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:

• Groups take concerns about free expression in Canada to UN [J-Source]
• A crash course on pitching magazines [Masthead]
• The PR Path: An Overview for Freelance Writers  [PWAC] (via @jaclynlaw)
• Will Work For Exposure: Culture Work in Precarious Times [CLMR] (via @karenatcmg)
• Save time and make money: how to be an efficient freelancer [The Tyee]
• Who do you need to follow? 101+ Canadian Twitter accounts [J-Source]
• Magazines Canada accepts nine new member magazines [Canadian Magazines]

 

From the U.S. and beyond:

• Suddenly everyone wants New Yorker style content [Pando Daily] (via @jayrosen_nyu)
• Nicholas Lemann: Journalism Is Doing Just Fine [Daily Beast] (via @timfalconer)
• Layoffs Hit Condé Nast [WWD] (via @Masthead)
• Ten ways to save the publishing industry [The Guardian] (via @NiemanLab)
• Essential tools of the trade [Columbia Journalism Review] (via @NiemanLab)
• International journalists, it's time to apply for a Nieman fellowship [Nieman Lab]
• A Twitter Outburst and Another Chance for Andrew Goldman [New York Times] (via @jayrosen_nyu)
• Attention Freelancers: Pitch to Storyboard! [Tumblr] (via @NiemanLab)
• The blurry line between the unpaid internship and free labor [USA Today College]
• NYT Co. has over $900M stockpiled, could solve its labor problem for about $20M [Romenesko]
• Digital first isn't an option for media -- it's the only way forward [GigaOM]

 

From Story Board last week:

• Content farm writing rates hit a new low: We all know how bad the downward pressure on freelance writing rates is these days. And with the proliferation of online “content farms” things seem to be getting worse. Over the weekend, the news and gossip site Gawker posted what they call the “worst writing job ever”...
• Freelancer or employee? Which are you?: The BBC has been under fire this month for its practice of paying presenters and other contributors as freelancers. The Guardian reported yesterday that staff contracts will be offered to many of these individuals following a review of the BBC’s tax policies...