Digital Man

Looking for Talent? Meet the TBD Staff (Part 2)

I launched this blog a few days go by talking up some of the TBD folks who are looking for work after the announcement of significant layoffs at the site this week. That post covered TBD's social media and community management staffers. Today, wanted to talk about some of the reporters, editors and a photographer who are also likely in the job market.

To repeat the caveat from Part 1: No one at TBD asked to be mentioned in these posts, so the fact they're listed doesn't mean they're looking to leave, as there are some new positions these folks are eligible to apply for. But if I was a betting man...

So I'm proud to introduce some more TBD staffers who would be great additions to any newsroom, especially newsrooms with their vision firmly fixed on the future.

Julie Westfall, editor
Julie is the the front-line editor of TBD's breaking news operation, and since that's such a key element of TBD's strategy, Julie is constantly busy. She helped craft the strategy of aggregating breaking news details from all sources while we worked to get new information and independently confirm already-reported facts. This strategy was the core of our well-regarded coverage of the Discovery Channel hostage situation, and we got even better at that strategy after that. Julie is a tireless worker, and for better or worse, used to the middle-of-the-night breaking news phone call. Here's Julie's LinkedIn profile and Twitter feed.

Ryan Kearney, reporter
Covers the D.C. film scene for TBD, and writes frequently about other A&E issues with broader geographic interest, such as the Stewart/Colbert rally. Even got a nice shout out from Stewart himself at the post-event press conference for his piece criticizing the criticism of the rally. Ryan's a really talented young writer, and here are some of his clips:

• A guide to the misguided criticism of the Stewart/Colbert rally
• Why did Gawker publish, then retract, a gruesome murder photo
• Why 'Toy Story 3' is a defense of, not a rebuke to, liberal values. Obviously
• A D.C. law firm and the quiet, nationwide war against online movie piracy

Here's Ryan's Twitter feed.

Rebecca Cooper, reporter
Rebecca is one of TBD's neighborhood reporters, covering Arlington. Rebecca produces a strong mix of enterprise, breaking news and feature stories, and I'm not just talking her up because she's a fellow Long Islander. (And, by the way, this is not the same Rebecca Cooper who works at WJLA. Here's that Rebecca Cooper). Here are some of Rebecca's clips that show off her all-purpose nature:

• Towing in Arlington: Tow companies never fined for violations
• Neighbors still fighting Bishop O'Connell High School's plan to light fields
• So what makes a county manager a bad ‘fit’ in Arlington?
• The answer to the Metro Halal mystery
• Spotted: A remnant of Rosslyn Alley

Here's some of Rebecca's food writing from her time at DCist, and her Twitter feed.

Jay Westcott, photographer
Jay is TBD's only staff photographer, which is quite a burden, since anyone who's ever run a news web site knows the journalistic power of strong photography (and the traffic ain't bad either). Jay -- like pretty much everyone at TBD -- works tirelessly and without complaint, and the result has been an impressive output of photos, videos and photo galleries. Here's Jay's web site, Vimeo page and Twitter feed.

Elahe Izadi, reporter
Elahe covers Montgomery County for TBD, and like all our neighborhood reporters, has to produce a mix of breaking, enterprise and feature stories. She broke a terrific story about the raid of the home of a former department head of the National Archives. She was also a key contributor to our coverage of the Discovery Channel hostage situation. She is also the only TBD reporter who truly moonlights as a stand-up comic (though, as we know, all reporters think they're stand-up comics). Here are some of Elahe's clips:

• National Archives agents raid home of Leslie Waffen, former archives department head
• Four Corners residents dial 911, get busy signal. Cell phones to blame?
• Rushern Baker wins P.G. County Executive race
• Washington Adventist Hospital changes procedures to prevent fuel spills
• New Silver Spring library $3M over budget
• Impulse Buys: Squirrel underpants (I mean, seriously, how do you not click on that link?)

Here's Elahe's web site and Twitter feed.

Sam Chamberlain, reporter
Sam covers sports for TBD, and is a man about town, constantly ricocheting from arena to stadium to cover the Wizards, Capitals, Nats and most every major college in town at one time or another. Sam also assisted Mike Jones on our Redskins coverage. He's the sole proprietor of the aptly-named Chamberlain. Sam is always up for any assignment, and his energy and can-do attitude gave us a broader sports presence than our staff would suggest. And he and I get along quite well considering he's a Patriots fan and all. Some of Sam's clips:

• On Senior Night, Gonzaga student basketball manager gets his star moment
• Redskins-Eagles: The Turning Point: 88 yards in 14 seconds
• Winter Classic 2011: Caps show steel in Steel City victory
• Nick Young shining in the newfound spotlight
• After 33 years, Maryland's first ACC Women's hoops champs to get their rings

Here's Sam's LinkedIn page and Twitter feed.

