"Whatever you are, be a good one." - Abraham Lincoln
Ariel L. Cheung
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Journalism Experience
Food and Travel Editor, Chicago Tribune, Chicago March 2021 to present: In my role as a senior content editor, I edit food and travel coverage for one of the largest newspapers in the United States. Along with direct reports, I collaborate with freelancers and other newsroom departments to plan multimedia coverage and annual features like the Food Awards and the Holiday Cookie Contest, while also seeking to push our work to new heights of inclusivity, diverse perspectives and modern food writing that incorporates the vast subject of food's effect on our lives in Chicago and beyond. January 2020 to March 2021: As deputy senior editor of real estate, oversee residential real estate coverage. Work with freelancers and in-house reporters to cover housing trends, high-end home sales and local real estate news. Also edit and post content for the features desk, primarily in entertainment. Freelance Reporter, Chicago October 2019 to January 2020: Cover Chicago and national dining scene, neighborhood developments and education — including the Chicago Public Schools teachers strike — for outlets such as Chicago magazine, Time Out Chicago, Plate magazine, Chalkbeat and Block Club Chicago. Senior Editor, CS magazine, Chicago December 2017 to October 2019: Oversee coverage of the Chicago dining scene, including reviews of new restaurants and writing other food and drink articles. Within first year, scope of editing position expanded to include managing each issue of CS, from assigning articles, working with photo editor to orchestrate shoots, editing copy and shepherding each issue through to publication. Reporter/Producer, DNAinfo Chicago, Chicago February 2015 to November 2017: Covered the West Loop, Near West Side and Pilsen neighborhoods for the neighborhood-based news site. Coverage included dining, business and economic development, human interest stories, education, politics and community news. Previously covered Lakeview and Wrigleyville for two years, including on-the-ground reporting on the 2016 World Series, the LGBTQ community and neighborhood news. Crime Enterprise Reporter, The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis. June 2013 to February 2015: Responsible for balancing court coverage and breaking news reporting as the night shift cops reporter. I also focused on long-term crime enterprise stories and joined the Gannett Wisconsin Media I-Team in July 2014. Also had regular news feature assignments and daily news coverage. Heavy emphasis on video reporting. I also covered Wisconsin for USA Today, supplementing national coverage of an event with localized reporting, overseeing statewide coverage and writing Wisconsin-based stories for a national audience. Cops & Courts Reporter, The Register-Mail, Galesburg, Ill. June 2012 to June 2013: As the crime beat reporter at the daily newspaper, was responsible for coverage of court hearings and daily police stories, as well as regular feature assignments. I also worked on investigative and enterprise reporting and covered a neighboring city's school board and city council meetings. In my time at The Register-Mail, I developed an online crime map, boosted social media coverage, supplied multimedia content to accompany my articles and developed sources within my beat. Editor-in-chief, The News Record, University of Cincinnati June 2011 to May 2012: Oversaw thrice-weekly independent student newspaper and its staff of 14 editors and 60 contributors. Responsibilities included: launching new website, which won first place at the Ohio Newspaper Association; developing new alt-weekly edition; managing annual budget of $275,000. Under editorship, newspaper won five first-place awards at the collegiate ONA competition and nine awards at the regional SPJ Mark of Excellence competition. September 2008 to May 2011: Former positions include managing editor, college living & spotlight editor, staff reporter. Freelance reporter, The Hamilton Journal-News, Hamilton County, Ohio December 2011 to June 2012: Covered news and entertainment for local and Cincinnati pages of the newspaper and other Cox Media publications. Internship, The Sun-Times, Chicago June to September 2011: As a staff reporter, covered local events, courts, crime, economy, news; internship expanded to include features, profiles and music/festival coverage. New Media Bureau, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January to June 2011: Collaborated with student journalists to produce in-depth packaged feature content available for Cincinnati-area media syndication. Work included excursion in Costa Rica and profile on young male ballet student. Internship, Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio June to August 2010: Originally responsible for copy editing and page design; internship eventually extended an additional three weeks to cover four stories for Life section. Internship, Fox Toledo News, Toledo, Ohio June to August 2009: Shadow reporters, write stories, assist with production. Internship, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio Spring 2009: Assisted reporter with in-depth feature story about Cincinnati-area police departments. Was responsible for data gathering and analyzing. Website Editor/Contributor, Every Girl Blog, everygirlblog.com [now defunct] January 2009 to May 2010: Co-founded website with daily content for girls and women 13-24 years old. Managed schedule and content, developed reading program, wrote articles. |
