Andy Walton's résumé

Experience

Mac Specialist
Apple retail store, Perimeter Mall
September 2008 - Present
Provide customer service in an often frenetic retail environment. Assist customers in selecting hardware, software and services to suit their needs. Perform preliminary technical support for customers, sometimes eliminating the need for a support appointment.

Associate Producer
CNN.com
September 2001 - June 2006
Researched, wrote and planned interactive elements for breaking news, features and special projects. Researched and compiled background information to add depth and detail to CNN.com reports. Wrote news, analysis and feature stories based on my own reporting or information from CNN correspondents. | Work samples |

Helped define requirements for CNN.com's second-generation content management system as an alpha tester, and then helped train other editorial personnel in its use. Trained new hires in newsroom procedures and photojournalism ethics and standards.

Maintained world and US section pages, selecting stories and images from CNN reporting, wire services and editorial partners and writing creative and compelling headlines and story summaries.

Writer/Reporter/Associate Editor
CNN.com documentary projects
July 1998 - January 2001
Researched historical topics, reported, wrote copy and prepared graphic and interactive elements for projects including the Peabody Award-winning Cold War. Original reporting included the nine-part Route Cold War series and articles for the Millennium documentary companion site.

Writer/Associate Producer/Webmaster
CNN.com
September 1995 - July 1998
Performed a broad variety of tasks in a fast-paced newsroom environment. Wrote features and spot news, selected and cropped photos, and prepared text for online presentation in HTML.

Print Production Artist
MacTemps (now Aquent) and Classic Games, Inc.
July 1992-September 1995
At MacTemps, performed temporary duties for a variety of clients, mostly in print production. At Classic, produced trading cards, board game elements, advertising and point-of-purchase displays. Performed quality control checks on proofs and print samples in the office and at vendor sites.

Strong knowledge of AP style and of the ethical and legal issues involved in covering news. Reporting experience including “man on the street” questions and long-form interviews with public figures.
Proficiency with the full spectrum of newsroom tools, including CNN's content management system, Inews, Adobe Photoshop, HTML, and desktop publishing and office applications on both Mac OS and Windows. Experience with network protocols and improvised communications in the field.
Experience writing under deadline pressure in a broad variety of styles, from long-format analysis to spot news to brief summaries for image captions and fact boxes. Ability to deliver tight, accurate work on short deadlines.
Broad knowledge of current events, history, politics and technology, coupled with a healthy skepticism toward both outside sources and my own memory.
Ability to conduct research under deadline pressure using the Internet, commercial databases such as Nexis, and library resources.

Two George Foster Peabody Awards, one in 1998 for work on the Cold War documentary team and one in 2005 for my role in CNN's coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Broadcast News Award for coverage of the Southeast Asian tsunami. A Sigma Delta Chi award, an Interactive Achievement Award and a BAFTA award for Cold War.

Ten awards for college journalism, including first place editorial and review honors.

Emory College, Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
Bachelor of Arts in political science, minor in philosophy. Course work in music, anthropology, chemistry, and French. Participated in student publications, instrumental music, and drama. Served as staff writer, arts editor, and managing editor of The Emory Wheel, one of only three papers nationwide to win a Columbia Gold Crown Award in 1992.

Druid Hills High School
Atlanta, Georgia
AP course work in American history, American government and chemistry. Participated in instrumental and choral music. Staff writer, senior writer and editor-in-chief of campus newspaper The Spotlight, ranked second in its class by the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.