But if you want to stay in journalism, you’ll have to change with the times, and that means looking beyond the traditional newsroom walls for different venues in which to practice the reporting trade.

That’s the basic take away from a Webinar called “Now What? Rethinking Your Future” on journalism’s new directions that I listened in on last week. The training session was sponsored by Webbmedia Group, a new media training consultant run by a group of ex-reporters and editors turned Web 2.0 journalism specialists.

During the session, Webbmedia founder Amy Webb and her colleagues presented recently laid-off reporters and other writers – including a few of us long-time freelancers – with a variety of options for continue to pursue old-fashioned journalism in new settings. Without giving out too many of the details – which I promised I wouldn’t, they are running a business after all – here are some of the suggestions for actions ex-newspaper reporters can take presented in the session, along with some of my own observations:

Figure out how what you do best – And what type of work you like the most. That could be writing straight news, arts criticism, computer-assisted research, whatever. Then think about how to do that in a new way.

Team up with other journalists. Form a mini-syndicate writing on a single or related topics with multiple tiers of content, including paid subscriptions for the most in-depth stuff.

Start a blog. Get over whatever hangups you have about blogging, Webb says, it’s just a platform. It’s a way to dip a toe into the water of Web 2.0. Experiment. Write about the same beat you used to cover, or pick a new one. What you write is secondary to learning how to do it, at least at first.

Start a neighborhood news blog. Webb calls them hyper-local Websites, other people call them community blogs or microblogs. These ultra-niche blogs can cover a town, a neighborhood or a particular slice of life in a city or other area. Webb pointed to examples such as Broad Street Review, a Philadelphia arts scene blog edited by Dan Rottenberg. Others: the SealBeachDaily, an online newspaper for the coastal Orange County, California, town, and NewzJunky, a Watertown, NY, town blog started by a local photographer turned community news reporter.

Have fun with numbers. If you’ve done computer-assisted reporting or just geek out over numbers, consider aggregating some kind of public records into a database and using it as the cornerstone of a Website. Charge for access and write related content. Voila, instant business.

Go mobile. “It’s what’s next,” says Webb. Pair up with a developer who knows mobile apps and build a business around travel tips, product reviews or other content that could fit on the screen of an iPhone. One example: GoodGuide, a Website that tracks green products, which has created a special version of its site for the iPhone.

Work for a tech company. Reporters might balk at the suggestion that they go to work for a company – too much like PR. Get over it, Webb says. Pick a company, agency, union or other organization you admire or one that could really use help with its Internet presence. Approach them with suggestions for how they could beef up the information on their Website, user interface, content management platform, etc.

Have a biz plan. Think about what you want to do and how you’ll get there. But since online and digital media trends happen so fast, don’t plan too far into the future. Stay flexible. Keep up on trends by reading pubs like ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch.

Build a network. Use LinkedIn,Twitter and Facebook, but don’t forget to network in person too.

Have your affairs in order. If you’re still gainfully employed in a newsroom congratulations! But just in case, make sure you have copies of your business contacts, clips, etc., in digital form stored somewhere other than your work computer so they’re handy should you need them.

But after years in the business I can honestly say a good public relations rep is a treasure. The true pros make my job easier because they understand what I’m after, quickly find the person or information I need, take it upon themselves to do whatever follow up is necessary, and don’t pester me with follow ups.

So for what it’s worth, here are 10 things a media rep can do to make my life easier:

1. When I call or email, promptly find the appropriate source for the story I’m working on, brief them on the topic and set up an interview time, preferably via email. And remember what time zone I’m in so I don’t get calls to my home office at insane hours of the morning or night.

2. If you must sit in on a phone interview, be invisible. But at the end of the call, note any information the source needed to check on and send it to me as quickly as possible.

3. Don’t assume I want to interview you. I don’t. I want to interview the subject matter expert at your company, organization, agency or school. So don’t be a gatekeeper. In the rare situation where I’m OK with getting my quote from you, I’ll let you know.

4. Be easily accessible by office phone, cell or email should my editor have a question I need an answer to in a hurry. If you’re going to be out of the office, make sure someone is around who can answer my questions.

5. If I need file art for a story, send it to me or directly to the art director of the publication I’m writing the story for, in the appropriate file format.

6. Take it upon yourself to find out when my story runs rather than asking me to send you a link once it’s out. Honestly, I’ll be on deadline on something else by then and won’t remember.

7. Don’t ask to review stories before they’re published. You can’t. I have been known to send sources direct quotes to check for factual accuracy, but that’s the exception not the rule. It’s also why I ask what seems like a zillion very detailed questions during an interview, to make sure I’ve got the information down cold.

8. Feel free to email me press releases and other updates. But don’t follow up with a phone call, and don’t expect to hear back from me unless it just so happens I’m working on something related to the topic. Don’t be surprised if you never hear from me – or if I call six months down the line.

9. Know my publication. If you don’t, get up to speed by reading it online so when you’re pitching stories you understand who my readers are and what aspects of your news are relevant.

10. Accept my LinkedIn invitation so I can add you to my list of contacts there, which I regularly search when I’m looking for story sources. Or feel free to send me an invitation. And if you don’t use LinkedIn or Facebook, learn how.