Recent  Stories

Slow Lane: Canadian consumers are paying a premium price for the dubious privilege of being stuck in the slow lanes of the information highway. Figures provided by global telecommunications analysts TeleGeography Research shows international Internet speeds – the rate at which data moves to and from a computer – Canada may not be the slowest, but we’re far from the nimble speeds offered in Japan and Europe.

Plans go electrnonic: An Ontario-wide Electronic Plans Room is set to roll out in the New Year. John Mollenhauer, president of the Toronto Construction Association (TCA), said things are on track for an agreement between the 11 Ontario construction associations by Christmas.

Black Gold: Where most people see obsolete computers and electronics, Alfred Hambsch sees more than gold, he sees black gold. As the president of the largest eWaste recycling company on the planet, Mr. Hambsch has built not just a business but a calling, taking obsolete electronics and processing them back into useable raw materials including gold and diesel fuel.

Take Charge of Your Website: In the beginning there was the Webmaster and he was God. And the Webmaster said, let there be a domain for this business and there was; Then the Webmaster said let the home page be divided from the other pages, and it was. And then the Webmaster said: If you need to make any more changes, I bill by the hour and I don’t work nights or weekends.”  Ouch.

Videoconferencing: Dennis Sandow chuckles recalling his “Halo moment” – the illusion created by the videoconferencing system that a colleague was in intimate proximity even though they were thousands of miles apart.

Party Favours: If you’re going to crash a party, it’s best to bring something along to smooth your entry, like a keg of beer, or risk a humiliation and rejection. It’s a strategy businesses should consider as they seek to leverage the virtual block parties evolving from virtual communities and social media.

Silicon Valley, Calif – Imagine picking up your Toronto Star and seeing the headlines  update before your eyes. Science fiction? Don’t bet against it. ePaper as it’s often called, is a quest being funded with millions of dollars in research and development by some of the biggest names like Hewlett-Packard, Phillips Electronics and Xerox.

Social Media: Andy Warhol was half right: Fifteen minutes is just the beginning. Social media – the collective of blogs, forums, e-mail, Instant Messaging and text messaging – makes us all celebrities, all the time.

Getting there half the fun: “Kate” is not happy.“In 500 metres, make a U-turn,” she insists, the Irish lilt in her voice clear on the “ur” of the word “turn.” “Kate” as I’ve nicknamed her, is my newest traveling companion, a Ground Position Satellite guided navigation program running on my mobile phone.

Ian Harvey's CV

CAREER PROFILE

For 32 years I’ve held high profile, challenging positions, working in a variety of media, producing remarkable results under intense pressure and winning awards. Whether launching and managing a Web site, magazine or newspaper section, as a columnist, an award winning investigative reporter or now as freelance multi-media producer, and communications specialist.

My diverse skills and experience can be adapted to any sector or role and I am looking for an opportunity to prove it. I deliver on time and on budget. I am analytical with strong creative, problem solving skills and marketing savvy. I am the go-to guy who gets the job done. As a manager I build teams, harness and focus their energies on the tasks required and assist them by providing the right resources, removing hurdles and helping them learn new skills where required. As a strategist I develop holistic approaches to communications, identifying and using the key strength of a vehicle, be it print, video, Web, text, social or mainstream.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Pitbull Media - 2001 - present

I’m a freelance journalist, writer, editor and multi-media producer. Pitbull Media provides, in addition to basic editorial services, communication strategies, copywriting and production of creative materials such as video and web design for small and mid-sized businesses leveraging a network of other freelancers with unique skills on an as needed basis.

As a journalist I write for a wide variety of publications including Reader’s Digest, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Backbone Magazine, The Daily Commercial News, The Law Times and other trade and niche publications.

Centennial College – Communication Arts - 2004 - 2005

I taught part time at the Carlaw Campus as part of the post-graduate and now defunct Online Writing and Information Design Program, and I was a faculty advisor with the Journalism program.

And I did love the students. The faculty, not so much. Too politically correct. There were some great students. They were wonderful writers who are now in the industry and doing well. And there were some students who had no right to be in a journalism program: They just couldn't write.

