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:

• Former Olympic boss John Furlong wins defamation case filed by journalist [Vancouver Observer]
• Freelance journalist who sued John Furlong loses defamation case [Globe and Mail]
• CBC President Hubert Lacroix: Public Broadcasters ‘Risk Being Boiled To Death' [Huffington Post]
• Quebec's La Presse to scrap weekday print edition to focus on app [Globe and Mail]
• Toronto Star pins hopes of younger audience on new tablet app [Globe and Mail]

 

From The U.S. and beyond:

• No Unions, No Problem. How Freelancers Are Fighting For Their Rights [Mediashift]
• Facebook launches Signal, a tool to help journalists sort through the noise [Poynter]
• Writers and Editors Discuss the Delicate Dance of Story Rewrites [The Freelancer]
• Seven secrets of podcasting success [Medium] (via @NiemanLab)
• Dispirited but not defeated [Cuaderno Inedito]
• 3 symptoms of freelance burnout [Freelancers Union]
• How to Write About Anything: 5 steps for researching a new topic [The Write Life]
• The productivity paradox: Quality vs. Quantity [Freelancers Union]
• Could Working on Retainer Help You Build a Reliable Freelance Business? [The Write Life]

 

Last week on Story Board:

• Free podcasting webinar for CMG Freelance and CWA Associate Members: Wanna be a podcaster? JP Davidson’s upcoming podcasting webinar will help get you started… or take you to the next level...
• Two CMG Freelance members nominated for prestigious Prix Italia: Two members of CMG Freelance have been nominated for the prestigious Prix Italia radio award this year, one of them in a brand new category that is of special interest to freelancers.

 

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.