Off the Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Feb. 13–20, 2012

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:

• Legendary sports writer Trent Frayne dies [Globe & Mail] (via @metromorning)
• Charlotte Gill wins B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction for Eating Dirt [National Post: The Afterword]
• John Paton: Old Dogs New Tricks and Crappy Newspaper Executives: (Speaking notes for an address to the Canadian Journalism Foundation Toronto, Canada, 2/16/2012) [Digital First: Shift Key]
• Father Remi steps down and Isabelle Marcoux becomes chair of TC Transcontinental [Canadian Magazines blog]
• Fact-checking Ezra Levant [Ryerson Review of Journalism blog]

From the U.S. and beyond:

• David Carr: Twitter is all in good fun, until it isn’t [New York Times]
• Complete health reporting: Always ask about costs [Reporting on Health] (via @wheisel)
• Wired Opinion: Can brands become money-making publishers themselves? [Wired] (via @semmerson)
• Report from the House of Lords Communications Committee: A secure future for investigative journalism [Parliament.uk] (via @journochat)
• "I was going to be a copy editor!" [JimRomenesko.com]
• Remembering Anthony Shadid [New York Times]

From Story Board last week:

• From guest contributor Jeff Nield | Why I quit blogging and why you should too (if you’re a writer): Until last week, I was a part-time blogger at TreeHugger. I mostly covered sustainable food and agriculture, but was free to post on anything under the “green” umbrella. It’s a fascinating beat and I could write from anywhere. But, after three and a half years of trying I accept that I’m not a blogger, so I quit.
• On professionalism | The Born Freelancer replies to a comment on bridge-burning: Last month, “Dude” commented on my post about blowing up bridges: “I think it quite ironic that in this post you caution against bridge burning, then two posts down celebrate the life of someone who was fearless—and sometimes reckless—enough to burn every bridge he’d ever built. As for this fetishism regarding “professionalism”—get over it. There’s not enough money, almost literally, in publishing for you to care. Be bold. Be brave. Be uncompromising. Or find a career where being obsequious can actually pay dividends.”

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

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