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: 

• Why is Melanie Joly ignoring the crisis in Canadian Journalism? [The Conversation]
• CHEK changed the channel and put workers in charge [The Tyee]
• Why La Presse started an internship geared towards minority reporters and First Nations people [J-Source]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• Social media for writers: 5 quick fixes to build your brand [The Write Life]
• How to cope with the fear of freelance work drying up [Creative Boom]
• 8 Styles of Music to Help You Focus While You Write [The Write Life]
• Let’s Talk About Coworking (And What It Has to Offer) [Freelance Writing Gigs]
• When science reporting takes an emotional toll [The Open Notebook]
• 4 tips for chasing payment [Freelancers Union]
• When Does a Writer Rest? It’s Time to Talk About Self-Care [The Write Life]
• Extraordinary financial scam leverages prestige of the Atlantic [Washington Post]

Recently on Story Board:

• 2018 Dalton Camp Award deadline December 1: The deadline for the 2018 Dalton Camp Award is approaching. The annual essay competition is open to submissions until Friday, December 1. The competition awards the best essay (or essays) about the link between democracy and the media in Canada...
• Pay-what-you-can financial planning for low-income freelancers: Chris Enns specializes in helping people with variable income get their financial houses in order. The Toronto-based financial planner and opera singer offers online personalized financial counselling services through his practice From Rags to Reasonable...

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.