In January, we were pleased to share the news of an across the board rate increase by NPR for outside freelance and station-based contributors ( http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=19 ). June brings more good news.
American Public Media's Marketplace will significantly increase rates paid to outside contributors, effective immediately. They have also refined their tier-based payment system, originally developed and advocated by AIR in 2008 (see the announcement below).
This decision to increase rates comes after a period of fiscal austerity. Beginning in 2008, major programming outlets for freelancers such as APM’s Weekend America and NPR’s Day to Day, were canceled. Coupled with reduced acquisition budgets across the system, freelance producers have been particularly hard hit over the last several years. We believe this announcement is another indicator that a new chapter of opportunity and promise has opened for producers working across public media.
We are grateful to American Public Media Senior VP and General Manager Judy McAlpine and to Marketplace Executive Producer Deborah Clark and Editor John Haas for working to implement these changes. Their efforts are reflective of APM’s on-going commitment to freelance journalists and to AIR’s vibrant and growing network of more that 850 producers across 46 states and 20 countries worldwide. We are confident that this move will serve to strengthen public media journalism and the important service that we, together, provide to citizens throughout the United States and the world.
Sue Schardt, Executive Director
David Freedman, President
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For Immediate Release: May 30, 2012
American Public Media's Marketplace will increase rates paid to outside contributors by 8% to 20% beginning immediately. The Marketplace program portfolio, which includes Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace Tech Report and Marketplace Money, serves nearly 10 million listeners each week. Marketplace also has adopted AIR’s tiered freelance journalist compensation structure, which bases compensation on three tiers pegged to the journalist’s level of experience, and the level of effort expended in producing a feature.
The new rates are posted at the AIRmedia website:
http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=737
John Haas, Editor
Marketplace
jhaas@marketplace.org
213-621-4659
Links:
NPR Rates Increase: http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=19
Marketplace Rates Increase: http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=737
Join AIR: http://www.airmedia.org/signUp.php