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:

• Here’s what the New York Times has learned covering Canada so far [J-Source]
• The Gig Is Up: How the Freelance Economy Is Changing Work [Vancouver Magazine]
• New poll finds Canadians still think they’ll get the news even if their local newspaper disappears [J-Source]
• Student/young media union members of CWA Canada support recommendations of Youth Employment Report [CMG Freelance]
• The Trudeau government’s access to information reform doesn’t expand transparency like they promised [Vice]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• 7 Things I Learned Being A So-So Freelance Sportswriter [Medium]
• Daily Mail refuses to pay freelance journalist for republishing parts of her work [Guardian]
• Journalist Brooke Hauser On What It Takes To Write a Celebrity Profile [Mediabistro]
• An unlikely big player in digital media: unions [CJR]
• How to Know It’s Time to Raise Your Freelance Writing Rates [Freelance Writing Gigs]
• The Real Source of Writer’s Block (And an Exercise to Beat It) [The Write Life]
• What makes a great interview? This podcaster sat down with interviewing legends to find out [Poynter]
• Vice Media secures $450M investment from private-equity firm TPG [Wall Street Journal]
• Why Freelance Writers Should Learn How to Create Videos [Freelance Writing Gigs]
• Study: 65% of independent workers chose freelancing because they wanted to [HR Dive]

Recently on Story Board:

• Webinar -- Facebook for Journalists: How could you be using Facebook  to promote your work more effectively? Tune into our upcoming webinar with Katt Stearns to find out. Facebook for Journalists is scheduled for Thursday, June 29th at 3:00 p.m. EST...
• The fine line of the follow up: Following up with editors after sending a story pitch can be anxiety-inducing. “Why have I not heard back?” “Is it a bad idea?” “Are they just too busy?” Ultimately, the radio silence you hear after sending a pitch is likely because of a combination of busy schedules, email overload, and – unfortunately for freelancers – a bunch of factors specific to each editor...

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.