Education
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Graduated: June 2012, cum laude Major: Journalism (concentration: Editorial/Newspaper) Minor: Psychology Certificate: Deaf Studies GPA: 3.6 Development & Leadership Asian American Journalists Association Chicago, 2017 to present: Since 2017, have served as either president or vice president of the Chicago chapter of this advocacy nonprofit devoted to advancing and developing the careers of Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists. Emerging Leaders Institute for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 2022: Selected for the News Leaders Association's six-month program focused on accelerating the rise of traditionally underrepresented journalists into the management ranks of news organizations. TableStakes, 2021: As part of the major market cohort for this American Press Institute/Knight Foundation program, was part of — and ultimately led — newsroom team focused on audience engagement and development. Goals for the year-long program included engaging with low-use subscribers, improving subscriber retention rates and optimizing audience promotion of coverage. Fault Lines training, 2021: Participated in newsroom training through the Maynard Institute program based on addressing personal biases, race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography and class, as they apply to journalists, newsroom collaboration and coverage." Skills Social Media: A firm grasp of how to best utilize Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media to connect with readers and engage the community. Metrics: Thorough and innovative use of Metrics for News, Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Tableau and Epsilon to analyze readership and best strategies for reaching maximum audience potential. Visuals: Proficient with InDesign/InCopy; digital and film training, excels at iPhone video shooting and iMovie editing; proficient with Photoshop, DSLR camera and video recorders. Spanish: five years training, high school and college levels. Limited conversational. American Sign Language: Two years training. Basic comprehension. Awards Tribune Jones-Beck Award, March 2021: As recipient of the Colleen “Koky” Dishon Readership Award, honored by the Tribune newsroom for collaborative work across departments, editing skills and social media strategy geared toward improving readership. Chicago Headline Club, May 2020: Part of the Chalkbeat Chicago team that won Best Breaking News Story in the online category of the 2019 Peter Lisagor Awards for our coverage of the 2019 Chicago Public Schools teachers strike. Wisconsin Newspaper Association, March 2015: Received first place in the Digital Project category for interactive story on the Dictionary of American Regional English and second place in Social Media journalism category for coverage of the David Dudas sexual assault trial. Competed in contest's largest division, for newspapers of 25,000 circulation and above. Illinois Press Association, June 2014: Received first place for "Drug Court" enterprise series, second place for an enterprise story ("Graduation Rate - A Poor Rating") and was on a reporting team that received first place for investigative reporting ("Fatal Dog Attack") and second and third places for breaking news coverage ("Fatal Shooting" and "Downpour!"). Illinois AP Awards, April 2014: Received first place for "Drug Court" series and investigative reporting ("Fatal Dog Attack"), second place for breaking news ("Fatal Shooting") and enterprise story ("Graduation Rate - A Poor Rating"). Illinois Press Association, June 2013: Received second place for a single news story, first place for government beat reporting and an honorable mention for enterprise/feature writing. News Writer of the Year, May 2013: Received award from the Best of GateHouse competition for Division B (Dailies with circulation between 9,000 and 24,999). Best Enterprise & Feature Stories, May 2013: Three police-based stories won first place in enterprise and feature categories and third in enterprise for the Illinois AP Awards, Division C (Dailies with circulation under 15,000). Outstanding Journalism Graduate, June 2012: Nominated by the University of Cincinnati journalism faculty as the outstanding overall graduate for 2012. Best Breaking News Reporting, March 2012: Part of The News Record's breaking news team that won first place at the regional Society of Professional Journalism's Mark of Excellence awards. Coons Lafcadio Hearn Journalism Prize, June 2011: Awarded second place for the annual UC English department writing competition in the journalism category. Scripps Howard Internship Grant and Scholarship, May 2011: Awarded a $3,500 scholarship for a summer internship by the Scripps Howard Foundation. David Ibata Print Scholarship, April 2011: Awarded a scholarship and an internship at The Sun-Times by the Chicago chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. Best Feature Writing, March 2011: Awarded second place for the regional SPJ awards. Lee Evans Memorial Scholarship, June 2010: Awarded by the UC journalism faculty. Cincinnatus Presidential Scholarship, June 2008: Awarded a full four-year scholarship to the University of Cincinnati based on academic performance and extracurricular participation. |
| ariel_resume_2019.pdf |
