• Highlights of the Freelance Sessions at the CAJ National conference in Toronto
• Discussion about the past and future of freelancing
• Finding your niche(s) - when you begin - and later on
• Part-time vs. Full-time - conflicts and cash-flow
• How to market yourself locally, nationally and abroad

Diane Benson first joined the CAJ more than 20 years ago. She has reported on local issues, hosted and produced a daily public affairs program and been News Director at Ottawa’s CHEZ-FM. She is currently a sessional lecturer in radio journalism at Carleton University and also runs her own freelance media business. Diane was succeeded earlier this year as local chapter president by Maria McClintock of SunMedia's Parliamentary Bureau after serving three terms.

Richard Cléroux has worked a journalist, author, film maker, television and radio commentator and on-line columnist. After a number of years working as a national reporter with the Globe and Mail's Parliamentary bureau, he wrote a ground-breaking book on CSIS. His film on federal politicians and the media (Scrum) was released two years ago. The film was his major research project for his Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University. He has been a regular commentator on a variety of CBC and Radio-Canada radio and television programs, as well as for working for private broadcasters and TVO. For four years, Richard also wrote a regular column about political events available only on-line on Canoe.ca. As a freelancer, he writes extensively for both French and English media in Canada and Europe. His regular clients include The Times of London and The Hill Times.

Laura Eggertson is an award-winning Canadian journalist and freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor to a variety of Canadian magazines inlcuding Time Magazine (Canadian edition). Laura was awarded a Nieman Fellowship in journalism at Harvard University in 1995-96. For The Canadian Press, Laura has been a Washington correspondent and Queen's Park bureau chief. She has travelled to to Croatia, Bosnia, Haiti, Mexico, China and Malaysia to cover stories of interest to Canadians. After her career at CP, she reported on business and national affairs for The Globe and Mail in Ottawa, and covered the finance, environment and Indian Affairs beats for The Toronto Star on Parliament Hill. She now runs her own business in Ottawa.

A freelance journalist for the past 25 years, Christopher Guly has written for more than 140 publications, including most of Canada's major ones, such as The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, the National Post and The Ottawa Citizen. As well, he has contributed to an number of CBC Radio programs at the national and regional levels. He began his career in journalism at the Winnipeg Tribune and now lives in Ottawa, where he is a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

Rosa Harris-Adler, winner of two National Magazine Awards, is editor of Ottawa City magazine and a regular columnist for the Ottawa Citizen. During her freelance career, her work appeared in Saturday Night, Chatelaine, Canadian Geographic, Equinox, Canadian Business, Report on Business magazine, Canadian Living and many other publications. Rosa earned her Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University in 1998, where she is now a sessional lecturer in magazine journalism. She is also a former president of the Periodical Writers' Association of Canada.

While working for CBC Radio in Montreal as a researcher for the afternoon show, Molly freelanced as a broadcast journalist for three years in radio and occasionally for network television. She also freelanced for five years as a writer, researcher and photographer at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, eventually turning that experience into a foundation to make her own film. In Ottawa, she's worked for the past two years as a columnist and occasional feature writer for The Ottawa Xpress.