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:

• Canadian journalists can learn a lot from the US media’s Trump coverage [J-Source]
• Magazine freelancers say Edmonton publisher too slow to pay bills [CBC]
• Why Freelancers Should Care About Universal Pharmacare [Living Freelance]
• Off the Page, with investigative journalist Virgil Grandfield [Magazine Awards]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• 4 Free Places to Find Stock Photos for Your Niche Blog [The Write Life]
• 7 freelance mistakes that will cost you [Freelancers Union]
• At last: a standard contract to protect freelancers [Fast Company]
• Why What You Write Matters More Than Where You’re Published [The Freelancer]
• 8 steps to captivating clients on LinkedIn [Freelancers Union]
• 6 easy ways to improve your writing craft [Mediabistro]
• How BuzzFeed’s Craig Silverman debunks fake news [Digiday]
• Is Writing Your Side Hustle? 4 Steps to Take Before Going Full Time [The Write Life]

Recently on Story Board:

• Off the Page, with investigative journalist Virgil Grandfield: Off the Page is a regular interview series featuring National Magazine Award winners. In this interview we chat with freelance journalist Virgil Grandfield, who won the 2016 National Magazine Award for Investigative Reporting...
• Hire now; pay much, much later – Alberta publisher leaves freelance content creators shivering through the winter: Venture Publishing Inc. of Edmonton and its CEO Ruth Kelly have developed a disturbing business model when it comes to paying the freelance contributors hired to create articles, photos, and illustrations for the various magazines the company produces...
• Webinar: How to Go Viral Like a Journalist: Ever wonder how BuzzFeed finds funny, heartwarming, or enraging viral news before everyone else? The next in our series of professional development webinars will look at how to track down content on social media, how to find the best tools that do the work for you, and how to make sure you’re not falling for a viral hoax...

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.