Sadly, contracts (verbal OR written) mean nothing when the company becomes insolvent and there's no money to be won...

Great advice, and thanks for clarifying your earlier point.

Anon #9 here. No reason to be sarcastic and compare this to curing poverty or global warming. This is a magazine blog, dedicated to a specific industry (which happens to suffer from specific problems).

How can magazines sue if the info being supplied is true?

I must apologize. I did not intend to be rude when I said this idea was a dream. Yes, it would be great to have a list of the scammers out there who intentionally bilk others. Having been on the freelance market now for more than 15 years, I know how vulnerable it is to be out on my own. I've been fortunate, but I learned the hard way, no contract means no deal! EVERYTHING must be in writing. Any client who will not put things in writing is someone to avoid. After that, you can only do the best and smartest thing you can. Once again, the problem is, the shady ones exist. They don't care who they hurt. But they are the first to get a lawyer when challenged. And sadly the law protects them. Learn to listen to others. If staffing continues to change, there is a problem.

And let's not forget that even a few hundred dollars can be significant to a freelancer who is working hard to try to make ends meet.

Excellent point about the printer (and the power company who is owed money for the rented office space, and the property-management company, and and and...). The difference is that those guys might have a lawyer on retainer (or whatever the proper legal term is) to pursue payment owed through the courts. Most freelancer contributors can't afford to go that route.

Yeah well, what about the printer? They are often left "holding the bag" having purchased the stock, printed and finished the magazine and then sent to mail house, who as well often doesn't get paid. Much more $$ than a freelance writer is paid.

Other people are admirably taking care of world poverty and global warming; let's look after our own. Yes it's true that some writers, editors, graphic designers (and so on) know who the shifty industry players are -- especially those who have been in the business for more than a decade -- but many more don't, especially the young up-and-comers who don't even know that they might be left being owed money if a company goes bust, that they should have asked for a written contract instead of agreeing to the work based on a verbal agreement. A registry would be a great resource for anyone is considering starting to work for a new publication that isn't a TC Media, Rogers or St. Joseph's (all of which have HR departments and strict payment protocol) could check the registry before deciding to work for a new company and, if they see a publisher's or owner's name on the list under a company that closed because it became insolvent or bankrupt, they can choose to not proceed with the work.

Good idea # 9. Let's also solve world poverty and global warming. Your idea is only possible in a dream world. Sadly, the type of characters you're talking about are also the first to sue. The laws protect them. Those in the industry know who they are. Usually they are the ones constantly running ads for new people. The reason is obvious. I salute your thinking, but the sad reality is the unethical and unprofessional people you want to expose will just close up and reopen in another scam. And it's all legal.

"It's long past time for the Canadian publishing industry to create an online registry to list publishing companies with a history of delinquent payment practices, as both a safeguard and warning to potential new writers, editors and graphic designers."

This is a great idea. Why not e-mail the people involved in magazines who would actually want to get the ball rolling on this?

Don't let this idea die here in the comments section!

While it's true that many print publications have folded during the recession, while digital media has been ramping up, many more have survived and are thriving, including small independent national and regional ones. For each publication that folds, the powers that be at the helm must ask themselves, what could I have done differently? Hired staff with more effective expertise? Enhanced the website to better complement the print publication? A thorough postmortem of all of the contributing factors is required. The recession and move toward digital media is often a handy excuse for not addressing any internal factors that led to the publication's demise.

As a long time print media rep, I've experienced the pain of being on a publication which 'dies'. It hurts like losing a part of your life. But what makes it hurt more is why this happens. If only clients took the time to realize how their media people ignore print. I know they are in love with digital. Try to get an appointment with today's media departments! Unless there are free meals, tickets or perks, they have no interest. "I'm too busy, email me your media kit" is a VERY common problem. This is why publications are suffering and eventually closing. Today's media planners no longer take the time to honestly look at, and understand the publications they reject. Today it's click throughs, and bounce factors. Print may not be "sexy" or current, but to the readers, a magazine can be a 'must have', with a solid following. Isn't that what it's about?

I was still thinking of health when I said Pets Health - it should be Dogs in Canada.

I have worked with the Health Journal for over 15 years and it is a sad day for me and my clients. This publication was the best there was in the health care market. We have lost Pets Health, Homemakers, Harrowsimth and now the Health Journal all do to the lack of advertising support. Thats a shame as I know a lot of hard work, time and money went in to producing these quality magazines. All the best to everyone concerned.

Sometimes a magazine folds due to lack of advertising dollars, other times due to bad business practices, and oftentimes a bit of both.

It's always a sad day when a Canadian magazine shutters its shop, but what's even sadder -- as so often is the case -- is when a publication's freelance contributors are left without their final payment owed or the financial recourse to be able to pursue it. It's long past time for the Canadian publishing industry to create an online registry to list publishing companies with a history of delinquent payment practices, as both a safeguard and warning to potential new writers, editors and graphic designers.

At least we didn't have to hear the usual "going digital" routine. Sorry to hear the news, but someone made the hard decision based on an obvious lack of advertising suppport.

Whenever a publisher has financial problems (& often when they don't), the first people to suffer are the freelance writers who produce their content.