DO I STAY OR DO I GO?

This is the dilemma faced by media freelancers all over the world, whether commissioned or not, as soaring costs in the wake of September 11 have pushed war zone and basic annual insurance premiums even further beyond their reach.

Our message has never changed: If you aren't covered - don't go.

• freelancers should never go on assignment without a basic level of cover.
• broadcasters and editors should take more responsibility for their commissioned freelancers.
• insurance for freelance media workers should be accessible and affordable.

Change is coming - but slowly. Sixteen broadcasters have now signed up to the News Security Group's Code of Practice. The IFJ and Reporters Sans Frontières have drawn up their own codes of practice, which refer to both staff and freelancers. Some - but not enough - broadcasters and editors are insisting on safety training and including insurance provisions in contracts.

There are, in the UK and abroad, insurance brokers who are already sympathetic to the needs of freelancers and we are learning about more of them all the time. A few are able to obtain discounted insurance for freelancers who have undergone specialist safety training.

The Rory Peck Trust recently initiated an international, industry-wide survey among freelancers in the media, to prove to insurers that there is a significant and broad market for a dedicated freelance insurance scheme.

This is an ongoing project and the Trust will be acting as an umbrella for the interested individuals, groups, companies and organisations for whom the problems of freelance insurance has long been a priority. We are particularly pleased to have the support of the International Federation of Journalists, and its European Freelance Group who represent a vast body of freelance media workers.

The Trust is planning to organise a forum for all the interested parties, in order to consolidate the findings of the survey, confirm numbers and define the basic template for a freelance insurance scheme.

For further details or a copy of the survey, contact: rptrpa@dial.pipex.com

Issue 11
April 2002

• From The Chairman
• A Trust Tale
• Sony helps Chechnyan camerawoman
• Needs of a Changing Industry: Forum
• Insurance Update: Do I Stay or Do I Go?
• Zimbabwe: New Media Law
• Recent Beneficiaries
• The Rory Peck Training Fund
• Canadian New Journalism Fellowship

• Issue 13
• Issue 12
• Issue 11
• Issue 10
• Issue 9
• Issue 8
• Issue 7
• Issue 6
• Issue 5
• Issue 4
• Issue 3
• Issue 2
• Issue 1

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