite a bit of money. But when the eyes of the world left Haiti, I went bankrupt and had to leave.”

Things are even worse for photo and television journalists. Daniel Morel, long-time Associated Press photographer who is now freelance, got $250 to $300 a day when he freelanced for newspapers ten years ago. Today he is usually offered the same. Field producers and camera people got $400 to $500 a day. That rate hasn’t moved either. And for most freelancers, the equipment is on you - cameras, microphones, and computers. If something breaks or is stolen in this dusty, dangerous country, you pick up the tab.

When staffers are in the country, they seem to have endless resources. They pay for translators, rental cars, four-star hotel rooms and are always offering to treat freelancers to dinner. But what freelancers really want is not dinner, but better pay, benefits, and equal respect.

Freelancers in Haiti, including this author, feel that news organisations need to rethink the way they deal with freelancers and local staff who are often given the nebulous, and some think derogatory, label “stringer”. We are the eyes and ears of the world, charged with providing material at international standards of excellence. Editors and CEOs should remember that when drawing up their budgets.

Jane Regan
Freelance cameraperson / writer

The Rory Peck Awards Brochure 2004

• Programme
• Why Freelancers Matter
• A Year of Growth...
• ...and Freelance Achievement
• From Sony
• The Overseas Project
• Reporting Iraq
• The Freelance World
  An Iraqi in Iraq
  An American in Iraq
  In Pakistan
  In Haiti
  In Zimbabwe
• Report on Safety Training Course
• Trauma can get stuck in the system
• For Roddy - and Helping Others

The Rory Peck Awards

• Winners
• Finalists

  
  

The Trust | Awards | Training | The Free Lens | Links | Feedback | Home

Limited Company No. 35524586 Registered in England and Wales
Charity Reg. No. 1071844