£60 is worth about an hour’s work, at most.
I suggest checking the outfit before jumping to conclusions, good or bad:
Research Media – Europe Research & Scientific Dissemination
http://www.research-europe.com/
Their website runs like treacle. Little obvious sign of the people involved.
But, conclusions should not, indeed be jumped at.
MK
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Francis Sedgemore
Sent: 2013-November-11 17:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] freelance science communicators wanted
If a “standard assignment” is a short news piece of no more than a couple of hundred words, with little or no research input, then £60 might be acceptable. I am talking about NUJ recommended rates for the job.
Think of it in terms of an hourly equivalent rate. What is your time worth as a specialist writer?
As for copyright, this is a concern, and the NUJ position is that freelance writers should not sign away their intellectual property rights. On the other hand, does an old news briefing have any resale value?
Let’s not jump to conclusions, but instead wait for clarification from the publisher.
Francis
On 11 Nov 13, at 17:11, Paul G Raven <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Good points, Tony.
(Although, speaking from personal experience, anyone willing to contemplate £60 flat-fee writing gigs is probably so accustomed to signing over all their rights to the work that they'd not even blink at being asked to do so. The rent doesn't pay itself, after all.)
--
Dr Francis Sedgemore
journalist, writer and physicist
telephone: +44 7840 191336
website: sedgemore.com