MAJ Archives

A journalist's profile, stories and careers in the field of journalism. Know a journalist who should be profiled here? Send an e-mail to Janet E. Bardon.

October 13, 1999
Mark S. Kearney
Freelance Writer
London, ON
mark.kearney@sympatico.ca

Why did you choose journalism?

Like many people who got into journalism, I had always enjoyed writing in school and had received encouragement from a few teachers along the way.  When it came time to go to university, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  There was no particular subject that really grabbed me enough to want to major in it.  The journalism program was set up so that I could take a lot of different courses as well.  In my first year I just took a range of general arts and social sciences courses and then switched to journalism in second year.  I've always been interested in a lot of things, and journalism allowed me to pursue a writing career while also studying and being exposed to a wide range of subjects.

What was your second career choice?

I'm not sure I had one.  I got hired at a newspaper right out of university.  If that hadn't happened I might have pursued library science, because of the research and generalist side of it, or maybe something to do with history.

Where did you complete post-secondary education?

The University of Western Ontario.  An Honours B.A. in Journalism.

Where did you attend journalism school?

The University of Western Ontario.  I was in the last B.A. journalism class at Western when I graduated in 1977.  They were already phasing the Masters program in at that point.

What experience best prepared you for the job of journalist?

In university we got to write a lot of weekly assignments that involved going out to interview people, and they helped to some extent.  I wrote for the university newspaper and that was good training as well.  The fact that I got to study a wide range of courses probably helped me when it came time to write about different subjects as a journalist.  But I think I learned most about it once I started working at my first job as a reporter at the London Free Press in 1977.    I learned more in the first four months there than I probably did in four years of university.

Tell us about a highlight of your career, a story you have covered or an interview you have conducted.

There have been several highlights and interviews over the 22 years I've been a journalist.  My first-ever byline and sale while I was still in university probably stands out.  I was also a speech writer for the Ontario government for a few years in the 80s and that had its interesting moments.  I've been freelancing full-time since 1989 and also teaching writing for the past 10 years, and those have been fun too.  The highlight for me, however, has been working on my two latest books.  I co-authored The Great Canadian Trivia Book in 1996 and its sequel The Great Canadian Trivia Book 2 in 1998.  Both were published by Hounslow Press of Toronto and both are Canadian bestsellers.  I liked the idea of having written something with more permanence to it than newspaper or magazine stories.  And I must confess I like that I'm the one being interviewed this time rather than the other away around.  The books have led to a regular gig on CBC Radio's Basic Black this season, and that's been fun too.  Writing books is the direction my career is going these days. My co-author and I are working on two books -- The Great Canadian Book of Lists, which is scheduled for publication in September, and The Ontario Fact Book, scheduled for spring 2000.

Who was/is your mentor?

No one person, really.  I've learned a lot from various editors and journalists early in my career and from fellow freelance writers in the past 10 years or so.

What do you recommend to young people considering a career in journalism?

Read as much as you can of all kinds of writing, journalistic and otherwise, and determine in your mind what works well and what doesn't.  Write as much and as often as you can, even if it's just for practice.  Writing, and especially journalism, is a craft that gets better with practice, just like playing the piano. If you have a passion to write don't let anyone talk you out of  becoming a writer or frightening you by saying there are no jobs.  The world always needs good writers.

What do you consider the biggest challenge facing journalists today?

For journalists on staff at newspapers or magazines, an increasingly disinterested readership that has many other avenues to go to these days for information.  I think at lot of readers are getting tired of the same old stories about the same old political scandals, issues etc. that don't really reflect their everyday lives.  Yes, that information needs to be covered, but readers, especially younger ones, can get information they can use or are interested in by seeking alternate sources.  For freelance writers, our biggest challenge is ensuring that our work is fully protected by copyright laws that don't allow publishers to re-use our work in electronic or other forms without our permission and without our being paid for those extra uses.  It's a huge legal battle going on that may take a few years to sort out.  Unfortunately, this battle and the relatively low pay by most newspapers and magazines  in Canada is driving very good writers away from journalism into other types of writing that pay better.

For more information please visit my web site at http://members.execulink.com/~pwaclondon/Mark_Kearney.htm