Around 10 per cent of CBC temps are not looking for permanent work. For Heather Kitching, temping remotely from Thunder Bay is the right fit.
(This post is written by Heather Kitching with edits for format and length)
I came to CBC in 2014 after an approximately-25-year career in the music industry, the last 12 of which were spent running my own business.
After devoting my time to helping other creative people build rewarding careers doing what they loved, I wanted to give myself the chance to do the same.
For me, audio is art, and my career goals are about growing creatively, developing my skills and pursuing that elusive balance between contributing at a high level to public broadcasting and making time for learning and experimentation.
That’s one of the reasons I choose to temp: I tell my music industry friends it’s like playing drums in a really good and successful band while working on side projects and solo material – which in my case has included creating audio essays and documentaries for the American podcast ➡️Out There.
The other reason I temp is that I want to maintain as much of the flexibility, agency and independence of self-employment as I can because I highly value those things.
I began my CBC temping career in Thunder Bay, working as a reporter, tech, newsreader, associate producer, producer, parade participant and fridge magnet hander-outer.In a small location you get to do it all filling in for anyone who is away. Thunder Bay is also a relatively affordable city, which reduces some of the financial pressures that can come with temping.When COVID hit I was well placed to work remotely because I had already been freelancing for years as a side-hustle so I had a field recording kit at home and was set up to record phone calls on my computer.
A little ways into the pandemic, my executive producer asked me if I would work remotely for Kitchener Waterloo. That’s when I started working remotely for other locations.At a certain point, I realized that I could be more proactive about reaching out to executive producers about work as a way to bring more stability to my schedule.
I knew that April 1 was the deadline for permanent employees to hand in their summer leave requests, so I would check in with the managers about potential work shortly after that. In the last four or five years I have worked for Windsor, Sudbury, London, KW, the North and Toronto, including producing a network show.
Then, after a few years of that, I kind of fell in love with Windsor and decided to settle down with them.So now I work for them remotely as a digital reporter/editor, which means I do a mixture of chasing, writing stories based on other people’s gathers, writing my own pieces and chipping in the odd radio news or morning show item.
I still cover shifts elsewhere if asked, and I do continue to temp as a senior writer in the North, which despite the title, is actually more of an editing role. I've found that focusing on a smaller number of stations provides me with the right amount of stability without overloading me. It also allows me to immerse myself more fully in serving the audiences where I work.Though I’m a temp, I’ve never seen myself as a peripheral member of a newsroom. I feel really connected to the communities we serve, and I’m always thinking about what our audience needs, what they’re talking about, and what I can add to what the rest of the team is doing to serve them.
My advice to people who want to temp long-term is to find ways to keep your expenses down to minimize your financial stress; look for at least one regular freelance gig to cushion you through the seasonal fluctuations in cashflow and, at the risk of sounding like your mother, buy long-term disability and critical illness insurance right away before you develop some minor pre-existing condition that disqualifies you.
I think the long-term temp relationship can be a win-win for both the CBC and temps. We bring experience, versatility and institutional knowledge to our work. And for people like me, it hits a “sweet spot,” allowing us to pursue a passion for journalism, public broadcasting and the vital work of the CBC while also giving us the flexibility to explore different creative paths outside.