Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer April 24-30

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: 

• Atlantic Journalism Awards -- magazines win 5 gold and 10 silver [Canadian Magazines]
• Canada back in the top 20 of World Press Freedom Index — but concerns remain [J-Source]
• The 2018 nominees for the Digital Publishing Awards [DPA]
• No union at National Post after CWA Canada loses certification vote [J-Source]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• No Work at the Moment? Use Downtime to Further Your Freelance Career [The Freelancer]
• A freelancer's guide to wireless security [Freelancers Union]
• The six best freelancer hacks for meeting project deadlines [Freelancers Union]
• How I Learned to Freelance Again [The Freelancer]
• Peter Madsen, Danish inventor, is convicted of killing freelance journalist Kim Wall [New York Times]
• How to Use Reporting Skills from Any Beat for Science Journalism [Open Notebook]
• Journalists, it's unethical to ignore your online security [Poynter]
• 6 Signs It's Time To Turn Your Side Hustle Into A Full-Time Business [Forbes]
• So you're not going to believe what happened to me on this freelance assignment... [Poynter]

Recently on Story Board:

• 2018 Access Copyright Payback Claim Period Open Until May 31: If you’re a writer or visual artist who is affiliated with Access Copyright, it’s time to submit your claim for works published between 1997 and 2016. The 2018 Access Copyright Payback claim period is open until May 31...
• CMG Freelance Member Rachel Sanders named Landsberg Award finalist: Rachel Sanders is one of five finalists for this year’s Landsberg Award, given out each year by the Canadian Journalism Foundation in association with the Canadian Women’s Foundation...
• Webinar -- Handling the Physical and Emotional Realities of Journalism: Journalism can be a risky business – not just in conflict zones but in many domestic settings as well. The risks have grown steadily across the years, and no one is more vulnerable than the freelancer...

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.