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:

• Journalist Henry Champ dies at 75 [CBC]
• Globe and Mail, or Cut and Paste? [Macleans] (via @inklessPW)
• David Carr: High priest of journalism’s existential angst [Toronto Star] (via @FlyontheWall_ca)
• Why So Silent? What the Margaret Wente Accusations Say About Canadian Media [Toronto Standard]
• We investigate all allegations against our writers [Globe and Mail]
• Congrats to the winners of the Manitoba Magazine Awards [Magazine Awards]
• Winnipeg Free Press cuts seven from newsroom staff [J-Source]
• The proposed Bell-Astral deal, its opposition, and what it means for media concentration [J-Source]
• Finalists for 2012 Canadian Online Publishing Awards announced [Masthead]

 

From the U.S. and beyond:

• Best Twitter practices for journalists [Twitter blog] (via @wolfewylie)
• Barry Diller and Scott Rudin Form E-Book Publishing Venture [New York Times] (via @natalieturvey)
• Why do women still lag in journalism? [CNN] (via @natalieturvey)
• Boston Globe Editor: Newspapers are Badly Bruised but not Beaten [Romenesko]
• How Startup Magazines Crowdfund, Crowdsource, and Hold Onto Print [Mediashift] (via @jaclynlaw)
• NPR’s Todd Mundt says public radio needs to innovate or die [Nieman Lab]

 

From Story Board last week:

• Coworking for freelance writers : Freelance writing can be lonely. Just you and your laptop adrift upon a sea of words all day long… It’s easy to lose focus. And it can get depressing, too. That lonesome freelance feeling is what led to the rise of coworking. A trend that started in San Francisco in 2005, coworking offers freelancers a community-minded place to work that’s outside of the house but free of the distractions of a coffee shop...
• Will Work For Exposure conference for freelancers: There’s a conference on the horizon just for us, fellow Canadian freelancers. Will Work For Exposure: Culture Work in Precarious Times is a one-day event organized by Ryerson’s Centre for Labour Management Relations along with members of the Canadian Media Guild and ACTRA...