Investigative journalist with 9 years of experience covering government, housing and public money for regional newsrooms. A 2024 series on eviction filings prompted a state law change and won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. Brings public records expertise, data reporting and source-driven narrative writing.
Experience
Investigative Reporter, The Valley Ledger (Phoenix, AZ)
Feb 2021 – Present
Reported a 6-part series on 90,000 eviction filings that led to a 2025 state law change
Filed 140 public records requests and analyzed court data in Python and Excel
Produce 2 major investigations and 30 news stories a year across print, web and audio
Mentor 3 early-career reporters on records requests and interview technique
Government Reporter, Sonoran Public Radio (Tucson, AZ)
Jan 2018 – Jan 2021
Covered city council, county budget and state legislature for daily newscasts
Broke a story on $4M in misused grant funds that triggered an audit
Produced 3- to 5-minute features for statewide broadcast
Staff Writer, Desert Sun Weekly (Flagstaff, AZ)
Jun 2016 – Dec 2017
Wrote 5 to 8 stories a week on education, tribal affairs and local business
Photographed and posted stories to social channels
Education
BA, Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University (Aug 2012 – May 2016)
Skills
Reporting: investigative reporting, public records (FOIA), source development, interviewing
Data journalism: Excel, Python (pandas), SQL basics, Datawrapper
Formats: long-form, breaking news, radio features, podcasts
Ethics and law: SPJ Code of Ethics, libel and media law basics
How to write a Journalist resume
A strong Journalist resume shows the work you made, the audiences it reached, and the briefs you delivered on. Put your most relevant recent role first and make every bullet show a result, not a duty.
Sections, in order
Summary
Experience
Projects
Skills
Education
Length: One page for most candidates; move to two only if every line is relevant.
Summary: Write two or three lines: your role, your strongest skills, and one result that proves them.
Skills to feature
Storytelling
Content strategy
Adobe Creative Cloud
Video production
Copywriting and editing
Brand guidelines
Social media
Art direction
Project management
Audience analytics
Example bullet points
Produced a 12-episode video series that reached 4.8M views and grew the channel by 120k subscribers
Art-directed the rebrand across 60 assets, delivered two weeks ahead of the product launch
Edited 300 articles a year as managing editor, raising average time on page by 35%
Tips from recruiters
Link your portfolio or reel in the header; it matters more than any layout choice.
Name clients, publications or brands when you are allowed to.
A more expressive template is fine for creative roles, but keep the text easy to scan.
Recommended templates
Vanguard (ATS-friendly): Bold display name, accent-led headings with line rules
Timeline (ATS-friendly): Clean accent layout with a dated career timeline
Journalist resume FAQ
What should a Journalist resume include?
A Journalist resume should show the work you made, the audiences it reached, and the briefs you delivered on. Use these sections in this order: Summary, Experience, Projects, Skills and Education. Put your most relevant recent role first and make every bullet show a result, not a duty.
What is the best resume template for a Journalist?
Vanguard, Elegant and Timeline work well for Journalist roles. They are single-column with standard headings, so applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse them reliably.
How long should a Journalist resume be?
One page for most candidates; move to two only if every line is relevant.
Which skills should a Journalist put on a resume?
Prioritize the skills named in the job posting. Common ones for Journalist roles are Storytelling, Content strategy, Adobe Creative Cloud, Video production, Copywriting and editing and Brand guidelines.
How do I write strong Journalist resume bullet points?
Start with an action verb, say what you did, and end with a measurable result such as views, engagement rate and audience growth. For example: "Produced a 12-episode video series that reached 4.8M views and grew the channel by 120k subscribers."