Background

I’ve worked in news for 34 years and it’s time for a change. I am a seasoned journalist who works under very, very extreme deadlines. They come down to seconds. Each day, I create clear and effective communications. I have a lot of experience. I’ve spent 27 years writing for television newscasts at KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, the #2 media market in the nation. I also have 7 years of reporting experience in radio and television. Markets include San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield and Los Angeles. I understand media relations, public relations, public affairs, crisis communications, corporate communications, and the importance of being "on message", whether it's to internal or external audiences. Public relations people contact my TV station looking for coverage. Corporations and foundations are also aware of the sensitive nature of "spin" and message. I write for external audiences every day—the millions of viewers who watch our newscasts. The stories must be accurate and conversational for anchors who often read copy live and cold on the air. The pressure is intense. Sometimes my deadline is less than two minutes until the story airs. I frequently have to write copy and edit video for a story that airs in 10 minutes or less. A few weeks ago, I was writing a breaking news story and saved the final draft 20 seconds before the anchor read it! Working independently but also as a team with other newsroom staffers (producers, editors, cameramen, reporters, graphic artists, assignment editors) is key to getting a successful newscast on the air. All of this intense work is done for 8 hours non-stop, for 6 hours of morning newscasts. I am often given complex stories—whether it’s the California budget, a new health study, immigration reform, or cuts to local schools. It’s my job to take the story and write it for air in a conversational style that viewers understand.

Job experience

• August 1997 - present
  Newswriter
  KTLA-TV
  

  Los Angeles, CA, USA

  I have worked in news for 34 years and it's time for a change. Each day, I write clear and effective copy. I am a seasoned journalist. My deadlines come down to seconds.
  
  Currently, I work non-stop for 8 hours in the middle of the night, starting at 1:30 a.m. at KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, the #2 media market in the nation. I have been there full time for 27 years.
  
  I have seven years of reporting experience for TV and radio. Markets include San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Los Angeles.
  
  The newsroom is an intense and competitive pressure cooker where multi-tasking in a 2-5 minute window is the norm. I must write copy, make sure it is updated with the latest breaking news details, edit video, and coordinate this information with reporters, producers, directors and assignment desk editors, all in a matter of minutes.
  
  The anchors read my copy live and cold on the air before millions of Southern California viewers. it must be accurate and conversational. When a big story breaks, whether it is violent anti-American protests targeting U.S. embassies in the Middle East...the arrest of a murder suspect in Los Angeles...the end of a police pursuit...a house fire...or a pot bust… when there is a breaking story that needs to be written and video must be edited--all in a few minutes--our producers turn to me. I also create on-air graphics for news stories.
  
  Working independently but also as a team with other newsroom staffers (producers, editors, cameramen, reporters, graphic artists, assignment editors) is key to getting a successful newscast on the air. All of this intense work is done for 8 hours non-stop, for 7 hours of morning newscasts.
  
  I understand how media works, how a message gets "spun" by public relations people. My TV station gets 1,000 press releases each week. Most of the news events/press conferences never make it on the air. When they do, the coverage is usually 20 seconds. It’s my job to take a press release and write the message as a story for our viewers in a concise, conversational and fair manner. Video must also be edited. And, I have just a few minutes to do this.
  
  

• October 2002 - December 2004
  Reporter
  KBAK-TV
  

  Bakersfield, CA, USA

  I worked seven days a week, two jobs in two different cities. This time I worked in the Bakersfield market as a reporter while working in LA Monday through Friday as a writer at my TV station, starting at 1:30 a.m. My commute was four hours roundtrip, every Saturday and Sunday to work at the CBS/FOX affiliates.
  I covered breaking news as well as scheduled press conferences. I did the interviews, logged the video, wrote the story and went on the air with the story of the day. I also wrote stories on other events that our station covered. My stories aired on the 5pm and 10pm newscasts.
  
  

• August 1996 - August 1997
  Assignment Editor/Writer
  kGET-TV
  

  Bakersfield, CA, USA

  This job was also weekends in Bakersfield but instead of commuting four hours round trip between LA and Bakersfield, it was four hours round trip between Fresno and Bakersfield. I worked on the Assignment Desk at the NBC affiliate, researching stories, dispatching reporters and cameramen to breaking news as well as press conferences. I also was an Associate Producer, helping write stories for the 5pm and 11 pm newscasts, and pitching story ideas as well. And, I wrote, produced and anchored the cut-ins for CNN Headline News.

• December 1995 - August 1997
  Reporter
  KMJ-AM
  

  Fresno, CA, USA

  This was my Monday through Friday job in Fresno. I was a radio news reporter, doing multiple live reports from the field, whether it was breaking news, such as a protest, or a city council budget meeting. My deadline was tight, the story had to be accurate and well-written, fair and balanced, and on the air in just minutes. This intense work schedule was throughout the day. Other times, I was in studio doing live reports and writing stories and editing sound for our radio anchors.

• September 1994 - October 1995
  Reporter
  KMPH Newsradio
  

  Fresno, CA, USA

  
  I also reported for radio, covering breaking news as it happened as well as scheduled news conferences. I had to write three versions of each story. One was live on the air, and the other two were filed with new sound, and new angles. I would arrive at one location and write the third version of a story from the press conference I was just at 20 minutes ago. After filing the last report, I would go to the current press conference and begin working on that story, sometimes leaving early to get the story on the air first. It was common for me to attend a court hearing on a high profile murder case at 8 am, be at a 10 am news conference at the City Hall, be sent to a breaking news house fire at noon, a deadly drive-by shooting at 2pm and over to police headquarters for a 4 pm news conference. By the end of the day, I would have written more than 20 stories without any breaks. The radio station’s slogan was “all news, all the time.”
  
  
  

Education

• Cal State Northridge
  BA
  

  1986 - 1990