Freelance journalists make up almost half of contracted professionals, but their earnings remain modest

By now, more than half of Italian journalists—24,000 compared to 20,000 with permanent contracts—do not have a permanent contract and earn on average not even 10,000 euros gross per year. Colleagues who contribute every day to the production of information for Italian newspapers, radio, TV, agencies, and internet sites, with few or no rights, almost always underpaid, forced into seemingly endless precariousness.

This, in brief, is the document released in the aftermath of the meeting of the National Commission for Self-Employed Work of the FNSI. The document opens with an update on the initiative of Paola Caruso, who has ended her hunger strike and met with editor Ferruccio de Bortoli. Paola Caruso, the freelance journalist who became (unwillingly) the protagonist of the action, has returned to work for her newspaper, Corriere della Sera, with which she has been collaborating for seven years.

However, her extreme protest, carried out with determination for five days, has not lost its disruptive effect. It has brought to the attention of the general public a situation that has long since become unsustainable: the dramatic working conditions of freelancers, often forced into a condition of “perpetual precarity.” This situation is at the heart of the union struggle led by the Fnsi, which will continue with collective initiatives and throughout the ongoing parliamentary investigations into the conditions of self-employed work in publishing.

This is the appeal from the Commission for Self-Employed Work of the FNSI, which also stated:  

Today we need to start talking again about the quality of information. That means restoring value and dignity to journalistic work, starting precisely with that of freelancers. Focusing on merit, skills, and abilities—which have a cost and must be supported by clear rights and clear prospects. Both inside and outside newsrooms.

Precariousness can be fought by extending permanent hiring as much as possible and regulating flexibility in such a way as to guarantee dignity for work and workers, as is already being strongly demanded in other no less strategic professional fields: universities, schools, and research.Our world is no exception to this general principle. As well as defending the quality of work, we have the responsibility to ensure the quality of information for citizens.Freelance journalists are not necessarily asking for a permanent position, but they demand dignity for their work. Through a significant increase in pay, protection for sickness and maternity, reimbursement of expenses, recognition of the commitment of those who have been working for years with a publication, with a contract that guarantees a fixed monthly amount for a minimum number of articles and no longer piecework payment. Guarantees of continuity and stability.Demands that unite those in precarious positions in the media with those in all other categories: this is an issue that must be discussed at all levels—within the profession, the union, institutions, and civil society.