Melanie Balakit

Experience

• 

  La Voz Latina

  Sept 2012 - May 2014

  Co-Editor-in-Chief

  Managed a staff of 20; oversaw website, social media and financials; helped design print publications; and pitched and edited stories for the Latino-interest campus publication.

• 

  The Baltimore Sun

  May 2013 - Aug 2013

  Multimedia News Intern

  Produced videos and a photo slideshow for the annual awards given to college football athletes for the Baltimore Sun’s website.

• 

  Capital News Service

  Jan 2014 - Apr 2014

  Multimedia Reporter

  Wrote and produced multimedia stories for Capital News Service, a wire syndicate run by students from the University of Maryland, College Park. Covered the Maryland legislative session, focusing on consumer goods, such as raw milk and e-cigarettes. Live tweeted a republican gubernatorial candidate debate.

• 

  Prince George's Sentinel

  May 2014 - Dec 2014

  Freelance Journalist

  Wrote general assignment stories and took photos for the Prince George's Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper. - Broke a story about the lack of transparency in the school district’s plans to build cell phone towers on public school grounds.- Localized a national immigration issue by writing a feature piece on how the Deferred Action Childhood Arrival program enabled a young woman to pursue a nursing degree. - Assisted in an award-winning investigative piece on how school board members spent on meals and travel. Show less

• 

  UNITY: Journalists for Diversity

  Jul 2014 - Aug 2014

  Reporting Fellow

  Inaugural reporting fellow for UNITY. Collaborated with mentors around the country to pitch and produce multimedia stories for student projects of five minority journalism groups. Reported on association breaking news, including a 2016 joint convention between NABJ and NAHJ as well as a NAHJ budget story. Wrote about diversity in the media, like the lack of Native American representation in Silicon Valley and how journalists covered the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Journalism associations included: - National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)- National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) - Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) - National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) Show less

• 

  Tennessean

  Jan 2015 - May 2018

  Education Reporter

  Reported on education, policy and finance issues for K-12 schools in Williamson County, Tennessee.- Produced series of stories on what financial challenges look like in a public school district. - Served as lead reporter for USAToday's cover story on how children learn about 9/11.- Chronicled state and local concern about Islam in history classes starting from a local school board debate to the state legislature. - Profiled a student's transition from basketball star to elite dancer, sparking national coverage and an ESPN video feature. - Reported on a private school's efforts to provide more resources for its growing international Chinese student population. Show less

• 

  USA TODAY

  Jun 2018 - May 2021

  Digital producer

  USA Today's Eastern Digital Optimization Team works with dozens of sites in the eastern half of the country. I helped sites in PA, MD and DE reach digital audiences. - Wrote headlines, push alerts and social media posts for mid-Atlantic newspapers.- Used SEO best practices to boost story visibility on Google searches. - Used metrics to inform decisions. - Created social media strategies and post-project analysis reports for enterprise stories.

• 

  The Baltimore Sun

  Jun 2021 - now

  Emerging news editor

  I collaborate with a team of editors and reporters to identify and pursue breaking news in the greater Baltimore area. In addition to traditional editing duties, I also help manage digital operations, including homepage management, mobile and web alerts and SEO. - Led newsroom-wide training on search engine optimization and best practices on formatting online stories. - Conducted a report on online audience opportunities for air quality coverage using analytics software. - Documented what the emerging news team did every day with suggestions on the next day’s assignments. - Created reference articles on how to write crime briefs, what we consider breaking news and how to cover the weather. - Experimented with ChatGPT for use in journalism, including headline generation, press release rewriting and interview questions. Show less