Air Miles Reward Program

Senior Editorial Manager 2001 – 2004

I leveraged my media experience for this dynamic and category-leading marketing giant as part of the re-launch team at airmiles.ca, a successful e-business platform and CRM tool. My mandate subsequently expanded to include editorial direction of the twice yearly Travel and More Magazine and direction of all other in-house copy and the creation of and managing of the French translation process.

• Developed editorial strategy and web design. Managed hands-on editing and content loading with team and ensured brand standards were met in print and web.

•  Worked with freelancers, agency and in-house writers to create, edit and manage content and to direct French translation for editorial content and direction of the bilingual airmiles.ca Web site and twice-yearly Travel and More magazine (circulation 4,600,000 nationally in French and English).

•  Created freelance contracts, writer's guide and editing hierarchy, leveraged network of freelance and other media partners to source rich and engaging content relevant to site and magazine while working with external agency.
   
• At first it was exciting. And I'll admit I learned a lot about business and marketing, even though much of it was force-fed. But I was not cut out to be a middle manager sitting in a cube-farm. I'm too much of a hustler for that. I strive to make things happen, to connect the unconnected, to break down silos and challenge the status-quo.
   
  
   

CANOE INC.

Director of Web Operations fyitoronto.com/Canoe Inc. 2000 - 2001

Launched fyitoronto.com, the one-stop information site about Toronto, for Toronto. Hired and supervised five staff; developed marketing strategies and built relationships within Quebecor New Media companies and other partners.

• Ground Zero to Live: Three weeks. Organized and trained team of data entry staff, online editors, developed content and set up workspace.
   
• Initiated redesign three months later: Weekly hits went to 1.6 million from previous weekly average of 30,000.
   
• Initiated and engineered processes for data-entry, leveraged under-utilized Sun resources and created poly-publishable data for online and print products while cutting costs and resource requirements.
   
• Developed synergies and created value-added resources and products for the Toronto Sun, working without a road map to co-ordinate promotions, national and local advertising potentials and Interactive services for clients and the newspaper.
   
• Conceived, presented and co-ordinated a cross-media advertising sponsorship venture with significant revenues for corporate sales office coupled with spin-off dollars and video content for Web sites.
   
• What a ride it was. This is where I really started to get excited.  I had scope to flex my entrepreneurial muscle. I hustled, borrowed and stole resources from within the organization to push the peanut along. I built bridges with advertising, trying to explain what the Internet was and what it would be and where things were going. Wow, it was a heady 15 months and a great experience. Sadly, the dot.com crash of 2001 killed it off.
   

THE TORONTO SUN

Connect Editor and Associate Money Editor 1998- 2000

As the lead columnist and editor of the Connect section, I tracked how technology impacted the way we work, rest and play. I assigned stories, photos, illustrations and oversaw the layout for a weekly and also a colour monthly pull-out. I was also responsible for Sun’s Money (business) section overseeing day to day operations and managing a staff of three highly skilled professionals. Read some of my articles.

• Created an authoritative and insightful persona as anchor Connect columnist, focusing on consumers needs and filtering “noise” and by writing at a level enabling novices to understand technologically complex issues.

• In addition to management responsibilities, wrote major stories about financial events and columns leading the section when necessary or upfront in the news pages. Established strong leadership and expertise in stock market and personal finance issues.
   
• Conceived and designed a 16-page colour pullout, Monthly Connect, which ran in six markets (Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, London, Toronto and Ottawa). Result was that for minimal costs and resources, substantial national advertising revenues were realized.
   
• It was starting to become all business and management and you know what? I actually liked it. I'd worked for good and bad managers in my career and I was determined to be inspired by the great leaders I worked for.

Senior Reporter (1990 –1997)

Produced news stories, features, backgrounders, profiles, opinion and analysis. Part of the move up to more cerebral pursuits.

