Canada’s meeting place for freelance writers and creators

Established 2010

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:

From the U.S. and beyond:

From Story Board last week:

  • Smart on the page, smart on the screen—smart for the writers?: According to this recent Postmedia News article, it’s getting harder to fund documentaries in Canada. So the kind of partnership The Walrus and High Fidelity HDTV have announced—making documentaries “inspired” by Walrus stories and broadcasting them on High Fidelity’s eqhd channel and on WalrusTV—might be what the industry needs to continue putting our non-fiction stories on film. But, being ever-curious about compensation for freelancers, we wanted to know: who, if anyone, is paying the writers for providing that inspiration?
  • Despite delays, a best practices guide for the Canadian magazine industry is on its way: There are some things that are right about the magazine industry in Canada and some things that need changing. With that in mind, and with what appears to be a goal to establish shared standards, three groups—the Professional Writers Association of Canada, Magazines Canada, and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors—have been working together on a best practices guide for the Canadian magazine industry.


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


There are some things that are right about the magazine industry in Canada and some things that need changing.With that in mind, and with what appears to be a goal to establish shared standards, three groups—the Professional Writers Association of Canada, Magazines Canada, and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors—have been working together…
According to this recent Postmedia News article, it's getting harder to fund documentaries in Canada. So the kind of partnership The Walrus and High Fidelity HDTV have announced—making documentaries "inspired" by Walrus stories and broadcasting them on High Fidelity's eqhd channel and on WalrusTV—might be what the industry needs to continue…
A post by Michael Geist on his blog this week is spreading online and spurring debate about Canada's public domain and who, exactly, benefits from it.Currently, works enter the public domain in Canada 50 years after the death of the author, which is less than in many European countries and in the U.S., where the terms is 70 years. But the Canadian…
"My life is my writing before it's anything," Christopher Hitchens said to the Globe in 2010. The British-born journalist, author, speaker and debater, passionate atheist, and unrelenting instigator passed away yesterday in Houston, after battling esophageal cancer. We wanted to share some of our favourite quotes from the Hitch on journalism and…
The Thomson Reuters newsroom in Toronto will lose a third of its employees this spring, when the news agency will offshore its online desk. Management informed employees today that 17 permanent and 5 temporary positions will move to Bangalore, India, in March. This will reportedly leave five online desk employees in Toronto.The Canadian Media…
The National Magazine Award Foundation opened up the submission process for its 2011 awards yesterday and also announced that this year digital publications can apply to nearly every category.Digital publications can now submit work for consideration in a number of visual and integrated categories, in addition to the written categories that were…
Blogging can be a thankless task. Depending on what your blog is about, finding an audience can be hard, and keeping them engaged is a lot of work. But some writers manage to start something great, attracting healthy traffic and building their own online community, one blog post at a time. Some make a bit of money, some don't.Pay a Blogger Day aims…
Michael Geist is writing a series of posts called The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter. Beginning October 3 and right up to today, Geist is presenting the arguments that various organizations have made publicly against the idea of digital locks, which Bill C-11 would protect, making it illegal for Canadians to circumvent them. (More background on C-11,…
While it gets harder and harder to make a living as a journalist, as jobs disappear and more people vie for paid freelance gigs, awards and contests that offer a professional and financial boost are more important than ever. Keeping track of all the deadlines and finding new opportunities takes time, though. So thanks are owed to the people at the…

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