Freelancers and Media Monitor 2023: Rates of freelance journalists and photographers lag behind inflation

The rates of freelance journalists, writers and photographers have hardly changed over the past eight years. Payment per word in 2023 is still around 35 cents, the hourly rate comes to an average of €61 and payment per photo to €60. Adjusted for inflation, rates have even fallen. This is according to research by the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) and the Authors' Union.

"Media companies have often claimed in recent years that there is a need to properly reward creative authors. But in practice, publishers and editors-in-chief do not deliver on that promise and rates still lag behind inflation," said Miro Lucassen, president of the Authors' Union.

The main outcomes of the study entitled Monitor Freelancers and Media 2023 are:

• The hourly rate averages 61 euros. Converted, the assignment rate amounts to a median hourly rate of 56 euros. These figures include both journalistic and non-journalistic assignments.
• On average, freelancers working for media titles earn significantly less than freelancers who also work for governments or industry.
• Strong inflation has a big impact on the indices: the hourly rate is at 83% compared to the year 2014 and the photo rate is even only 65% compared to the year 2014
• The DPG work code, a collective agreement between unions and DPG Media Group on the terms of employment for freelancers, agreed on a minimum rate of, meanwhile, 30.78 euros per hour. The survey shows that 45% of the DPG freelancers who participated in the survey are paid a lower hourly rate.

"It is incomprehensible that big media conglomerates book high profits based on journalistic performance while treating their employees with such indifference. They can also see how much underpaid talent says goodbye to the profession to opt for work with more livelihood security," Lucassen said.

"There is nothing left to do but to further intensify the resistance against too low payments. Not only for the purchasing power of freelancers, but also to prevent the (photo)journalistic profession from further depreciating," says Milen van Boldrik, secretary Zelfstandigen and NVF Fotojournalisten, at the Dutch Association of Journalists.

• See the full Monitor Freelancers and Media 2023