Jason Bartolone

Experience

• 

  Daily Record NJ

  Aug 2003 - Jun 2005

  Sports copy editor/designer

  Designed sports front and inside pages nightly; edited staff and wire copy; wrote headlinesPlanned and created special sections; helped implement APSE award-winning weekly prep sectionRegularly attended news meetings, budgeted and oversaw nightly production of the section; helped coach sports writers/stringers to improve their copy

• 

  Bradenton Herald

  Jun 2005 - Oct 2010

  Copy Editor/Page 1A Designer

  Designed front page and covers of business/sports sections; wrote headlines; edited stories; produced informational graphics/breakoutsOversaw news desk's nightly production of the paper under tight deadlinesAttended daily news meetings; planned and produced special centerpiece packages and other projects/sections with teamOversaw nightly posting of articles/multimedia on paper’s website and on Facebook

• 

  Patch/AOL

  Oct 2010 - Jun 2011

  Local Editor - Bradenton Patch

  Launched, managed and updated hyperlocal news websiteProduced majority of content, including news and feature stories, video packages, photosWrote government, crime, sports, business and breaking news stories dailyHired/managed team of 8-10 freelancers; assigned stories, edited their work, administered payments from monthly freelance budgetHired/managed team of 25-30 part-time employees to prepare business directory listings Utilized social network tools (Twitter, Facebook) to share content, interact with readersPlanned and attended marketing events to spread the word about Patch in the community Show less

• 

  AOL

  Jun 2011 - Aug 2013

  Associate Regional Editor, Patch.com

  Hired/managed a team of eight journalists, each covering towns for local news sites in Tampa Bay area (Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee counties)Assigned and edited stories, provided managerial supportManaged monthly budget for team marketing events, freelance work and other expenses Studied traffic/engagement metrics, using real-time and daily/monthly traffic to make coverage decisions; responsible for meeting each site’s monthly traffic/engagement goalsPlanned and conducted weekly staff meetings that include training and brainstorming sessionsProduced content for sites, posting breaking news/crime stories to all nine sites on a daily basis; provided other original reporting or aggregated content, video and mobile postsUtilized social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Storify, etc.) to gather and present newsRepresented company at local marketing events, speaking engagements, chamber of commerce meetings, community events and other functions; gave PowerPoint presentations on Patch's mission Show less

• 

  Bradenton Herald

  Aug 2013 - Aug 2014

  East Manatee Editor / Weekend Editor

  Managed a team of journalists covering East Manatee County for the Herald's Lakewood Ranch edition and for Bradenton.com; assigned and edited stories; coached and supervised 3 staff reporters and a team of freelancers.Oversaw newsroom's reporters and copy desk two nights a week, producing Saturday and Sunday editions of paper and posting/updating content Bradenton.com and social mediaManaged monthly budget for freelance photographers/journalists and planned/assigned/edited contentWrote daily news and feature stories; utilized social media (Twitter/Facebook) in daily reporting Show less

• 

  Sarasota County Government

  Aug 2014 - May 2018

  Media Relations Officer

  ● Write and distribute media releases, media advisories, talking points, guest editorials and other content via traditional media, social media and county website● Develop and implement media engagement plans that support the organization’s mission and manage its reputation; provide strategic communications to inform and engage employees, media and citizens● Serve as team lead on various internal/external communications projects across 17 county departments● Served as media relations lead on Atlanta Braves spring training project; facilitated media availabilities/press conferences and multiple radio/TV/print/online media interviews with county staff and team executives through successful groundbreaking ceremony.● Help manage the county’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook) to engage and inform public and media; helped grow Twitter following by 79 percent and Facebook following by 288 percent in past year● Respond to media queries; facilitated 1,700 media engagements in past year with media relations team (average 150 per month)● Cultivate positive relationships with local, regional and national media outlets; work to promote timely, accurate and fair coverage; proactively pitch average of 2-3 positive stories per week● Provide one-on-one and group training to county staff to prepare for media engagements; serve as facilitator for media interactions with subject matter experts and as media liaison during public meetings and events● Maintain database of media contacts and daily media coverage reports Show less

• 

  City of Sarasota

  May 2018 - Jul 2022

  Communications Specialist

  ● Coordinate strategic messaging and public outreach for City leadership, eight city departments plus divisions on a variety of issues, projects and programs.● Provide crisis communications and messaging during hurricanes and other emergency situations.● Facilitate all media interactions with city leadership, directors and subject matter experts; provide one-on-one and group training and preparation for media engagements.● Write and distribute media releases, media advisories, talking points, video scripts, guest editorials and other content via traditional media, social media, city website and weekly e-newsletter.● Manage the county’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor) to engage and inform public and media; produce monthly reports to analyze engagement metrics.● Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with traditional media outlets and work to promote timely, accurate and fair coverage of the city and its vision, mission and values. Show less

• 

  City of North Port Florida

  Aug 2022 - now

  Communications Manager/PIO