European Screenwriters Manifesto

After reading about the European Screenwriters Manifesto in the filmmaking magazine MovieScope, I decided to add my name to it.

The manifesto, created by the Federation of Scriptwriters in Europe (Fédération des Scénaristes d’Europe) asks European governments to support screenwriters' rights to be credited and paid for our work.

It's just a pity that this sort of petition is required.

The text of the manifesto is below. You can find more information about it, and add your name to it, here.

THE EUROPEAN SCREENWRITERS MANIFESTO

Stories are at the heart of humanity and are the repository of our diverse cultural heritage. They are told, retold and reinterpreted for new times by storytellers. Screenwriters are the storytellers of our time.

European writing talent should be trusted, encouraged and supported. The European film industries need to find ways to attract and keep its screenwriters in the cinema and in their craft.

We assert that:

• The screenwriter is an author of the film, a primary creator of the audiovisual work.

• The indiscriminate use of the possessory credit is unacceptable.

• The moral rights of the screenwriter, especially the right to maintain the integrity of a work and to protect it from any distortion or misuse should be inalienable and should be fully honored in practice.

• The screenwriter should receive fair payment for every form of exploitation of his work.

• As author the screenwriter should be entitled to an involvement in the production process as well as in the promotion of the film and to be compensated for such work. As author he or she should be named in any publication accordingly, including festival catalogues, TV listing magazines and reviews.

We call on:

• National governments and funding agencies to support screenwriters by focusing more energy and resources, whether in form of subsidy, tax breaks or investment schemes, on the development stage of film and television production and by funding writers directly.

• Scholars and film critics to acknowledge the role of screenwriters , and universities, academies and training programmes to educate the next generations in accordance to the collaborative art of the medium and with respect towards the art and craft of screenwriting.

• Festivals, film museums and other institutions to name the screenwriters in their programs and plan and screen film tributes to screenwriters just as they do to directors, actors and countries.

• National and European law should acknowledge that the writer is an author of the film.

• National and European law should ensure that screenwriters can organise, negotiate and contract collectively, in order to encourage and maintain the distinct cultural identities of each country and to seek means to facilitate the free movement of writers in and between all nations.

We will:

• Distribute this manifesto to industry members and the press in our respective countries.

• Campaign for the implementation of the agenda defined by this manifesto.

• Seek the transition into national and European law of the legal changes demanded by this manifesto.

Journalists wanted: no pay (special guest: Harlan Ellison)

I saw this job advert earlier today. Well, I say "job"…

Mizz, Unpaid Feature Writers
Date posted: Tuesday, 12th January 2010
Date ending: Thursday, 11th February 2010


Mizz are currently looking for unpaid contributors to write features
for the magazine – if you are looking for features or a byline please
contact lsaxton@panini.co.uk

That a magazine is asking freelancer journalist to work for free isn't a shock: it's understandable. That the magazine is widely advertising its request is.

Across the industry magazines are struggling as advertising income falls (the same applies in newspapers). This means production budgets - the money given to editors to get words on the page - are reduced, limiting how much can be paid out to freelance journalists. So having some write articles for nothing but a byline is an attractive one to some editors.

Of course this has been going on for years, as part of a journalist's training is taking on a work experience placement or an internship. And this real-world experience is vital, as the nuances of a journalist's trade has to be learnt on the job through mentoring (officially or unofficially) from old hands on the publications. But asking a freelancer to write a feature article for free isn't preparing someone to work as a reporter or a journalist. What it is doing is providing copy for a magazine for nothing.

Added to this are the serious consequences for the print industry and its readers that could follow if this practice becomes acceptable.

The use of "unpaid contributors" undercuts professional freelancers. If other companies follow Mizz, full-time freelancers could see their income dramatically drop, as they're forced to compete with writers who don't even have to submit an invoice. And this would lead to more journalists leaving the profession.

The other problem is one of quality. Writers willing to work for free will likely be starting out as (or are training to become) journalists in need of bylines that lead to paid work; or they'll be amateurs who call themselves "journalists", but who lack the skills and experience of professional writers.

The widespread use of articles from these people would mean badly written articles would begin to filter through into the magazines, making it a poor-value publication. If that happens, readership will fall, which will follow with a fall in revenue for the publisher. This will lead to magazines having their budgets cut, which would lead to more unpaid contributors to be used, and a self-destructive cycle would be completed.

Ultimately it will mean shelves filled with badly written magazines. And those will be the ones that survive. Most will close down, because keeping a magazine which is unable to make a profit open is just bad business.

This may sound like a nightmare scenario, but it could easily come about. The fact is that a freelance journalist is self-employed, and so can charge whatever fee for their services they like - including waiving them. And, unlike the in-house staff on magazines, the UK's National Minimum Wage legislation does not apply to them.

It is likely that there's little anyone can do to stop Mizz using unpaid contributors under labour law. However, as you can see there are plenty of reasons why Mizz - and every other magazine - should stop expecting writers working for free.

And it's not just me who thinks so:


(Clip from Dreams With Sharp Teeth. Dir: Erik Nelson. Creative Differences. Buy the DVD.)

There is another industry where working for no pay is expected - the UK's film industry. But with a recent tribunal ruling has the potential to stop this practice. If the ruling is made into law.