Columnist/Feature Writer (1986 – 1990)

As a general news columnist covered major international breaking stories such as the fall of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the Miami Overtown Riots, Haitian elections, crash of Arrow Air in Newfoundland, and other man-made and natural disasters. Locally I broke stories on Colombian cocaine barons and their Canadian investments and many other high profile stories. It killed my marriage but I had fun.

Chief Police Reporter (1984 – 1986)

Assigned stories and shifts while also working as a reporter -photographer and writing a weekly Crimebeat column, establishing a strong rapport, reputation and profile with Toronto Police Services - except in those days we called it the Toronto Police Force. Not so politically correct now.

G.A. Reporter-Photographer (1979 – 1984)

Handled a variety of rotating assignments. Culminated with my first international assignment covering the 1983 Grenada invasion. Included a stint working the summer as a photographer - and shooting SunShine Girls. The things we did!

THE MIRROR NEWSPAPERS, North York 1977 - 1978 Reporter-Photographer: It was Canada's biggest weekly at the time and fat, so fat with ads, not just inserts like today.

THE PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER 1977  Reporter-Photographer: God it was boring but good experience.

OTHER MEDIA EXPERIENCE

TELEVISION

As part of The Sun’s involvement with CP24, provided live commentary from the newsroom as needed on a variety of technology or business issues. Also guested on television talk shows and was a regular contributor/host for Tomorrow.Today a technology TV interstitial spot. In 1990 initiated and assisted in researching a segment on the Medellin Cartel’s Toronto connections for CBC’s Current Affairs program, the fifth estate.

RADIO

Covered the Euro96 soccer championships on a freelance basis for for two Toronto radio stations, TALK640 and CFTR. Also did a two-minute spot on TALK640 six days a week wrapping up events in and around the GTA to promote the fyitoronto.com web site. Provide commentary to British radio programs on Canadian soccer issues. As a contributor to Reader’s Digest I provide on-air discussions for phone-in shows across Canada relating to articles I have written.

COMPUTER SKILLS

Intimately familiar with Devine Open Market, (Now Fat Wire) a web content management application. Working knowledge of Quark Express, Final Cut Pro (and Studio 9) Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, HTML, Microsoft Office suite including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook.

EDUCATION/DEVELOPMENT

Canadian Film Centre: New Media Programme 2004

The Habitat Interactive Arts and Entertainment Programme is a prestigious five-month, post-graduate level course developing leaders and creative talent for the emerging New Media Industry. The curriculum encompasses high level study of leadership, the creative collaborative process, art, computer science, electronics and narrative theory as they apply to Interactive media such as computer games, web design, installations or mobile telephony. Read about our team’s prototype. More stories here.

UNIVERSITY of WESTERN ONTARIO 1985 Law for Journalists.

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE, Scarborough 1973-77 Journalism Major

OTHER

Accounting Made Easy: One-day course on accounting basics: 2000

Management Development Programs at Sun Media and Alliance Data Systems. 2000 and 2003

 AWARDS

• Winner Metro Toronto Police Association, Feature Writing
•  1992 Winner Jamie Westcott Award, Crime Reporting 1991
•  Winner Metro Toronto Police Association, Spot News 1987
•  Winner Metro Ambulance Services, Spot News 1986
•  Runner up, Metro Ambulance Services, Spot News 1985
•  Runner up, Metro Ambulance Services, Spot News Photo 1982
•  1982 Winner Metro Toronto Police Association Spot News

OTHER SKILLS & INTERESTS

I speak and write passable Spanish and French, shoot film and digital photos, Mac and PC literate, handle a budget, read a balance sheet, can design, build, repair or renovate almost anything from a house to a car. Co-ran a retail business, play soccer fanatically, ski and scuba dive, cook like a chef and play a thunderous bass guitar in an R&B band.

All of which means, I’m a well-traveled, seasoned, hands-on, sleeves up, extroverted, overachieving, performance-driven adrenaline junkie who isn’t afraid to try anything. I grab life with two hands and jump in with both feet but I’m also team player who’d take a bullet or do whatever else it required to meet our joint goals. I don’t play petty politics. I get to the point and move on. I can lead as well as I follow but I perform best when I’m burdened with responsibility.