Editor Freelance
Resume:
CIRRICULUM VITAE
Samantha Catherine Webb
Private and Confidential
Personal and Contact Information
Tulisa Park
Johannesburg, Gauteng
adl733@r.postjobfree.com or adl733@r.postjobfree.com
South African Citizen
Female
Divorced, one dependant
English, Afrikaans speaking
Good health
Page 2
Education & Training
Education
National Senior Certificate
With Full University Exemption Jeppe High School for Girls, Johannesburg, Gauteng 1986 to 1990
Bachelor of Arts
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg, Gauteng
Credits obtained: English I; English II; Political Studies I; Philosophy I; International Relations I
1992 to 1994
Certificate in Sub-Editing
Institute for the Advancement of Journalism
Johannesburg, Gauteng
1998
Certificate in HTML
Rand Afrikaans University (RAU)
1998
Published Portfolio Work Available on Request
Referees
Patrick Bulger, Assistant Editor News and Production, Sunday Times 011-***-**** adl733@r.postjobfree.com
Juliette Saunders, News Editor TIMESLIVE 078-***-**** adl733@r.postjobfree.com
Dave Chambers, Sunday Times Cape Town Bureau Chief (formerly Independent Newspapers Production Chief) 082-***-**** adl733@r.postjobfree.com
Moses Mudzwiti ENCA 076-***-****
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Senior Sub-Editor (Freelance)
Arena Holdings / Sunday Times
Johannesburg, Gauteng
October 2018 to present
General subbing duties, overseeing pages for the Zimbabwe edition, liaising with journalists. Uploading Sunday Times copy to TimesLIVE.
Senior Sub-Editor (Freelance)
TimesLIVE
Arena Holdings, Johannesburg,
Gauteng
Responsible for editing and fact-checking material for TimesLIVE, Arena Holdings online offering. I contributed reportage to stories around the Xenophobic attacks and violence in Joburg's CBD last year. Also, I made my photographs of Tutuka power station available for use when there were reports of sabotage there late last year.
Senior Sub-Editor (Freelance)
Independent Media
Johannesburg, Gauteng
February 2018 to Present
Independent Media Production Hub (All titles in the Independent Media stable)
Reporting to: Production Chief Renata Ford
Responsibilities: Subbing of news, opinion editorial, leaders, letters, features and entertainment copy across all Independent Newspapers titles, with priority on The Star Africa edition. Writing headlines, captions and blurbs. Applying principles of media law to all copy. Liaising with Production Editors.
SEO Copy Writer (Freelance)
Fly South Africa
Cape Town, Western Cape
February 2018 to June 2018
Writing enticing SEO travel copy for a South African-based travel website.
I focused on specific cities and geographical areas in all nine provinces, and the attractions in these areas. The intended market for this web site was families (most likely upper income parents with two kids under the age of 18, from Europe and the US, as per the brief). Because of the diversity of the travel destinations in South Africa(metropolitan, coastal resort, coastal towns, rural, game reserves, west coast, east coast and so forth), it was important that I gain an understanding of both the market, and the areas of focus in my writing. I had to be versatile, and think outside of the traditional approach to travel writing. Also, I did not want to create flat SEO
copy, but at the same time it had to pass the SEO muster, as it were. I achieved this, and learnt how to write catchy, fresh SEO copy.
Reason for leaving: Website project completed
Chief Sub-Editor
People magazine / CTP Caxton
Johannesburg, Gauteng
May 2013 to June 2015
As Chief Sub-Editor of the title, I had final responsibility for subbing all copy, signing off final PDFs to print, writing headlines, captions and blurbs. Rewriting copy. Traffic control. Writing features. Assisting the Digital Editor with copy for the magazine's social media feed. I also took on the responsibility of writing original copy with a news slant on the magazine's market and general tabloid style. I focused on sometimes shocking, or offbeat subjects, including a human interest feature on an old age home for elderly sex workers in Mexico; a human interest feature on an international organisation which has had phenomenal success in de-mining operations in Angola, Mozambique and Vietnam by training the giant African Pouched Rat to sniff out the land mines in the field, and, in a news feature story, some shocking truths about the international black trade in organs, among others. I was compensated for these stories at a per word rate, over my salary as Chief Sub-Editor. Reason for
leaving: Hospitalisation / Illness
Senior Sub-Editor (Freelance)
Independent Newspapers Limited
Johannesburg, Gauteng
May 2012 to October 2013
Independent Production (All titles in the Independent Newspapers Limited stable)
Reporting to: National Chief Production Editor Dave Chambers
Responsibilities: Subbing of news, opinion editorial, leaders, letters, features and entertainment copy across all Independent Newspapers titles, with priority on The Star Africa edition. Rewriting and/or re-angling news and feature copy. Applying principles of media law to copy. Writing headlines, captions and blurbs. Liaising with news editors, reporters and revise sub-editors.
