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CFC RFP: Editorship of Canadian Chess News
To interested parties, The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) is currently seeking an editor for our monthly newsletter, Canadian Chess News, starting with the publication of the June 2013 issue. The editor is an independent contractor, responsible for writing, editing and layout of the newsletter, as well as dealing with contributors to the magazine. This contractor does all the work that is entailed in the preparation of a ready-to-print copy of the newsletter in Acrobat PDF format.
The CFC will evaluate proposals from contractors based on three components:
1) Editorial Proposal
(a) The proposal will be measured against its conformity with the committee report in Appendix A.
2) Experience/Education
(a) Chess writing (please provide samples).
(b) Editing/magazine experience.
(c) Education/technical know-how.
(d) Chess strength.
(e) Work history – coping with deadlines.
3) Economic Proposal
(a) Payment to editor per issue: $X,xxx.
(b) Maximum payments to contributors per issue: $X,xxx.
(c) Maximum payment to website newsfeed contributor: $X,xxx.
The impending contract is 3)(a) $650, 3)(b) $550 and 3)(c) $300. The CFC will not consider economic proposals that do not conform to section 3. The CFC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid proposal received. The CFC would like to award a two-year contract with the first 3 issues of Canadian Chess News used as a probationary period. Other terms are negotiable.
The closing date for proposals is Friday, March 15, 2013. Please send proposals to: Mark S. Dutton, President, Chess Federation of Canada at: president@chess.ca.
Sincerely,
Mark S. Dutton
CFC-President@shaw.ca
Appendix A - CFC Newsletter Committee
The CFC President has asked our committee to provide recommendations regarding the future direction of the CFC newsletter. The committee comprises Fred McKim (Chair), Shiyam Thavandiran, Félix Dumont, Vlad Rekhson and Egis Zeromskis with ex officio member Michael von Keitz. The following is the committee's report.
Continuation of CFC Newsletter
The committee recommends that the newsletter continue to be offered as a resource to CFC members and the wider public.
Access to CFC Magazine/Newsletter Content
The committee recommends that this material be made publicly available on the CFC website. For the sake of members, however, current content, where this is defined as being less than one year from first printing, will continue to remain private. Private materials will not be password-protected, as it is the finding of the committee that this practice is simply an inconvenience to the membership.
In order to ensure the newsletter reaches the membership, the CFC should further encourage all tournament directors and organizers to properly collect contact information on-site at tournaments.
Content of CFC Magazine/Newsletter
The quality of the copy should be of a standard worthy of a traditional print publication. This includes sharp photos, a logical layout, and appropriate advertising space. On the last count, the editor should actively seek out advertisements, both for upcoming events and chess-related products.
To the fullest extent possible, the CFC should also seek to cooperate with the FQE in the production of articles, given that the FQE typically receives source materials for its own magazine in English. This would allow both organizations to stretch their budgets.
The primary focus of the CFC newsletter should be on Canadian content. This includes, but is not limited to:
-Canadian Championships
-Canadian performances abroad
-Profiles on new (and old) titled players in Canada
-CFC rating lists
-Canadian chess history
-Presentation of interesting games/problems/educational materials from Canadian sources
-Book reviews of Canadian material
-Content produced by Canadian contributors
Occasional exceptions should be made for top-tier events and players only, where those are understood to mean World Championships and World Championship-track events, as well as World Championship contenders.
The committee concludes that the content currently typical of the newsletter should be vulgarized in order to appeal to a wider range of players. While it is felt that the content is generally too elitist, approximately 65% of the material should continue to appeal exclusively to players at the Class A level and above, while 35% should specifically target weaker class players, including beginners.
Specific column recommendations include the continuation of "Coach's Corner," the revival of a “New Kid on the Block” column, the inclusion of a “Canadian Profiles” column and the introduction of a series in which masters analyze amateur games.
In addition to that stated above, the committee further suggests a rebranding of the newsletter to “Chess Canada,” as the final iteration of the print magazine was called.
Budget of CFC Magazine/Newsletter
The committee recommends that the budget remain at current levels, or $18,000, with a monthly allotment as follows:
Editor - $650
Newsletter Contributors - $550
Website Newsfeed Contributors - $300
This distribution of resources should be rigidly adhered to, where the editor is ineligible to receive more than 5% of the combined contributors' budgets annually. This being in contrast to the current standard, by which the editor receives a full one-third of the contributors' budget, in addition to his own.
Exceptions to the above would include cases where the editor is a contributor to the newsfeed over-and-above hir editorial duties and cases in which the editor is paid for articles from hir personal on-site experiences, where neither would include payments for a regular column.
Supplemental Offerings
The committee recommends that the CFC newsfeed be expanded to emulate ChessBase in the extensiveness of its content. If at all possible, volunteers should be sought to offer freelance materials; however, at the discretion of the governors, an honorarium for a dedicated volunteer might be advisable (see budget).
To start, the newsfeed would have one feature article each month, expanded to more regular offerings of this nature. Pending member feedback, the newsletter might eventually be phased out in strict favour of a regular ChessBase-like feed.
As an example of the advantages of this format, the committee points to the ease with which a “Best Damn Sports Show” countdown might be adopted. This might include “the top 50 Canadian chess combinations,” “the top 20 all-time Canadian chessplayers,” etc.
The committee further recommends against the establishment of a members-only area on the CFC website, instead favouring open access wherever possible.
