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In the past few weeks, I have had a sudden flurry of phone calls & emails from #TV researchers. Great, I thought, work is starting to come back again. Almost all of them, however, have been expecting me to work for free – always using the same new excuse #covid19. #PayTheWriter
Often the #TV researcher pretends they want to book me for a gig: they take an hour of my time, use my expertise to write their script & then, mysteriously, the offer of paid work disappears. This has become so prevalent, it's starting to feel like call centre cold calling.
As always, the person ringing or emailing is not an unpaid “volunteer”, they are professionals who wouldn’t dream of working for free, yet they expect others to do the same & are currently using #covid as an excuse – as if all us freelancers are really feeling flush right now….
I am hearing similar stories from #PRs, fellow #writers & #academics – all being asked to give time, valuable research & expertise for free. One #TV company wasn’t even prepared to pay for train tickets! Please #TVIndustry, stop this insidious practise. #PayTheFreelancer
I wonder if the #BBC @Channel4, @channel5_tv, @ITV etc know that independent production companies, making programmes on their behalf, are asking people to work for free? How does this fit in with the #TV companies' codes of conduct?
If you're working in the #TV industry right now and recognise this as how you / your company are behaving, please take a good look at yourself and stop being so exploitative. #Exposure and #publicity do not pay people's bills. Please stop pretending they are a currency.
One TV company called twice, v long phone calls, & were mendacious enough to get me to put a filming date in my diary. Then announced they “had to use someone famous”. I realised they always intended to do so, but the celeb didn't have the expertise to help them write the script.
