Los Angeles Times editors, following orders, tell most free-lancers the paper's outrageous contract is a take-it-or-leave-it offer. (A cover letter from the travel editor, for example, warns: "Please do not alter the agreement in any way.") Not so, apparently. Reports are spreading that some have gotten the paper to retreat from one or two of its key demands, including being first to publish in North America and keeping exclusive rights in its five-county local area. The paper still insists on way too much, but changes editors have made in weak efforts to satisfy those who self-syndicate are significant because they demonstrate that writers who are fed the party line-that no contract changes may be made, period-are not hearing the truth. Meantime, at Hearst's San Francisco Examiner, the paper's new claim of rights has produced outright refusals by some regulars and protests by many others. The assistant managing editor designated to field free-lancers' complaints admits to having heard from at least a fourth of the free-lancers faced with the Examiner's contract. The concession standardly offered to those who balk is a rather odd letter suggesting that the Examiner won't seek secondary print sales of free-lancer's articles-though the contract says the publisher can do so to its heart's content. As for the electronic rights the newspaper wants for free, the editor says: "We don't make money at this. Not one penny changes hands." What about Examiner articles sold through Dialog, Dow-Jones, Lexis-Nexis...? "Oh, those," says the editor. "All right-money IS changing hands." [November 8, 1995]
Add Child (a Gruner + Jahr title) to the list of magazines that try to get writers to accept a work-made-for-hire contract, then retreat and mail "the right contract" on request. The second-try contract needs fine-tuning; as with other G + J titles (such as McCall's, Family Circle and YM), writers who stand firm with Child can make substantive changes in several clauses. Hardest for G + J to give up, apparently, is the claim for free electronic rights. The boilerplate asks for a three-year license, and editors routinely try to insist on a "compromise" of one year for free. Writers who won't back down, however, are able to cancel the clause entirely. Absent proper compensation for the rights, that's just what they should do. The Globe And Mail, the national newspaper of Canada, has released a new free-lance agreement demanding permanent nonexclusive world rights for all media. The Periodical Writers Association of Canada has blasted the rights grab with a blunt statement accusing the publisher of "bullying," calling on writers to refuse, and urging those who have signed without thinking to rescind their OKs. Yet another writer has told Contracts Watch of turning down a request from a Reader's Digest editor to submit story ideas. After reading the Digest's contract demands, the writer responded: "As a professional writer, I simply cannot sign a contract that demands `all rights' on print and electronic media as well as `the right of first refusal' on all other rights." Other RD magazines-American Health, New Choices and Travel Holiday-do not ask all rights. And on electronic rights, they offer, for example, either a share of income or a flat fee for restricted e-rights. [November 1, 1995.]
Editors at Health are phoning writers, trying to line up last-minute approvals to include articles in an America Online launch due any day. The offer matches the one its sister Parenting has been making: $25 for full-length pieces, $15 for shorter works, for all electronic rights; the publisher, Time Inc. Ventures, promises to start paying royalties for electronic uses in two years. Stunted fee aside, the license is too broad; make it for AOL only, with a two-year limit, and a flat-fee arrangement until royalties begin may make sense. Some writers have been responding with just that argument, and editors now say all contract terms at both Health and Parenting are being reconsidered, with an eye to making writers happier. Writers would be wise to hold off on deals with both until improvements are made. The basic Times Mirror magazines contract is, despite some writers' fears, negotiable. The company's "editorial assignment" letter calls for world rights in any media plus advertising and promotion rights, but a writer for Field & Stream reports paring it down to pure first North American serial rights.
Another magazine whose editors will deal is Working Woman (Lang Communications). WW's standard contract asks for rights in all media, but editors will OK an extra payment, separately noted in contract, for electronic rights. (A flat $100 is reported by one writer.) Other WW boilerplate terms need a pencil as well. Among publications that send out an onerous contract but have a reasonable substitute waiting in the wings: Mature Outlook, a Meredith Corp. title. MO's first offer is work made for hire, but editors have another form for writers who balk. The replacement calls for just first North American serial rights plus promotional rights (which ought to be penciled into "brief excerpts").
Earlier this year, Prodigy opened an online reference service named Homework Helper. Now, Information Access Company (the outfit that compiles articles from hundreds of magazines into databases found on CompuServe, Lexis-Nexis, Dialog and such) has also entered the student-service market. IAC has repackaged its goodies into a homework service on the World Wide Web for students from junior high through college: COGNITO! A monthly $8.95 opens the door to an electronic library that boasts two encyclopedias, two dozen other reference books, almanacs, pamphlets and whole articles from more than 600 magazines. An announcement says the service will link to "scores of other Web pages," where more homework help may be found. Articles are priced in "tokens"; a fast look recently found a 3,000-word Smithsonian article available for 20 tokens. Exact pricing details are promised "on or about November 1"; the plan is likely to include 50 free tokens with the monthly rate and a charge of $5 for each 50 additional tokens. For now, the service is open for free sampling, so writers interested in finding their own work being resold (often illegally) on the Web may explore http://www.cognito.com. [October 24, 1995]
[The text above was supplied to ScienceWriters by The American Society of Journalists and Authors, a national organization of leading free-lance writers. Inquiries from all are welcome: Contracts Committee, ASJA, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, tel 212-997-0947, fax 212-768-7414, e-mail 75227.1650@compuserve.com ]