Rachel Kaufman, freelance writer

Interrogator of gargoyle lovers, frog fondlers, and the eternal optimists saving the news industry

Resumé

Experience

Freelance writer/editor

2007 – Present

  • Write features and news for newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. Notable publication credits:
  • Blog breaking news and career-related features eight times daily, five days a week at MediaJobsDaily.com
  • May 2008-May 2009: Edited and produced “Getting Ahead” for the Washington Post Express, circ. 200,000. Consistently came in under budget. Assigned stories, worked with writers, photographers, and interns to coordinate coverage.
  • Write grant requests, edit blog posts and academic papers; proofread features and news stories.

Washington Post

Washington, DC
Part-time copy aide; Style section
2007 – 2009

  • Manage incoming correspondence (phone, mail, fax) for staff of 70.
  • Pitch ideas to the section; monitor the paper to stay abreast of trends.
  • June 2008-January 2009: Process all invoices, payroll, and expense reports for Style.
    • Implemented new billing system to speed freelance invoice processing time.

Erie Times-News

Erie, PA, circ. 58k
Features intern
2007

  • Reported and wrote long-form features, A1 stories, profiles, news, and product reviews.
  • Proofed pages; wrote captions and headlines .
  • Worked with photographers and page designers to create and locate photos, sound, and artwork.

Royal Media Group

New York, NY
Editorial intern
2006

  • Reported on banking, technology, finance, real estate news.
  • Assisted editors with research.
  • Wrote briefs for Web publication.

The Delphian, Adelphi University student paper

Garden City, NY
Managing Editor:2006–2007

  • Coordinated assignments for staff of 20; selected stories and photos; edited reporters’ copy.
  • Led weekly layout sessions
  • Covered campus news
Layout Editor:2005–2006

  • Led weekly layout sessions; assisted with redesign of paper; worked extensively with Adobe InDesign; trained design team on software.
Staff Writer:2004–2005
  • Covered campus news, self-assigned and wrote profiles, book and movie reviews

Published in:

Washington Post; Washington Post Express; National Geographic News; Smithsonian Magazine; Scientific American; CNNMoney.com, The Onion A/V Club (Washington DC Edition); Washington City Paper; The Alexandria (Va.) Times, Newsday (Long Island, NY); Erie (Pa.) Times-News; Eden Prairie (Minn.) News; Common Ground Magazine; Her Times Magazine; Sparkplugging.com

Seen:

Panelist, National Press Club’s Journalism Bootcamp, May 2nd, 2009.

Panelist, Vocus User Conference “Future Of Media,” June 11, 2010.

Education

Adelphi University Garden City, NY

2003 – 2007: B.A. in English, journalism concentration

Honors/Awards: Adelphi English Honors Society, Quill Award For Excellence In Journalism, Creative Writing Award