Checked out cancrime.com. It’s good!

@Kathryn I was aware of the A-Channel layoffs, and considered putting them in the list, but wanted to focus on Toronto and the GTA. Barrie’s close, but not quite. There were also a bunch of Metroland layoffs in southwestern Ontario I could have mentioned.

Higher demands on and fewer resources for those that are left. Good point. I know all this is tough for them as well. And I sympathize with all of them: the people laid off, the survivors, the j-students coming up, and the interns as well. I offer hope for all. More to come in another post.

The premise of your story makes a lot of sense – there’s nothing stopping anyone from taking their experience, education and know-how and building something new! I salute them too!

Freelance Journalists: Save your skin in 2009 by diversifying

by TheGrayArea @ 2008-12-30 – 11:23:51

Hey good-looking,

I just came off an e-mail flurry with an old editor of mine from CBC. He tells me that the coffers are bare for freelance writers at the nation’s broadcaster until well into 2009. I’m hearing it’s the same story with Can West and the Sun.

Since graduating journalism school, I’ve never worked a day on anyone’s payroll. Every penny I’ve made as a writer/media guy has come from self-generated business. So, when l hear that the market is going from slow to frozen, I get itchy.

Fortunately, I’ve built my own freelance writing business to scale and specialize based on client’s adapting needs. My first day out of school, I sold an article idea to an online magazine that covered new information technology companies in the Toronto-area; I was paid by personal cheque about a week after I published. That led to more pieces with that ‘zine of the same flavour: company profiles, interviews, entrepreneurial stuff. After I had a few bylines, I started to package myself.

At first, I pitched other media in the same region that covered business and technology and ran in print or online. That got me a few special section features and ultimately my first CBC.ca article. After a few initial clients were established, I went lateral on my beat, diversifying to cover life sciences, investment economy and eventually consumer technology. In parallel to freelance writing, I was also building a media company.

Fullspectrum.media is focused on a) creating unique public affairs training and delivery solutions for the Canadian Forces and b) whatever else I find interesting. Fullspectrum has been built as follows: Initially, Fullspectrum was me, contracting out as a media role player to Toronto’s 32 Brigade on weekend army exercises. Later, my Canadian Forces relationship grew to include media training officers and NCOs and creating public affairs solutions for the CF at the community media level.

At one time or another, Fullspectrum has also dabbled in travel writing, copy writing (”Ya nailed it baby”), public relations for the high tech industry, and professional speaking engagements. With the feast-and-famine nature of the freelance writing business, Fullspectrum provides a nice buffer against testy freelance markets and fierce competition for column inches. I’m just in the process of expanding Fullspectrum’s portfolio to include management of strategic investments in new media technology companies. Our first deal should close in the next couple weeks.

Finding new revenue streams to build my business has been a matter of working my network, keeping my ears open for new ideas, and aggressively pursuing good opportunities at the right time. In the future, I hope to create an organization focused on community-level technology investment and economic development . . . perpetual nanoeconomy: ask me how!

Everything I have done since that first article has been about building an independent and sustainable business that I can take anywhere. By valuing my business relationships, seeking and learning from criticism, and diversifying with a strategic eye, my freelance business is all right going into 2009. I hope you are too.

Be cool,

Scott