Reason for leaving: Permanent job opportunity
Rewriter, Senior Sub-Editor
Daily Sun / Media24
Auckland Park, Gauteng
January 2009 to June 2011
Responsibilities: Initially subbing of all copy, captions, headlines and blurbs to Daily Sun's tabloid style. Later I joined the Daily Sun's senior editorial team when I was appointed rewriter. Rewriting stories for Daily Sun involves completely reworking copy generated by Daily Sun stringers, based all over the country, and Johannesburg-based reporters. The challenge in this is the reworking and re-angling of news stories specifically to Daily Sun's unique South African tabloid style. As part of the senior editorial team I took part in twice-daily news conferences where potential news and feature stories were discussed, assessed for news
value, and fact checked by the entire senior team. Hinging upon that process stories were either used in the day's edition or discarded. I valued my time at the Daily Sun in that I received an understanding of the culture, needs and wants of working-to-middle class black South Africans (LSM 4-10 or 'the man in the blue overall'), and learnt the highly successful tabloid style writing pioneered by Deon du Plessis.
Reason for leaving: Media24 and I agreed to end the working relationship amicably.
Editor
Highveld Living magazine
Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
February 2007 to December 2008
Responsibilities: Initially a freelance features writer and photographer for this glossy regional lifestyle magazine which was distributed in the (rough) geographical area from Dullstroom in the north to Wakkerstroom in the east, Cullinan in the west and as far as Vrede in the south. I was later invited by Homegrown magazines Publisher Justin Arenstein and Editor in Chief Fiona Macleod to join the title full time as Editor in July 2007. Working from my home office in Standerton, and liaising closely with head office in Nelspruit, I was responsible for Highveld Living editorial planning; commissioning feature stories; liaising with freelance journalists and
photographers; writing and photographing features; attending press conferences and media junkets, managing editorial production -- including sub-editing of all stories and final proof reading of pages. I also undertook marketing and promotion of the magazine, at regional lifestyle expos and a hosting a monthly function, Monday Night Vibes with Highveld Living, at the Highveld Mall in Middelburg. During this time my feature stories were
syndicated via African Eye News Service (AENS news wire) and published nationally by Drum magazine and News24, among others. Highveld Living was part of a stable of four regionally-focused glossy lifestyle magazines -- Lowveld Living, Highveld Living, Limpopo Living and Midlands Life, published by Homegrown Magazines. Sadly the Highveld Living title was shelved by Homegrown due to a lack of ad revenue. I continued with the company as a freelance writer (Capital magazine, a business/news focused glossy) as well as a
freelance news reporter for AENS, an award-winning news wire service, also published by Justin Arenstein, and partner Sharon Hammond. In all my time with Homegrown and AENS stretched from February 2007, while I was still Editor of Mpumalanga Highveld Get It magazine, to December 2008.
Reason for leaving: Magazine title closed
Editor
CTP Caxton Publishers
Middelburg, Mpumalanga
February 2006 to June 2007
Reporting to: Caxton Middelburg Regional Manager William Zwart
Responsibilities: Launching Get It, a community-based magazine with content focused on people and lifestyle in the Ermelo / Standerton / Secunda region. Planning all editorial content; conducting research and identifying potential stories, identifying the magazine’s market and assuring content would appeal to that market, all
writing and sub-editing; all photography. Working closely with the Art, Design and Layout team, in Secunda and Editorial Director Marilyn Hattingh in Johannesburg. Also working with Editors of regional Caxton newspapers in researching possible editorial.
