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: 

• Employee buyout to save Prince Albert Daily Herald [J-Source]
• Herald goes local with new owners [Prince Albert Daily Herald]
• Entries are open for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award [CJF]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• Former Gawker employees are crowdfunding to relaunch a Gawker.com that’s owned by a nonprofit and funded by readers [Nieman Lab]
• 20 freelancers claim Nautilus magazine stiffed them for $50G [New York Daily News]
• An Open Letter from Freelancers at Nautilus Magazine [National Writers Union]
• Tip: Bookmark this advice if you want to start working as a freelancer [Journalism.co.uk]
• 6 Ways Freelance Writers Can Prepare for Tax Season Right Now [The Write Life]
• 4 great ways to manage your time [Freelancers Union]
• Freelancing over the holidays? A simple guide to maintaining your sanity [Freelancers Union]
• A Freelance Writer’s Guide to Managing Edits [The Write Life]

Recently on Story Board:

• National Writers Union takes action against Nautilus Magazine for non-payment of freelancers: The National Writers Union is taking action this week against U.S. science magazine Nautilus for non-payment of freelance writers. Nineteen writers say they are collectively owed $50,000 by the magazine. Some say they have been waiting for payment for over a year...
• Freelance journalists needed for research study: If you’ve been working as a freelance journalist for 5 years or less — or if you graduated from a Canadian journalism school in the last 5 years — you may be eligible to participate in a research study being carried out at Ryerson University...

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.