Creative Loafing

Online Producer, Creative Loafing Atlanta

March 2008 – January 2011

Managed CMS upgrade and redesign of Creative Loafing Atlanta website (June 2010)

  • Coordinated with design team, providing multiple wire-frames with extensive documentation.
  • Coordinated development of site with contracted developers.
  • Developed templates and CSS stylesheets for new site.
  • Managed integration of social networking elements (Facebook widgets, Twitter widgets, etc.)
  • Managed newsletter development and deployment .

Served on 4-person Editorial Leadership team, which helped Creative Loafing Atlanta emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy (October 2009)

  • Participate in budget planning meetings with publisher, sales director, marketing director, and distribution director.
  • Propose digital, mobile and interactive strategies for CL Atlanta’s 2010 strategic plan
  • Direct CL Atlanta’s online initiatives and manage CL Atlanta’s online staff

Direct the transformation of CL Atlanta’s website from a weekly publishing cycle to a daily publishing cycle (April 2009)

  • Code proposed design in HTML/CSS.
  • Build modules to accommodate special packages of content.
  • Rebuild section portals to accommodate daily publishing by incorporating custom database queries as well as blog feed integration.
  • Manage content publishing schedule in coordination with section editors.
  • Coordinate creation of new blogs for editorial.

Overall Tasks and Responsibilities

Manage content publishing and deployment

  • Coordinate with online media assistant in production of content.
  • Deploy special sections and packages with customized layouts and configurations.
  • Coordinate with section editors, managing editors, and editor-in-chief in production of special issues.
  • Manage daily production of stories, blog posts, audio podcasts, and videos.

Enforce implementation of web standards and protocols

  • Educate staff on issues pertaining to web publishing (etiquette, copyright, W3 standards).

Develop library of modules for content presentation on the various content portals on CL’s website

  • Code widgets and components using EV HTML language, XHTML and CSS.

Manage web analytics reports

  • Examine weekly and monthly audience reports from various sources (Google Analytics, Quantcast, Facebook analytics, YouTube Analytics, Clicky Analytics).

Manage implementation of social networking strategies

  • Increase participation of Creative Loafing Atlanta in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Vimeo.
  • Research emerging social networks where CL’s content might have an audience (Tumbler, StumbleUpon, Gowalla, FourSquare).

Produce original content for Creative Loafing Atlanta website

  • Write original articles, blog posts and reviews.
  • Produce and edit audio for audio-slideshow presentations
  • Produce, direct, and edit web videos

Coordinate online marketing efforts

  • Launch segmented newsletter campaigns.
  • Design and code newsletter templates.
  • Coordinate and strategize newsletter programs

Online Producer, Creative Loafing Media

January 2006-March 2008

  • Prepare and execute production of the family of websites in the (now defunct) CL Media network.
  • Brainstorm ways to present special content ( BMF: Hip Hop’s shadowy empire, by Mara Shalhoup; this story won first place in the 2007 AltWeekly Awards for Website Content Feature, category 60k+ circulation).
  • Produce multimedia audio slide shows, podcasts, and image galleries as online added bonus editorial content.
  • Prepare promotional and editorial pages using search engine optimization techniques.
  • Managed production, implementation, and publication of the editorial blogs using the WordPress MU Content Management System.
  • Created original content, such as articles, lists, graphics and photographs.
  • Contributed writing and reporting for News/Music departments as well as contributing photographer.