Outgoing Canadian Geographic editor on fun with freelancers

Outgoing Canadian Geographic editor Rick Boychuk makes a graceful exit with his final column in which he says what many other good editors feel about freelancers:

The best of their pitches to us often result in more work than we can pay them to undertake. And yet, with assignments in hand, off they go by plane (Lisa Gregoire from Edmonton to Grise Fiord), canoe (Karsten Heuer from Calgary to Hudson Bay), rusted-out beater (David Trattles from Ottawa to Dawson) or foot (J. Kevin Dunn along the rail lines of Saskatchewan). Their reward? A modest fee from us, a bit of glory now and then in the form of a National Magazine Award (worth $1,000 and a certificate) and, occasionally, a book contract. Mostly, though, they do it because they are driven by an overwhelming need to tell our readers a story. My job has been to usher that urgent desire to communicate onto the pages of this magazine. It’s been more fun than a Prairie wedding.