Once a week, we gather stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a Canadian focus—and share them in Off the Wire. Who needs a water cooler?

From Canada:

• CBC Ombudsman: Twitter Turmoil [J-Source]
• Supreme Court will hear Radio-Canada appeal on revealing anonymous sources [CBC]
• Take the J-Source survey on gender diversity in Canadian news media [J-Source]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• The U.S. needs more worker owned businesses [HBR]
• How to negotiate: A freelancer's guide [Freelancers Union]
• How to be a better fact-checker in 8 videos [Poynter]
• Writing humor in a time of anger and angst [Poynter]
• Quick and easy self-care tips for freelancers [Freelancers Union]
• Tip: 3 ways to make your voice sound better on air [Journalism.co.uk]
• This "Creepy" Time-Tracking Software Is Like Having Your Boss Watch You Every Second [BuzzFeed News]
• 30 Fantastic Writer’s Conferences for Authors, Bloggers and Freelancers [The Write Life]
• How to delete all of your tweets (or just the worst ones) [Poynter]

Recently on Story Board:

• Media lawyer advises freelancers to beware of indemnity clauses: As indemnification clauses continue to appear in freelance contracts, one media lawyer advises freelancers to be careful what they sign. Daniel Burnett, with Vancouver’s Owen Bird Law Corporation, said the potential consequences of indemnifying a publication against expenses that might arise from a defamation lawsuit could be devastating...

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.