NEW CALIFORNIA LAW LIMITS FREELANCE WRITERS ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Freelance writers are grumbling after California recently enacted a law that restricts their annual output, observes Grumpy Editor.

 

A controversial 6,700-word bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom limits Golden State publishers from assigning more than 35 stories a year to a freelance writer.

 

If publishers do not follow the new law, it would be considered a crime leading to legal headaches.

 

An active writer calls the new law “overreaching and harmful to people who prefer the flexibility that comes with being a freelancer,” adding "media outlets will look out of state, assign work to other California residents who haven’t hit the 35-project cap or slash their entire freelance budgets to avoid the hassle of record-keeping.”

 

Author of the law is a former labor organizer who originally capped freelancers to 25 submissions a year, before lifting it to 35 after protests.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

DOW ON A TEAR.  Investors today are watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average to see if it continues higher into new territory after closing Friday at 28004.89, up 222.93 points.  Behind the move are fading recession fears, brighter trade developments and a rosier economic outlook.  

 

ON-POST STORES EXPAND FOR VETERANS.  The Pentagon will expand access to discounted, on-post stores for 4.1 million veterans and some of their caregivers at the beginning of next year, says the Defense Department.

 

McCLATCHY TO CUT SATURDAY PRINT ISSUES.  California-based publisher McClatchy says it plans to eliminate Saturday print issues at all its daily newspapers Around the country by the end of the year.  The newspaper chain has over 30 publications in 14 states, including the Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Charlotte Observer.

 

CHILD PRODIGY, 9, GETS BA DEGREE, AIMS FOR PhD.  A child prodigy from Belgium is set to gain a bachelor's degree next month at the tender age of 9.  Described by staff as "simply extraordinary," Laurent Simons is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology, then plans to embark on a PhD program in electrical engineering while also studying for a medicial degree (his parents are doctors).

 

ANOTHER 9-YEAR-OLD CATCHES BIG FISH.  On a fishing trip with his father at Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, Alex Flores, a 9-year-old boy, catches a 42-pound blue catfish after it put up a fight for several minutes.

DESPITE STRIKEOUTS.  Baseball's major league minimum salary will rise to $563,500 next season, a hike of $8,500.

OBITUARY COVERS LIVE PERSON.  The Northern Echo, an English newspaper, apologizes for publishing an obituary on a person still alive after checking with three independent sources to confirm his passing. "We removed the story from our website and social media channels as soon as we were made aware that it was incorrect," notes the paper.

DOG READY FOR ADOPTION.  Lucas, a dog found barely alive in July after plunging off a Santa Barbara, California cliff, is ready for adoption. The canine was rescued after falling more than 70 feet to the beach, breaking two of his legs and damaging his hip.  He was lying motionless in the sand for six hours before being discovered by Good Samaritans who called first responders to transport the dog to an emergency animal hospital.