Professional Experience
I'm a passionate reporter with the ability to cultivate unique story ideas and put in the work to execute them. I've investigated excessive government spending, written crime features and crafted in-depth profiles, often juggling multiple projects at once while working under tight deadlines.
Expertise
Reporter
5 Years
Photographer
2 Years
Writer
5 Years
Specialty
Government
4 Years
Politics
3 Years
Crime
2 Years
Industries
Newspaper - Local/Regional
1 Year
Newspaper - Community
2 Years
Online/new media
5 Years
Total Media Industry Experience
5 Years
Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)
McGraw-Hill Education (1-2)
Other Work History
Southampton Press (Southampton, N.Y.) June 2013 to present: Staff writer and photographer, I write features and cover topics such as: crime; town, county and Congressional campaigns; education; government; and land use.
Capital News Service (Lansing, Mich.) Jan. to May 2013: State capital correspondent, I pitched and wrote stories on various public policy and governmental affairs issues including the state prison system, health care and fracking.
Hearst Newspapers (Washington, D.C.) Sept. to Dec. 2012: Contributed to political blog, covering Texas and New York politics. Also wrote stories for the Hearst wire service, focusing on campaigns and campaign financing.
MLive Media Group (Saginaw, Mich.) May. to Aug. 2012: Coverage included community events, business, local elections and breaking news.
The State News (East Lansing, Mich.) Aug. 2010 to May 2013: Covered university affairs, localized state and national politics, worked the cops and courts beat and wrote various features.
Technical Skills
Photography, video, video editing, Avid, Final Cut, iMovie, photo editing, Photoshop, writing, editing, interviewing, proficient in AP style.
Computer Skills
Word, Excel, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InCopy, Apple iOS, Apple OS X, Microsoft Windows, WordPress, WoodWing Content Station.
Equipment
Canon Rebel T3i DSLR, Apple MacBook Pro, Adobe InDesign CS5.5, Adobe Photoshop CS5.5, Adobe Illustrator CS5.5, iMovie, iPhone 5.
References
Omar Sofradzjia
Advisor, The State News
517 432-3009
omars@msu.edu
David McCumber
Washington Bureau Chief, Hearst
202 263-6521
david.mccumber@hearstdc.com
Gary Martin
Editor, San Antonio Express News
garymartindc@gmail.com
210 250-3328
Awards
2013-14 New York State Press Association Rookie of the Year, third place.
2013-14 New York State Press Association Spot News Coverage, honorable mention.
2013 Michigan State University Milliman Scholarship recipient.
2011 National Story of the Year, second place feature category, Associate Collegiate Press — "The Hard Road Home," April 14, 2011.
2011-12 Story of the Year finalist for deadline news, The State News Alumni Association —
"Hundreds Gather to Speak Out Against String of Racist On-Campus Incidents," Oct. 4, 2011.
2011-12 Story of the Year finalist for feature story, The State News Alumni Association — "Seeking Refuge," Sept. 30, 2011.
2010-11 Story of the Year finalist for opinion writing, The State News Alumni Association — "Without Detroit, Michigan will Fail," Nov. 11, 2011.
Associations
New York Press Association