Media Relations & Journalism

NICOLAS J. STROMAN

[**** W. HEADING AVE., WEST PEORIA, IL 61604] [309-***-****] [********@*******.***]

Objective

Advancing my career by utilizing my education and years of experience in the public relations and journalism fields.

Experience

Media Relations Consultant

September 2007-present, American Cancer Society, Peoria, IL

Building productive relationships with key members of the print, radio and TV outlets in both the Peoria and Quad Cities area by pitching stories and writing press releases on events, programs, and promotions that involve the American Cancer Society.

Creating and hosting media events and securing media sponsorships and partnerships for each fiscal year.

Preparing spokespeople for media interviews and providing monthly reports to ACS staff to advise them of progress, story placement and future opportunities for stories or sponsorships.

Reporter

August 2007-November 2009, TimesNewspapers, Peoria, IL

Wrote feature stories, took photos and covered regular meetings and community events around the central Illinois area for five weekly community newspapers.

Built contacts and used prior media relationships from my television experience to help pitch future story ideas that enhanced the quality and content of the newspapers.

Assignment Editor

July 2006-March 2007, KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA

Generated story ideas for the 10pm and weekend newscasts, monitored police and fire scanner traffic, and checked local newspapers and websites, fax, email, press wires and media contacts for news content we needed to cover that day or in the future.

Assigned stories for the day and kept track of news crews to monitor their progress and make them aware of any breaking news or developments.

Coordinated live shots by scouting locations and booking satellite time for news crews.

Assignment Editor

May 2000-June 2006, WHOI-TV, Creve Coeur, IL

Managed three daily planning/story meetings, generated story ideas, monitored scanner traffic and checked local newspapers and websites, fax, email, press wires and media contacts for news content we needed to cover that day or in the future.

Assigned stories for the day and kept track of news crews to monitor their progress and make them aware of any breaking news or developments.

Wrote stories for the newscasts, checked scripts for content or spelling errors and posted stories on the station website.

Reporter

April 1997-May 2000, The Daily Ledger, Canton, IL

• Wrote feature stories, covered meetings, and took photos to accompany the stories.

• Wrote a weekly opinion column on current world news or events around the Fulton

County area.

• Managed the obituary and markets pages and checked them for errors and proper

layout.

Education

Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL

January 1996-December 1997

Bachelor’s Degree (English-major, Journalism-minor)

University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, IL

August 1995-December 1995

Some college coursework completed

Spoon River College

August 1993-May 1995

Associate’s Degree (English-major, Communications-minor)

Awards

Illinois Press Association, 2009 - First Place Award for Single Story News Reporting

Illinois Press Association, 2009 - Honorable Mention for Feature Writing

References

References are available upon request.

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