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Lydon to make the freelance connection

BY DAN KENNEDY

Christopher Lydon fans suffering from withdrawal can get a fix this coming Tuesday, March 20, when the former host of The Connection will moderate a panel discussion on freelance rights in the information age.

Sponsored by PEN New England (the name is an acronym for Poets, Essayists, and Novelists), the discussion will feature dance critic Debra Cash, co-founder of the Boston Globe Freelancers Association; Katherine Powers, a book critic at the Globe; and Zick Rubin, an intellectual-property-rights lawyer at Palmer & Dodge.

Last year, the Globe required freelancers to sign an agreement allowing the paper to reproduce their work electronically without additional compensation. Most, including Powers, signed; Cash was among a group that refused, and six of them are suing the Globe in the hope that the agreement will be ruled illegal (see “Don’t Quote Me,” News and Features, July 28, 2000). A similar case involving the New York Times, the Globe’s big sister, is pending.

Lydon, of course, has had his own employment problems. He and his senior producer, Mary McGrath, recently left WBUR Radio (90.9 FM) over a contract dispute, with Lydon and McGrath arguing that they were entitled to an ownership share as The Connection expands into more markets. Lydon has said he hopes to be back on the air soon, most likely through a new syndicated venture that he and McGrath are planning.

The panel discussion “Electronic Rights, the Boston Globe, and You” will be held on Tuesday, March 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bunting Institute, 34 Concord Avenue, Cambridge. For more information, call Mary Sullivan at (617) 499-9550.

Issue Date: March 15 - 22, 2001






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