Resume
Jessica Alaimo
Phone: (207) 344-4084
Email: jessica.alaimo
gmail.com
Sections
Work Experience
The Star-Times (Fort Branch, Indiana), Editor, May 2009 to Present
- Served as editor of this 3,000 circulation weekly newspaper, reporting on three communities and supervising production, currently working on bringing the paper online.
- Portfolio examples available upon request.
PolitickerME.com - New York Observer Media Group (Maine and New York), Reporter, November 2007 to December 2008
- Ran a Web site on Maine politics averaging 12,000 hits a week. This was part of an 18-state network of sites run by the New York Observer Media Group. I covered politics on all levels, from city council contests to the presidential race. I also did political analysis and took and edited my own audio, photos and video. I attended both national conventions and covered major candidate visits.
- Portfolio Examples: General News Reporting, Issue Stories, Political Analysis, Projects, Campaign Finance Stories, Photography, Videography
The Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine), Reporter, August 2006 to November 2007
- Covered politics, courts and various other stories for this 35,000 circulation family owned newspaper.
- Portfolio Examples
The Hill (Washington, D.C.), intern, Spring 2006
- Interned for this 21,000-circulation Capitol Hill paper, researching and reporting on stories about Congress.
- Portfolio Examples
The Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, Mass.), intern, Summer 2005
- Interned in the news department of this 50,000-circulation Dow Jones paper.
- Portfolio Examples
The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia, Ohio), intern, Summer 2004
- Interned for this 24,000-circulation Copley paper covering one community and general news stories.
- Portfolio Examples
The Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio), correspondent, September 2004 to December 2004
- Worked part time for this 135,000-circulation Knight-Ridder paper as a correspondent covering two communities and general news.
- Portfolio Examples
The Chronicle-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio), intern, December 2004
- Interned for three weeks for this 25,000-circulation independent paper during winter break.
- Portfolio Examples
The Medina Gazette (Medina, Ohio), intern, Summer 2006
- Interned for this 15,000 circulation independent newspaper while looking for a permanent job.
Daily Kent Stater, Kent State University (Kent, Ohio), Fall 2002 to Fall 2005
- I worked my way up through the ranks of this student publication, holding a number of reporting and editing roles.
- Portfolio Examples
Residence Services, Kent State University (Kent, Ohio), resident assistant, Fall 2003 to Fall 2005
- Served as a resident assistant in Humphrey, Leebrick and Korb Halls at Kent State University.
Technical Skills
Modern Field Reporting & Blogging
Digital Photography & Videography
Software
- Adobe InDesign
- QuarkXPress
- Microsoft Word and Excel
- GIMP (Open-source software often used in place of Photoshop)
- Google Picasa
- Audacity (Open-source audio editing)
- Windows Movie Maker
Education
Kent State University (Kent, Ohio)
Newspaper Journalism Major, Political Science Minor
Graduated August 2006.
- Participated in the Washington Program in National Issues in Spring 2006, interning and attending briefings around Washington, D.C.
Community Service
Maine Greyhound Placement Service (Augusta, Maine), March 2007 to present
- Performed general volunteer work with this non-profit group which rescues and places retired racing greyhounds, helping with public relations, the newsletter and kennel turnout.
Awards
SPJ Dateline Awards for Local Excellence in Journalism
Washington, D.C. Chapter
- Placed second in the general news category for a story I wrote on how many 2008 presidential candidates visited the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, which I wrote while I interned for The Hill.
The Hearst Foundation
- Placed second in the spot news category for my coverage of a presidential visit, Spring 2005.
SPJ Mark of Excellence
- Placed first in the spot news category in the regional competition for coverage of the president’s visit to Dover, Spring 2005.
- Placed second in the general news category in the regional competition for coverage of a student’s death on campus, Spring 2004.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or wish to request references.
