I’m an experienced writer, editor, communicator and project manager based in Toronto, Canada.
My work has appeared in over 75 publications across Canada and internationally, from national outlets like The Globe and Mail, syndicated syndicated pieces across Postmedia (formerly Canwest), and to media industry trade associations including Digital Content Next, FIPP, WAN-IFRA, and The Innovation in News Media World Report. I've written for lifestyle magazines (Canadian Living, Canada's History, City Palate, Spacing), regional publications (Halifax, Where Calgary, West), trade journals (Journal of Commerce, Travel Management Canada), and local newsrooms across Alberta.
My experience spans editorial, sponsored content, communications, and research, from working on the Canadian Association of Journalists' national Misinfo101, to spearheading a WHO-funded COVID-19 fact-checking initiative and helping behind the scenes at News Media Canada's Local Journalism Initiative, which has funded approximately 700 journalism jobs across the country.
In addition to journalism, I develop curriculum and teach multimedia storytelling, having created courses for the University of Toronto SCS and classes for Theirworld's 2025 journalism programme. I've also provided communications strategy and content creation for academic institutions, industry associations, and international consulting firms.
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Based in Toronto, Jessica Patterson has worked in media for the past 18 years. She spent more than 10 years as a photographer, and most recently worked in communications, teaching, research and project management roles. A journalist and editor by training, she holds both an undergraduate and Masters degree in journalism.
With a focus on AI, multimedia, and innovation in journalism, Jessica has spent 10 years covering media industry transformation internationally. Her work for Digital Content Next (since 2021), WAN-IFRA (since 2025), FIPP (2015-2019), and The Innovation in News Media World Report (2017-2018) examines AI in newsrooms, business model innovation, and industry analysis. Her work has been shared by Digital Content Next's InContext newsletter, American Press Institute's Need to Know newsletter, FIPP's weekly FIPPWorld newsletter, Bo Sacks "Heard on the Web," J-Source, Media Morning Today, and The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Most recently, Jessica increased her skill set to include teaching and communications, employing her talent for corporate organizations and academic institutions. She has experience with project management in recent years, helping roll out annual reports and strategic communications, newsletters and a national misinformation training series for post-secondary students. There, her job descriptions included everything from project planning and creating website content, to editing curriculum and writing everything from news articles, media relations, to final reports, press releases and social media posts.
As a freelancer, Jessica likes to work on pieces that share best practices and insight in the media industry, and exchange ideas and further amplify and empower female voices in business. She is currently leaning into podcasting and audio storytelling.
Journalist | Editor | Project Manager | Researcher