By the way, there's likely to be a Part 3 here, coming over the weekend. There are still a few more folks I'd like to talk about.

Looking for Talent? Meet the TBD Staff (Part 1)

I'd been meaning to get this blog up and running for a while, but had been swamped and just hadn't gotten around to it. So, in a backhanded way, I guess I have Allbritton Communications to thank for inspiring me to get Digital Man up and running.

Today's gutting of TBD was surprising only in that it happened so quickly after the company moved the TBD staff under the WJLA org structure just a few weeks back. Apparently, laying off half the staff is the company's version of a "mid-course correction." Would hate to see what a complete strategic overhaul would entail.

I'll write a post in the coming days about my own take on what happened with TBD, but right now, that's not top of mind. Here's what is: In a few weeks, a number of TBD's talented, forward-thinking journalists are going to be hitting the job market, and I truly hope those who are who hiring these days will take a close look at these folks. So wanted to spend a few posts telling you about them. Today, we'll start with the folks from Steve Buttry's community engagement team. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the reporters, editors and photogs who will also likely be looking for work.

A few caveats on the posts that will follow in the next day or so: First, no one at TBD asked to be mentioned in these posts -- or, for that matter, even knew I was writing them -- so don't read too much into their inclusion. Second, while some positions are being eliminated, people in those positions are eligible to apply for some new open positions at the company. So I don't know that all of the people I'm mentioning will actually want to depart from TBD. Some might choose to stay, in the same way that I also might choose to give up Chipotle. Not likely, but possible. Anyway, without further ado, here are some folks that would immediately make any staff better.

Mandy Jenkins, social media
Mandy taught us old hats a ton about the proper way to use social media. If you view it merely as a tool to push out the content you're producing, you're missing the big picture. Social media is a news-gathering tool as much as it's a distribution tool. She was a key player in TBD's well-regarded coverage of the Discovery Channel hostage situation, during which she organized and created a photo gallery out of on-the-scene pics posted on readers on Twitter, and using Foursquare to help find people who were at the scene. She set the tone TBD used on Twitter, a more conversational, customer-oriented tone that helped us build a strong following there. Equally important: Mandy's can-do attitude, and desire to preserve and improve journalism in the new world. Here's her blog, resume and Twitter feed.

Jeff Sonderman, community engagement
Jeff was one of the leads on building TBD's relationships with hundreds of local bloggers and organizing its blog network. Jeff knows that the future requires media companies to completely rethink and rebuild their relationships with readers, so that -- in a sense -- they're no longer merely readers, but participants in the process of creating journalism. Jeff will bring more ideas to the table in an hour than most people in journalism will in a day. Here's his site, resume and Twitter feed.

Lisa Rowan, community engagement
Lisa brought talent, enthusiasm and less of a background in daily journalism to TBD (which was a good thing). Knowing media but not having resided in it the way many at TBD had allowed her to bring unique ideas and perspectives to the table. There was no task she didn't attack with a good attitude and great skill. She helped build TBD's community network -- hell, she's in it as well -- and helped organize and coordinate many of our crowd-sourcing efforts. She's terrific, even if she's a Phillies fan. Here's a resume and her Twitter feed.

Dan Victor, community engagement
Dan also did a ton of work building out TBD's blog network, especially in sports, and played in a key role in our crowdsourcing and social media efforts. Like others on the CE team, Dan was loaded with ideas. And when presented with new ideas, he does what a many people in legacy media don't: he talks about the opportunities, not just the potential pitfalls. If you're looking for someone to challenge conventional wisdom and think forward, Dan's a great hire. He's also a Phillies fan -- what's up with these hiring practices, Buttry? -- but still awesome. Here's his site, clips and Twitter feed.

Nathasha Lim, community engagement
Nathasha joined the CE team a bit later than everyone else, but got up to speed quickly, stepping in to recruit food and dining bloggers (among others). She also assisted the site's A&E coverage by writing a ton and building relationships with the food and dining community, which led to some excellent live chats like this one. Like everyone on the CE team, Nathasha's attitude, energy and willingness to try new things was invaluable. Here's Nathasha's site and Twitter feed.

Tomorrow, will touch on the excellent editors, reporters and photographers who are also likely looking for new gigs.

Also, if anyone wants to reach out to me for any more information on these folks -- or anyone on the TBD staff, for that matter -- feel free to contact me at jim.brady(at)gmail(dot)com.