Is freelancing the answer?

One of the fall outs from new media may be that more and more journalists are going to go freelance.It is something that I have certainly thought about at the end of my degree next year.The downside for someone starting out is the experience of working in a newsroom and the limited contacts that you will have.

Charlie Beckett writes about the issue over on his blog this morning and points towards Angela Saini who is a science journalist who is leaving the BBC this week and writes

I'm one of the first generation of journalists who are multi-skilled in this way, in the long-run it is likely to be the way most of us work. And if we want to have the biggest possible impact on the world, then we need to make the most of all the different kinds of platforms, from the Internet, to emerging digital channels.
Consequently, from next week I'll be science writing and making independent films for a plethora of media outlets

Coincidentally I note that journalism.co.uk is creating a database for freelancers

Thanks to two new maps created by Journalism.co.uk, potential employers and commissioners can track down freelance journalists and photographers wherever they are in the world.
Freelancers will also be able to see who else is working in their region, giving them the chance to build new contacts and colleagues.

So is freelancing the way to start?