MICHAEL E. ROSS
michaeler@gmail.com | MichER3236@hotmail.com
Infographic CV
Twitter: Michael_E_Ross | LinkedIn public profile (w/ references)
Infographic CV
Twitter: Michael_E_Ross | LinkedIn public profile (w/ references)
A position leveraging extensive experience in news content editing and production at a major news Web site, portal or online entity with customer-facing content.
SUMMARY
Extensive experience in: Web 2.0 publishing in a variety of news- and feature-related roles, including 10+ years in dynamic online editorial environments with emphasis on editing breaking news and writing news and feature content; external partner relationships; managing freelancers and editing their work; management of page digests; weblog evaluation for hyperlocal and interactive journalism; opinion sampling via live votes and message boards; and the multitasking required at a daily breaking news operation. An early adopter of personal technology, search and social media. Strong news judgment, headline writing skills and command of editorial best practices; a talent for content packaging and image selection; and a solid, experience-based grasp of blogger culture.
BIOGRAPHICAL
October 2012 - November 2012:
News editor, MSN News.
Performed wire content selection, daily editing, headline writing and page production for the news division of the MSN portal, on a redesigned news delivery platform that mirrors the tile-based user interface of the Windows 8 operating system. (Short-term position)
April 2011 - June 2012:
Producer, MSN Local Edition.
• Generated and co-developed overall creative plan for product media for this vertical of the Microsoft portal;
• Wrote media specifications and provide content development, editorial and esthetic direction; co-manage daily content publishing to ensure the strategic vision for the channel met business objectives;
• Worked with freelance writers, content and production teams, marketing and other stakeholders to increase site usage;
• Wrote content and sized and selected images for rotating hub page modules in an advertorial project with Gillette.
February 2011 - April 2011:
Writer, MSN Weekend Guide and MSN Postbox.
Wrote entertainment digest items for Weekend Guide, distilling a cross-section of pop culture, entertainment and sports events into digest form. Assist in moderating content for Postbox, MSN’s evolving UGC venture now in soft launch.
November 2010 - present:
Hyperlocal blog evaluation, MSN Local Edition.
Provided human assessment of hundreds of weblogs for integration into the Local Edition vertical, and map and mobile applications for the Bing search engine; helps deepen Microsoft online properties’ hyperlocal coverage in suburban and intra-urban neighborhoods and communities.
December 2009 – January 2010:
News editor and producer, MSN Entertainment (contract).
• Monitored wire story flow for the portal’s various Entertainment verticals, including Music, Movies and Television, editing work using proprietary MSN publishing tools
• Supported the Home Page team with recommendations of Entertainment-vertical content for HP placement
• Selected and sized photographs for placement in the daily Entertainment report
March 2009 – November 2010:
Contributor, MSN City Guides.
• Wrote a variety of news-related feature stories for the City Guides and Local Edition verticals, including “best of” content focusing on events in selected U.S. cities.
July 2008 - March 2009:
Editor and producer, MSN City Guides (contract).
• Edited stories from freelancers for the City Guides vertical (targeted entertainment and features content) in a proprietary content management system;
• Performed a range of writing assignments, general editing and production, including photo selection and captions;
• Assisted in Web page design; and liaised with three high-profile external editorial partners at the Microsoft Web portal attracting 465 million unique users a month.
June 2007 - December 2007:
Editorial development editor, TripSketch.
- Line-edited content by freelance travel writers in Europe and Asia;
- Consulted with managers on possible news-editorial strategies, and maintaining contact with writers on various revisions of content for this Palo Alto, Calif.-based travel services startup Web site.
April 2001 – June 2007:
News editor, producer and reporter, MSNBC.com.
- Edited Associated Press, Reuters and other content providers for publication on the site, through a proprietary content management system;
- Reworked raw scripts from NBC News correspondents into narrative stories for publication in various site verticals; supervised edits of NBC News videos;
- Frequently wrote original stories for politics, entertainment and U.S. news verticals;
- Monitored readership of stories and message boards;
- Acted as editor and user-content moderator of a site vertical on race and ethnicity in the United States, and took full ownership of the channel’s rebranding to reflect the evolving national diversity; vertical's page views increased by 20 percent on my watch
- Acted periodically as Sunday business editor, editing and publishing wire features and news stories anticipating market activity for the week ahead;
- Contributed generally to the accuracy, tone and style of headlines and content on the home page of the site, the flagship of NBC News’ online presence, during a period in which monthly unique users increased from a base of 10 million in 2001 to almost 30 million in 2007.
