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:

• Copyright-free material edging out Canadian educational texts [CBC]
• OWL Magazine launches current affairs website [Masthead]
• Crowd-sourced map tracks what’s happening to local news outlets across Canada [J-Source]
• What 12 months as a Nieman fellow taught journalist Stephen Maher [J-Source]
• Rush to make money from amateur video can leave creators behind [CBC] (via @yellowjkt)

From The U.S. and beyond:

• 4 Ways to Turn Vacation Into a Freelance Assignment [The Freelancer]
• The 4 most common excuses for underpricing your work [Fast Company]
• 5 freelancers share their worst client horror stories [The Freelancer]
• Reporting on the refugee crisis [Frontline Freelance Register]
• The shadowy war on the press: How the rich silence journalists [CJR]
• Freelancing isn’t for everyone, but it will be soon [Freelancers Union]
• 3 legal issues freelancers can't afford to ignore [Freelancers Union]
• Newspaper declines accelerate, latest Pew Research finds [Poynter]
• 5 tips to avoid a cash flow crunch this summer [Freelancers Union]

Last week on Story Board:

• Mixer for factual TV workers in Toronto: The Canadian Media Guild is holding another mixer in Toronto for factual television workers...
• The Born Freelancer on Working for a (Possible) Sociopath: They are unusually intelligent and adept at disguising their true natures. You need to be vigilant for their constant lies and the ever-changing reality that they manufacture around them...

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.