Freelance Writer Technical

ANNE RUNKLE

***** ******** ******* *****, ***. C312, Westland, MI 48185

734-***-**** **********@*****.*** [Type your website]

CAREER SUMMARY

Award-winning writer with experience in:

Reporting and writing for community and international media sources

Healthcare reporting and writing

Website and social media management

Public relations

Marketing and sales

Technical writing

EXPERIENCE

FREELANCE WRITER: Bsharah Public Relations; Royal Oak, Mich.; September 2021-Present

Prepared press releases and assisted with social media postings for public relations firm representing municipalities, trade organizations and more.

MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST: MediaNews Group/The Oakland Press/The News-Herald; August 2013-August 2021; Pontiac, Mich., Southgate, Mich.

Researched and wrote news and feature stories for The Oakland Press, one of the largest daily newspapers in the state.

Covered education for all of Oakland County; covered police, municipal governments and more for 10 cities. Produced photos, photo stories and videos to go with stories.

Managed social media and website for The News-Herald, a biweekly newspaper covering the Downriver suburbs of Detroit.

SALES AND MARKETING AGENT: Aflac (American Family Life Assurance Co.); Columbus, Ga (Worked out of Ann Arbor, Mich. office); 2009-2013

Business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales agent for supplemental insurance company.

Sold voluntary employee benefits to small business owners and human resource directors. After successfully selling Aflac to these decision-makers, was responsible for also selling it to individual employees.

Wrote proposals on the advantages of adding Aflac to employee benefit plans at no cost to the company.

Successfully completed numerous sales and networking courses; held leadership positions in several networking organizations.

Won weekly and monthly awards for number of contacts made or sales completed.

FREELANCE WRITER: 2002-2008

Regularly wrote for the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, occasionally wrote for other publications

Generated my own story ideas

TECHNICAL WRITER/EDITOR: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Detroit, Mich.; 1998-2001

Wrote and edited technical manuals that clarified complicated procedures for medical billers outside the company, wrote newsletter updates to manuals

Developed survey and focus groups to gauge usefulness of publications

FREELANCE WRITER/EDITOR: United Press International; Southfield, Mich.; 1995-1998

Wrote and edited Detroit-based stories for international wire service clients.

Broke story on Windsor man who committed suicide with Jack Kevorkian’s help

REPORTER: Dearborn Press & Guide; Dearborn, Mich.; 1987-1995

Wrote news, features and editorials.

First reporter on scene of Dearborn Post Office shooting

AWARDS

First Place in education reporting for a series of articles on how schools were affected by pandemic -- Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit Chapter, Excellence in Journalism contest, 2020

Second Place in feature writing: “When it comes to Hoarding Toilet Paper, We’re not that Different from Squirrels,” Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit Chapter, Excellence in Journalism contest, 2020

First Place in feature writing, team project on homelessness in Downriver area, Society of Professional Journalists, Detroit Chapter, Excellence in Journalism contest, 2015

Honorable Mention in government reporting for a series of stories on emergency manager in Lincoln Park, Mich., Michigan Press Association, 2015. Judges’ comments: Strong and comprehensive presentation broken down into easy chunks for comprehension. The writer does not get bogged down in unnecessary detail. Nice touch providing direct access to original document of consent agreement.”

Second Place in news reporting for a series of stories on airplane noise, Michigan Press Association Better Newspapers contest. Series required original research; counted planes flying over various neighborhoods at varying times of day.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of arts, journalism – Oakland University, Rochester, Mich., 1987

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