Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Feb 6-12

Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, publishing, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?

From Canada: 

• Applications open for 2018 Magazines Canada Fellowship Program [Magazines Canada]
• Top Five Ways to Spot Fake News [J-Source]
• Discourse Media is launching a membership platform and local news fellowships [Nieman Lab]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• 5 soft skills that every freelancer should have [Freelancers Union]
• Tip: Bookmark this advice for pitching feature articles [Journalism.co.uk]
• These tools will help you find the right images for your stories [Poynter]
• Amp Up Your Freelance Writing! Resolve to Network in 2018 [The Write Life]
• How to win new clients through cold emailing [Freelancers Union]
• 5 Universal Annoyances That Test Your Patience as a Freelancer [The Freelancer]

Recently on Story Board:

• Story Board joins National NewsMedia Council: The National NewsMedia Council is Canada’s national press council. It was established in 2015 to promote ethical practices within the news media as well as to review and adjudicate complaints from the public...
• National Writers Union settles freelance non-payment grievance: The National Writers Union settled a grievance last week on behalf of twenty freelancers who are owed money by the American science magazine Nautilus...

Spot a story you think we should include in next week's Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.