Kill fees
25/03/04 10:23 Media
issues
One of any journalist's least favourite subjects has
to be that of the dreaded kill fee. This is when for
whatever reason your work isn't up to scratch so they
pay a proportion of the fee. This happened to me a
while back with the Evening Standard; I was
commissioned to write a piece on serial entrepreneurs
with one person as a central case study. The person I
found turned out not to be an owner but someone who
enjoyed working for start-ups; I wrote it as best I
could, the Standard wasn't impressed and with
hindsight they were right. They offered fifty per
cent and I took it.
But other times it happens because an editor has a change of heart. Recently I approached someone about a late payment. They said the piece wasn't used in the end, nothing wrong with it, just didn't find a space in the end. They had commissioned it. They asked me to submit an invoice for 50 per cent as well.
I did so because after a year's delay it seemed better to get something than nothing, but I wonder whether they'd try that trick with any other supplier..? 'Hello, thanks for the sofa, it's fine but nobody's sat on it so we'll only pay you half...'
Only in this industry do people get away with treating everyone like that. And because it's accepted practice they keep doing it. I certainly won't be working for the arrant company again, but I wonder whether any readers of this page have similar horror stories? Over to you...
But other times it happens because an editor has a change of heart. Recently I approached someone about a late payment. They said the piece wasn't used in the end, nothing wrong with it, just didn't find a space in the end. They had commissioned it. They asked me to submit an invoice for 50 per cent as well.
I did so because after a year's delay it seemed better to get something than nothing, but I wonder whether they'd try that trick with any other supplier..? 'Hello, thanks for the sofa, it's fine but nobody's sat on it so we'll only pay you half...'
Only in this industry do people get away with treating everyone like that. And because it's accepted practice they keep doing it. I certainly won't be working for the arrant company again, but I wonder whether any readers of this page have similar horror stories? Over to you...
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