Sona Charaipotra

New York, NY USA
Contact

Professional Experience

A fulltime freelance writer and editor with more than a decade's experience in print and online. Published in print and online publications including the NY Times, American Way, MSN, People, MTV.com, ABCNews.com, Daily Beast, The Knot, Modern Bride, iVillage, CafeMom and others. Regular blogger for MSN and CafeMom. Portfolio can be found at http://www.SonaCharaipotra.com. Formerly senior entertainment editor at Teen People, where I assigned and edited film and TV coverage, and wrote larger features. Before that, for six years, I was a reporter at People magazine, covering music, film, and television. I can turn copy around on super-tight deadlines and am an excellent ideas person and multi-tasker. I also have three years experience assigning and editing celeb advertorial and PR bios. Experienced in covering celebrities, film, TV, music and the South Asian Diaspora.

Expertise

Editor
4 Years
Reporter
10 Years
Writer
10 Years

Specialty

Entertainment
10 Years
Travel
1 Year
Other, Specify
3 Years

Industries


Mainstream Feature Film
3 Years
Magazine - Large Consumer/National magazines
8 Years
Other
3 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

10 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Teen Magazines (TeenPeople, M, QuizFest, YM) (10+), People (10+), CafeMom (10+), Teen People (10+), American Way (10+), MSN (10+), Modern Bride (3-5)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

People Marketing Advertorial (10+), RoadRunner Records (Press Kit Bios) (1-2), Capitol Records (Press Kit Bios) (1-2)

Other Work History

Agented Screenwriter; Five years experience in research and fact-checking at a major national weekly magazine.

Foreign Language Skills

Fluent in Hindi, proficient in Spanish

Unions

Time Inc. Newspaper Guild

Computer Skills

Microsoft Office, CMS skills, content management systems, Omniture, InCopy, Quark CopyDesk, MAC OS 10, Windows XP

Equipment

Laptop, digital camera, HD video camera, audio recorder, kickass Rolodex

Work Permits & Visas

10 Year Valid Visa for India

References

-Liz McNeil, NY Bureau Chief, People -Ericka Souter, Writer, Us Weekly -Jessica Jones, Associate Editor, American Way

Associations

-South Asian Journalists Association, Member, 1999- Present; Board Member, 1999-2003 -Asian American Journalists Association, Member, 1999-Present -Phi Beta Kappa -ASME Intern Program Alumni, 1998 (PEOPLE) -Golden Key

Showcase

Online

People.com Q&A with Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba. Password is People.
People.com Q&A with Scarlett Johannson
Interview with Peter Sarsgaard pegged to Kinsey.

REVIEWS

Music Reviews from the Picks & Pans section of PEOPLE, culled from a period of time when I served as one of the in-house music critics.

Reporting & Writing

A interview-based item for Inside TV's news section on the new WB hit Supernatural.

TRAVEL

A charticle breaking down the current crop of honeymoon registries--so Modern Brides can choose the one that works best for them!

PROFILES

One-page PEOPLE feature introducing the actress Julia Roberts dubbed the "most beautiful woman in the world."