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:

• Survey respondents tell Western mag awards to offer a stripped-down version [Canadian Magazines]
• Stuart McLean cancels Vinyl Cafe Christmas tour due to melanoma [CBC]
• 2015 COPA winners list [Masthead]
• Media workers gather in Louisville to plot path to better workplaces [J-Source]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• Huffington Post employees urge colleagues to join union movement [The Guardian]
• Make the Leap to Full-Time Freelance Writing in 5 Essential Steps [The Write Life]
• Is the freelance economy a social tragedy? [Freelancers Union]
• How to Negotiate Better Rates Even When You Don’t Think You Can [The Freelancer]
• What to do when you've overcommitted [Freelancers Union]
• Gawker Media grapples with treatment of female staffers [Poynter]

Last week on Story Board:

• Freelancer meet-up in Victoria on Tuesday, Nov. 24: If you’re a freelancer in the Victoria, BC area, you’re invited to come out to Moxie’s next Tuesday, November 24th at 7:30 p.m. for a casual freelance get-together...
• All media work has value: Notes from the Media Workers Forum: At a time when unpaid internships prevail and precarious employment seems the norm, how should institutions better protect interns, and what can we media workers do to protect ourselves?...
• The Born Freelancer on the Merits of a Freelance Routine: I’ve been told so many times that I must have such great self-discipline (as a freelancer) that I’m beginning to believe it myself. And I guess, to some degree, it’s true...

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.