The NYT's David Carr on how even big-time writers are trying to develop side Web projects as a hedge against economic turbulence.

An excerpt:

OF all the journalists who wrote obits for the dot-com mania, few did it with the precision and quiet glee of Nina Munk, a former writer for Fortune. “Fools Rush In,” her brick-by-brick demolition of the ill-conceived AOL- Time Warner merger drew raves for its portrait of a company that got a little pixie dust in its eye and promptly lost its head.

It is worth noting that at the same time, Ms. Munk was taking on a tiny AOL of her own. Urbanhound.com was a tidy little enterprise designed to help dog owners and their furry friends make their way through the wilds of New York City. After years of putt-putting along while Ms. Monk had two children, wrote her book, did articles as a contract writer for Vanity Fair and other publications, including The New York Times, urbanhound.com is now expanding to San Francisco and Chicago.

Ms. Munk is a well-paid writer, a job she says that she loves and does not plan on leaving, but her entrepreneurial impulse seems more and more common. With the pages of their own newspapers and magazines full of articles about cutbacks, buyouts and consolidation, some reporters have stared down grim realities of the news business and decided that there may be opportunity amid all the mayhem.

Content may or may not be king, but it’s mighty valuable. Journalists, who know a thing or two about its creation, are beginning to build sites that help them maintain custody of the content and, if all goes well, reap the rewards. Om Malik, a former writer for Business 2.0, has received backing for GigaOM.com, a technology news Web site that has broken a number of stories, and Rafat Ali, the former managing editor of The Silicon Alley Reporter, recently received funding for his company, which publishes PaidContent.org, a site that covers digital media news.

“A lot of journalists are going to have to rethink what they are doing if they are going to survive,” said Mr. Ali. “If you stand back and do nothing, what are you going to do with the rest of your life? The newspaper you are working at could go away and then you won’t have a place to work.”

The article then goes on to make the point that some aspects of the journalist mindset may work against them when it comes to being successful entrepreneurs -- an aversion to hype, risk and selling ads.

If you're thinking about doing it yourself, remember these words from Ms. Munk:

“I think for a business reporter, starting a business is humbling,” she said. “I think you develop a new appreciation for what it takes to manage a huge business. I have become acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business.

“None of these guys have any doubts, and I am filled with self-doubt,” she added. “I’ve learned a lot about how single-minded you have to be.”