Reason for leaving: Improved career prospects
Homemaker
Sabbatical / Relocated with my family to Mpumalanga province
Standerton, Mpumalanga
September 2005 to February 2006
My partner and I moved to Mpumalanga for improved career prospects (his), and I was able to take the time off to focus on my young daughter. In this time I added to my family with the birth of my son.
Sub-Editor (Freelance)
Sowetan / New Africa Publications
Johannesburg, Gauteng
2003 to 2005
Reporting to: Chief Sub-Editor (Night) Euphony Lekgae, News Editor (Night) Moses Mudzwiti
Responsibilities: Subbing and/or re-writing news and feature stories. Liaising with reporters and layout subeditors. Writing headlines, captions and blurbs.
Reason for leaving: Relocation to Mpumalanga with my family
Senior Sub-Editor (Contract)
Drum
Media24 Magazines
Sandown, Gauteng
2004 to 2005
Reporting to: Acting Publisher Alice Bell
Responsibilities: Subbing, cutting and rewriting copy; features writing. Writing headlines, captions and blurbs. Co-ordinating production traffic between Johannesburg and the Art team in Cape Town.Co-ordinating production traffic between the Zulu edition translators and the Art department in Cape Town. Mentoring junior reporters.
Reason for leaving: Contract completed
News Reporter (Freelance)
The South African Press Association (Sapa)
Johannesburg, Gauteng
2003 to 2004
Reporting to: News Editor Russel Norton
Responsibilities: Reporting on daily crime and courts; Daily news round-up; reporting breaking national news stories; following up on running national stories; attending media briefings, press conferences and media junkets.
Reason for leaving: Contract position at a magazine.
Senior Copy Editor
Marie Claire magazine / CTP Caxton
Johannesburg, Gauteng
2001 to 2002
Reporting to: Editor Pnina Fenster
Responsibilities: Subbing all Marie Claire copy; reworking international buy-in copy to increase its relevance to the South African market; writing feature stories; editing the letters page; subbing copy on all special projects and supplements. Attending functions and media briefings.
Reason for Leaving: Freelance opportunities
Content Writer (Web), Sub-Editor (Web), Health News Editor (Web), Translator (Web)
News24.co.za
Johannesburg, Gauteng
1998 to 2001
Reporting to: News24 Publisher Arrie Roussow, later Gallie van Rensburg
Responsibilities: Subbing; fact checking; photo editing; reporting national and international breaking news; editing health news content. Writing headlines, captions and blurbs, which must be specifically angled in style, tone and length for the Internet as a medium; Translating Afrikaans copy into English from Media24 sister publications, Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad, again geared for News24 in style, tone and length.
Conceptualising, researching and writing feature stories. Directing staff photographer. Writing and/or collaborating on April Fool's Day stories. Subbing News24 marketing and promotional material. Representing News24 at functions and media briefings.
Reason for leaving: News24 relocated to Cape Town for strategic purposes. Johannesburg editorial staff
retrenched.
Features Writer
Martin Creamer’s Engineering News and Mining Weekly
Johannesburg, Gauteng
1996 to 1997
Reporting to: Editor and Publisher Martin Creamer
Responsibilities: Compiling in-depth surveys on industry in South Africa. Researching specific industrial sectors, news gathering, interviewing major role players in both the private sector and the government, reporting news stories, writing feature stories. Directing staff photographer. Liaising with layout subs and production editor. Signing off final pages for print. Representing the publication at functions and media briefings.
Reason for leaving: Improved career opportunities
Copy Writer
The Holding Company
1994 to 1996
Reporting to: Production Manager Lindie Viljoen
Responsibilities: Briefing clients; conceptualising and copywriting; liaising with client until final script approval; directing professional voice-over artistes in studio; co-ordinating production flow. Collaborating on radio scripts for clients, including the-then Northern Transvaal Cricket Union and Hyundai. Representing the company at
functions.
Reason for leaving: Improved career opportunities
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