March 2000 - August 2000:
News & Lifestyles Editor, Volume.com.
- Developed editorial strategies for the site, including content syndication relationships;
- Hired freelance writers and coordinated their assignments, and helped manage departmental budget;
- Developed a company-wide stylebook, participated in employee evaluations and supervision of daily editorial meetings, and copy edited for this entertainment and lifestyle site started by Home Box Office.
Senior editor for BET Weekend Magazine.
- Was the magazine's film and television editor;
- Edited freelancers’ writing and consulted with them on their work;
- Wrote a regular column on movies;
- Generally contributed to the voice and tone of the magazine, a Washington, D.C.-based publishing entity of Black Entertainment Television distributed nationally in newspapers.
Assistant editor, Newsday.
Edited columns and feature stories on science and technology, with minor concentration on the arts and entertainment, for the features department of Newsday, a newspaper serving Long Island, and the New York metropolitan area.
September 1997 - January 1998:
Online copy editor, Wired Digital.
Edited columns and features on the interaction of technology, commerce and culture for the online news division of Wired magazine.
May 1996 - September 1997:
Copy editor and acting entertainment editor, San Jose Mercury News.
- Edited staff and wire stories spanning lifestyle, entertainment and human interest;
- Wrote essays and occasional thumbnail and feature reviews for books-in-brief section in the Sunday Arts supplement;
- As acting entertainment editor, selected and edited staff and wire content for a 6X-weekly entertainment page;
- Wrote “The E-Files,” a weekly best-bets collection of events for the week ahead;
- Made art and headline selection for the cover of the Sunday television supplement;
- Monitored story budgets for entertainment and lifestyle sections.
May 1993 - April 1996:
Copy editor, The New York Times.
- Performed as rim editor on the culture copy desk;
- Edited staff and wire copy for the metropolitan and Sunday Styles desks, working on stories on police, City Hall, regional government, trends and lifestyles.
TECHNOLOGY
Proficient with Windows and Macintosh operating systems; Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox and Chrome browsers, and various blogging platforms and content management systems; Outlook and Word; working knowledge of Photoshop Elements 10, PowerPoint, CSS, XML and basic HTML.
EDUCATION
- Attended School of Journalism & Mass Communications, University of Colorado at Boulder. Took non-major courses at the university's Denver campus.
- Received Bachelor of Science degree, Journalism, University of Colorado at Boulder.
- Adjunct professor of journalism, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 1994. Performed intensive classroom interaction with students, in-class assessment of their performance, graded assignments, and counseled with students to evaluate their progress. Students included Maria Sanminiatelli of The Associated Press, and C.J. Chivers, foreign correspondent for The New York Times.
- Hearst Fellow, University of Colorado School of Journalism & Mass Communications, spring 2005. As a visiting lecturer, spoke with graduating seniors on careers in journalism, the special challenges of online journalism, and the evolution of msnbc.com as a news organization.
PUBLICATIONS
- Have written news stories, reviews and commentary for msnbc.com, The New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Salon, Entertainment Weekly, PopMatters, The Root, TheGrio, Jazziz, San Francisco Chronicle, The Hollywood Reporter, Vibe, Wired, People, Newsday, Mother Jones, Essence, Emerge, Time Out New York and other publications.
- My writing has been anthologized in MultiAmerica (Viking, 1997), a collection of essays on ethnicity and American identity; and Soul Food (Hyperion, 2000), a motivational anthology.
- Published Flagpole Days, a novel (2003); Interesting Times, a collection of essays and nonfiction (2004); and American Bandwidth, a book of blog posts and essays spanning the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections (October 2009).
- Currently publish two weblogs of original and repurposed wire content: Short Sharp Shock. (politics and current affairs) and Culcha (pop culture and entertainment).
- Have traveled in England, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands and Morocco [U.S. passport valid through September 2017];
- Trivia buff, amateur photographer and amateur guitarist;
- Passionate interest in music, blogging, literature and film; consumer technology, bodybuilding and the fortunes of the American League East.
