Here in Toronto, it’s snowing — again — even though spring is meant to come in just two weeks. I’ve been staying in my father’s vacant apartment, way up on the 25th floor, which gives me the kind of vantage point I need to be able to pass judgment on how the snow is falling.

According to my (very scientific) observations, I’d say it’s coming down very quickly, but not quite sticking on the ground at the moment. It’s blustery enough that I can’t see beyond maybe half a kilometer, and usually I have a sight line right down to the lake. Based on the apparent velocity, I would not call this a gentle, quiet snowfall, which is, in my opinion, the better condition for sharing secrets. This snowfall looks wretched.

Despite the fact that this is grumpy snow and not secret-spilling snow, I’m going to share my secrets anyway. And by secrets, I mean the results of research I’ve been slowly, but steadily, working on for months.

As someone who does weekly scans of job postings to include in this newsletter, I have to admit that my searches have felt a bit bleak lately. It all started back in December, when postings started to dwindle as we marched closer to the year’s end. No problem, I thought; things will pick up when budgets get refreshed in the new year. And the truth is — they haven’t really picked up at all. And with the Global layoffs last week, the job situation in Canadian media seems like it’s getting worse. 

But I’m not here to be a downer.

I told you I was here to share my secrets, also known as research. As I mentioned before, I’m staying at my father’s apartment while he’s away, and he has a wealth of books that one might turn to during turbulent economic times: “Money: Master the Game,” by Tony Robbins, “Fooling Some of the People All of the Time,” by David Einhorn, “So You Think You Are Ready To Retire?” by Barry Lavalley, “You COULD Live a Long Time: Are you Ready?” by Lyndsay Green, “Journey of Awakening” by Ram Dass, “Golf Life is Not a Game of Perfect” by Dr. Bob Rotella, “What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School” by Mark H. McCormack, “Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism” by Gershom G. Scholem, “The 5 Love Languages” and “The 5 Love Languages: Men’s Edition.”

It’s enough material to host a weekend business/personal self-development seminar. Could “benevolent cult leader” be the missing piece from my freelance mosaic?

I could read these books, I suppose, but instead, they’ve just got me thinking about development seminars that already exist. And by development seminars, I really mean: artist residencies.

Some residencies do have fees, which can range from “okay, maybe I could make that work” to eye-popping, but many also have funding available, and there are grants from arts councils you can also apply to for certain residencies.

I guess my point is — when things are very weird in the economy… maybe it’s a good time to try making something weird. A residency can offer the time, space, and sometimes even money to make that thing.

Here are some residencies you can check out:

The Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha has a Sound Art and Experimental Music residency that they’ve been running since 2019. Applications are open until April 14, 2023 for their 2024 spring, summer and fall sessions. Participants will receive “financial, technical, and administrative support, along with dedicated facilities for rehearsing, recording, and performing new works that expand the field of sound art and music.” Sounds like an excellent environment for making something weird.

Do you have a project in mind that needs some writing? An audio drama, perhaps? Applications for The Mastheads Summer Residency in Pittsfield, Massachusetts are due by March 15. Residents will be reimbursed for their travel, receive full room and board, two meals a day, and access to open air studios. The residency runs from July 1 to 22.

Another writing-focused residency currently accepting applications is the Cuttyhunk Island residency off the coast of Cape Cod. Again… fiction podcasts! Hello! There are a few scholarships available, and applications for the fall fiction residency (September 13-20) are due by May 1.

This is the one I was really thinking about doing in January — the Xochi Quetzal Artists and Writers personal residency program on Lake Chalapa, near Guadalajara, Mexico, offers six live/work spaces for two weeks to four months. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

This is just one to keep an eye on, since nothing has been announced yet — the Spatial Sound Institute in Budapest, Hungary has run a residency program since 2015. It has been open to people at any stage of their artistic or scientific career, from students through established authors. This will be a good one to check back on.

Who needs a job when you can simply… spend a week in the woods making weird sound art?

Do you LOVE singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game?” Do I have the job for you! The Toronto Blue Jays are hiring a content producer/editor.

They breathe fire. Have you got a hose? CBC is hiring a production assistant, producer, and senior producer for Dragon’s Den. All positions are full-time contracts, and applications are due EOD March 13.

CBC Vancouver is hiring a creative producer, marketing content. It’s a full-time, permanent job — and it looks fun! Applications are due tonight (March 10) by 11:59 pm.

CBC Ottawa is hiring a permanent, full-time digital senior producer for the parliamentary bureau. Apply by EOD March 16. 

CBC News is hiring a permanent, full-time producer for Rosemary Barton Live. The working hours are kind of hellish… but I guess you get a four-day work week? Wednesday to Friday, 9 am to 7 pm, and Sunday 6 am to 3 pm. Apply by EOD March 22.

CBC British Columbia is looking for a permanent, part-time associate producer for North by Northwest, the weekend morning show. Apply by EOD March 15.

CBC IUnit is hiring a permanent, full-time senior producer for the Investigative Unit. Apply by EOD March 22. 

Sirius XM Canada is hiring a chase producer for a two-hour talk radio program.

Little Dot Studios in London, UK is hiring a producer for History Hit. This is probably more for people who actually live in London, but it does say hybrid-remote.

Applications are open for the Canadian Association of Journalists’ mentorship program! Submit by 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday, March 28. 

We’re producing a new podcast! The first episode of Season 2 of Get Some, hosted by certified sex therapist Michelle Fischler, drops March 23. Meet Michelle.

“Radio makes nerds of us all,” said Vocal Fry producer Jay Cockburn in our Slack channel today. You want proof? Here are various Fries at work in our younger days.
 

Jay in his BBC days and Max, circa 2015:

Katie in 2018 with a classic CBC elevator selfie and Ren interviewing the sea on Salt Spring Island:

Kattie interviewing an apathetic alpaca and me, subbing in for the HuffPost Canada Splash.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Katie Jensen for editing this newsletter.

We’ll see you again on March 17. Until then, here’s an update from Jay’s parents’ dog, Fraser, frolicking. “The UK is ravaged by wintery conditions,” says Jay.

Yours in friends and fries,
Michal