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:

• Announcing the National Media Awards Foundation [Magazine Awards]
• New radio stations to serve urban Indigenous communities in 5 cities: CRTC [CBC]
• Magazines Canada breaks new ground by holding its annual general meeting online [Canadian Magazines]
• Making CBC/Radio-Canada reflect Canada’s diversity [CMG]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• Think Like a Journalist to Improve Your Writing [The Write Life]
• Why Freelance Writers Should Learn How to Create Videos [Freelance Writing Gigs]
• Study: 65% of independent workers chose freelancing because they wanted to [HR Dive]
• Why freelancing skills should be taught early [Freelancers Union]
• Ebony owes freelancers more than $200,000, union claims [Chicago Tribune]
• Unfounded: How police forces co-ordinated one response to the Globe's queries [Globe and Mail]
• 5 Things You Learn To Accept As a Freelancer [Mediabistro]
• How to earn 2X more as a freelancer [Freelancers Union]
• 10 Handy Conversation Starters for Introverted Writers [The Write Life]

Recently on Story Board:

• Privacy and digital security at the border: Though media workers such as journalists and filmmakers have long faced occupational and digital security and privacy issues while crossing international borders, new challenges to the way they do their work have recently emerged...
• The Born Freelancer reads "This I Know" by Terry O'Reilly: O’Reilly takes the potentially mundane topic of marketing/advertising and turns it into a weekly half hour of fascinating history, pop culture and invaluable lessons on the radio. So when I heard that he had distilled the essence of his considerable experience into a new book I sought it out immediately. Having read it from cover to cover, it is something I can now confidently urge every freelancer to read...

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.