Reaprewards S


Becoming a media or communications consultant can open doors beyond traditional journalism – and pay very well. Neil Merrick reports


ometimes it’s not enough to be just a journalist. With permanent jobs increasingly temporary and freelancing an ever-greater struggle, some journalists are advertising themselves as media consultants and


reaping the rewards. “There are advantages to saying you’re a consultant rather


than a journalist,” says former BBC journalist Mark Frankel. “The word journalist can be slightly pejorative. If you say you’re a media or communications consultant, you open a lot more doors.” After leaving the BBC in 2018, Frankel worked in social media and communications before being made redundant in 2023. It was then that he took stock and evaluated how he could use his skills to find work outside traditional journalism. This has included teaching in the UK and Singapore, and


working in Eastern Europe for Media Action, the BBC’s international charity. His CV had to be rewritten and rewritten again as he sought out potential clients. “Journalism is a very crowded market,” says Frankel, who


spent nearly 20 years at the BBC. “People are asking what transferable skills they have that they can offer in consultancy work.” Dhruti Shah advertises herself as a storyteller, coach, public speaker and all-round ‘ideas factory’. Her consultancy is called Have You Thought About, reflecting how she offers clients fresh ideas on putting their message across via different media. Shah highlights her background in journalism as proof that she offers “observation, analysis and context”. Clients, however, are most interested in her advice on equity, trauma literacy and understanding intersectional neurodivergence (interconnected identities among neurodiverse people). Past clients include public sector bodies, humanitarian


organisations, newsrooms and FTSE 100 companies. She adds: “I have a unique selling point because I’m a neurodivergent South Asian woman who brings with them a reputation around trust and helping people in communities that organisations are often trying to attract.” Consultancy work may involve travel. Paolo Bosonin spent


much of last year in Dubai, helping to set up a media company for a client. Although he is based in London, it is not unusual for him to travel for consultancy work with clients in


12 | theJournalist


France, Switzerland, Singapore and New York. One contract saw him


working for a private equity firm that paid him to interview the chief executive of one of the companies in its portfolio. “I applied my skills as an investigative journalist,” he explains. “They wanted someone who could ask the right questions and get the right answers for their investors.” Bosonin spent eight years working at the Wall Street Journal before moving into consultancy in 2023 and setting up a video production company, Iceworm Media. Generally speaking, pay is much higher for business or strategic consultancy work than for editorial contracts. Companies that balk at paying freelance journalists more


“


than £150 per day will happily cough up £1,000 per day or more for a consultant who advises on strategy. But expectations are significantly higher. “It helps you go upmarket, but it also means you’re expected to deliver on strategy and offer strategic advice on tasks that are more senior,” he says. “If it’s strategic, it goes under the business budget as it’s considered more critical.” Can anyone with a background in journalism become a media consultant? It helps to have at least 10 years’ media experience, preferably with more than one employer, and be able to show evidence of leadership and innovation. It also helps to have more than one string to your bow.


Consultancy helps you go upmarket, but you’re expected to offer strategic advice on tasks that are more senior


Veena McCoole advertises herself as a mindset coach as well as a journalist and editorial strategist. She also uses her website to sell personalised candles (with 20% of profits donated to a homelessness charity). “My private coaching practice empowers high-performing


individuals to exercise a greater sense of ownership over their lives,” says McCoole on her LinkedIn page. “We work together to raise self-awareness, move from confusion to clarity, and get you to a place where life feels juicy, expansive, and brimming with possibility.” Andy Griffiths specialises in newsletters. Based in Plymouth, he not only produces his own Go Devon! newsletter for residents and tourists but also advises businesses on creating newsletters for their customers (see panel opposite).


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