I'd call it a resume, but I've never stopped. For more bad puns, follow me @NColtrain.
EXPERIENCE
The Des Moines Register
June 2019 to present
Data and politics
2020 caucus campaign embed for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Broke news about Sanders’ Green New Deal pivot. Led national reporters with stories about campaign strength and strategy toward rival candidates. Landed Sanders’ final Iowa interview following botched caucus.
Lead campaign finance reporter. Placed Iowa’s record-breaking 2020 U.S. Senate campaigns in national context. Used campaign finance for stories on ASL accessibility at campaign events. Used in-house data of all campaign events to show the unprecedented amount of focus candidates placed on the state.
Key reporter on Iowa’s COVID-19 response. Used data to break stories about new outbreaks, trends in virus activity and results of the state's response. Routinely filed breaking and comprehensive coverage of governor’s decrees. Analyzed nursing home COVID database to break news on true scale of the disease’s ravages.
The Coloradoan, Fort Collins, Colorado
March 2014 to June 2019
Beats included: City, county and state government; Colorado State University; the organization's first data reporter.
Colorado open records law changed as result of my reporting on pay inequity at Colorado State University. Project involved recreating and analyzing a 4,800-entry logbook of salaries as a digital database. Prior pay inequity work directly led to raises for a quarter of female full professors at CSU.
Wrote national angle of local political feelings for planned USA TODAY cover during 2016 presidential election while leading local election coverage.
Regularly shot, produced and edited a variety of videos for publication on Coloradoan.com.
Regular use of open records law in reporting.
Served as news organization's inaugural data reporter. Reported and developed original data sets, managed the weekly package and handled online presentation.
The Banner-Herald, Athens, Georgia
September 2012 to February 2014
Government and business reporter
Investigated decades-old accusations of sexual abuse by a prominent member of the Athens community using open records requests and shoe-leather reporting. Emphasized survivor-first coverage.
Collaborated in producing the organization's first curated multimedia package for a story detailing the impacts of federally recognized same-sex marriage on local couples.
The Nevada Appeal, Carson City, Nevada
September 2011 to July 2012
Crime and business reporter
Covered crime, courts, business and economic development efforts. Focused crime coverage on narratives of law enforcement practices; focused business reporting on the still-lingering fallout and recovery of industrial and housing industries from the Great Recession.
The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho
May 2010 to September 2011
City/county government reporter
Delivered regular deadline coverage of city council meetings.
Served as Sunday editor, editing stories and covering spot news.
Beat international competition by having the first published account of the discovery of a Canadian woman who had been stranded for seven weeks in the Nevada mountains.
EDUCATION
B.A. in Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno December 2009
SKILLS
Creating and producing photo, audio and video elements for publication; use of social media, data visualization and other multimedia tools for online elements; Microsoft Excel and data analysis; thorough knowledge of AP style. Use of SEO and “clickability” practices for headlines and publication. Comfortable with Facebook Live and similar on-camera or live shot work.
RECOGNITIONS
2017 First Amendment Award from the SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter: 2015 and 16 Colorado Press Association Service to the First Award (Coloradoan citation)
Past awards include: Best health enterprise/feature story; education enterprise reporting; best individual story; best series for data reporting; investigative/enterprise reporting; feature writing; non-deadline reporting; news reporting.
Board member for SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter (2017-2019).