To interested parties, The Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) is currently seeking an editor for our monthly newsletter, Canadian Chess News, starting with the publication of the June 2013 issue. The editor is an independent contractor, responsible for writing, editing and layout of the newsletter, as well as dealing with contributors to the magazine. This contractor does all the work that is entailed in the preparation of a ready-to-print copy of the newsletter in Acrobat PDF format.
The CFC will evaluate proposals from contractors based on three components:
1) Editorial Proposal
(a) The proposal will be measured against its conformity with the committee report in Appendix A.
2) Experience/Education
(a) Chess writing (please provide samples).
(b) Editing/magazine experience.
(c) Education/technical know-how.
(d) Chess strength.
(e) Work history – coping with deadlines.
3) Economic Proposal
(a) Payment to editor per issue: $X,xxx.
(b) Maximum payments to contributors per issue: $X,xxx.
(c) Maximum payment to website newsfeed contributor: $X,xxx.
The impending contract is 3)(a) $650, 3)(b) $550 and 3)(c) $300. The CFC will not consider economic proposals that do not conform to section 3. The CFC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid proposal received. The CFC would like to award a two-year contract with the first 3 issues of Canadian Chess News used as a probationary period. Other terms are negotiable.
The closing date for proposals is Friday, March 15, 2013. Please send proposals to: Mark S. Dutton, President, Chess Federation of Canada at: president@chess.ca.
Sincerely,
Mark S. Dutton
CFC-President@shaw.ca
Appendix A - CFC Newsletter Committee
The CFC President has asked our committee to provide recommendations regarding the future direction of the CFC newsletter. The committee comprises Fred McKim (Chair), Shiyam Thavandiran, Félix Dumont, Vlad Rekhson and Egis Zeromskis with ex officio member Michael von Keitz. The following is the committee's report.
Continuation of CFC Newsletter
The committee recommends that the newsletter continue to be offered as a resource to CFC members and the wider public.
Access to CFC Magazine/Newsletter Content
The committee recommends that this material be made publicly available on the CFC website. For the sake of members, however, current content, where this is defined as being less than one year from first printing, will continue to remain private. Private materials will not be password-protected, as it is the finding of the committee that this practice is simply an inconvenience to the membership.
In order to ensure the newsletter reaches the membership, the CFC should further encourage all tournament directors and organizers to properly collect contact information on-site at tournaments.
Content of CFC Magazine/Newsletter
The quality of the copy should be of a standard worthy of a traditional print publication. This includes sharp photos, a logical layout, and appropriate advertising space. On the last count, the editor should actively seek out advertisements, both for upcoming events and chess-related products.
To the fullest extent possible, the CFC should also seek to cooperate with the FQE in the production of articles, given that the FQE typically receives source materials for its own magazine in English. This would allow both organizations to stretch their budgets.
The primary focus of the CFC newsletter should be on Canadian content. This includes, but is not limited to:
-Canadian Championships
-Canadian performances abroad
-Profiles on new (and old) titled players in Canada
-CFC rating lists
-Canadian chess history
-Presentation of interesting games/problems/educational materials from Canadian sources
-Book reviews of Canadian material
-Content produced by Canadian contributors
Occasional exceptions should be made for top-tier events and players only, where those are understood to mean World Championships and World Championship-track events, as well as World Championship contenders.
The committee concludes that the content currently typical of the newsletter should be vulgarized in order to appeal to a wider range of players. While it is felt that the content is generally too elitist, approximately 65% of the material should continue to appeal exclusively to players at the Class A level and above, while 35% should specifically target weaker class players, including beginners.
Specific column recommendations include the continuation of "Coach's Corner," the revival of a “New Kid on the Block” column, the inclusion of a “Canadian Profiles” column and the introduction of a series in which masters analyze amateur games.
In addition to that stated above, the committee further suggests a rebranding of the newsletter to “Chess Canada,” as the final iteration of the print magazine was called.
Budget of CFC Magazine/Newsletter
The committee recommends that the budget remain at current levels, or $18,000, with a monthly allotment as follows:
Editor - $650
Newsletter Contributors - $550
Website Newsfeed Contributors - $300
This distribution of resources should be rigidly adhered to, where the editor is ineligible to receive more than 5% of the combined contributors' budgets annually. This being in contrast to the current standard, by which the editor receives a full one-third of the contributors' budget, in addition to his own.
Exceptions to the above would include cases where the editor is a contributor to the newsfeed over-and-above hir editorial duties and cases in which the editor is paid for articles from hir personal on-site experiences, where neither would include payments for a regular column.
Supplemental Offerings
The committee recommends that the CFC newsfeed be expanded to emulate ChessBase in the extensiveness of its content. If at all possible, volunteers should be sought to offer freelance materials; however, at the discretion of the governors, an honorarium for a dedicated volunteer might be advisable (see budget).
To start, the newsfeed would have one feature article each month, expanded to more regular offerings of this nature. Pending member feedback, the newsletter might eventually be phased out in strict favour of a regular ChessBase-like feed.
As an example of the advantages of this format, the committee points to the ease with which a “Best Damn Sports Show” countdown might be adopted. This might include “the top 50 Canadian chess combinations,” “the top 20 all-time Canadian chessplayers,” etc.
The committee further recommends against the establishment of a members-only area on the CFC website, instead favouring open access wherever possible.
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