Off The Wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer Jan 6-11

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:

• On the declining prospects of the young journalist [National Post]
• Federal government hired just 22 of 961 unpaid interns since 2008 [Toronto Star]
• Memo: Toronto Star to hire 60 staff for new tablet edition [J-Source]
• Jesse Brown punctures Canada’s media bubble [CJR]
• Jo-Ann Roberts quit CBC to fight from the outside [Victoria Times-Colonist]

From The U.S. and beyond:

• Intellectual Property Rights for Freelancers [Freelancers Union]
• Introducing Our Freelance Rates Database [Contently]
• What 14 Great Writers Taught One Journalism Class [Nieman Storyboard]
• How Often Should I Negotiate My Rates? [The Freelancer]
• How’d you do this year? 6 tips for evaluating your freelance business [Freelancers Union]
• Travel Writing: Captivate Your Readers and Bring Your Stories to Life [The Write Life]
• 5 Smart Freelancer Moves to Begin 2015 [The Freelancer]
• As Legacy News Outlets Retreat, Who Will Be There to Report on the World? [Nieman Reports]
• The importance of protecting freelancers [CJR]
• The virtues of Vice: how punk magazine was transformed into media giant [The Guardian]

Last week on Story Board:

• Good news from the magazine industry: business media’s thriving: Good news about the publishing industry is rare these days. So when Don Genova heard some, he came straight to Story Board to share it with his freelance colleagues…
• Freelance Media Mixer in Ottawa on January 14th: Ottawa freelancers, there’s a CMG Freelance Media Mixer coming up in your town next week. It’s scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th from 5 to 8 p.m. at 73 North…
• Join The ‘Lancer email list for a chance to win a Samsung tablet: Got freelancer questions, problems, advice or information to share? Have tips on gigs or potential collaboration? Looking for some freelancer conversation or camaraderie? Through the ‘Lancer, we can help…

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.