Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Resume: Patrick E. Litowitz


Patrick E. Litowitz
6655 Mill Creek Blvd.                                                                                            Cell: (330) 716-1106
Boardman, Ohio 44512                                                                                               



OFFERING
Award-winning, versatile journalist skilled as a reporter, designer/paginator, copy editor and department editor. Possesses multimedia experience. Approaches each task with an expectation of high quality. Embraces the opportunity to learn new technologies and skills. Works well in a team environment in an effort to provide outstanding print and web-based products.

EXPERIENCE
New Castle News, New Castle, Pa.
February 2000 to present, August 1993 to February 1995)

Owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., the New Castle News is one of CNHI’s 130 community newspapers. The News claims approximately 14,000 print subscribers and more than 5.000 unique, daily visitors to its website. Its coverage area is Lawrence County, Pa.

Design/pagination: Moved to the design desk following staff reductions in late 2011. Deliver attractive, eye-catching layout. Design an average of 10 pages daily with the primary focus on the news, lifestyle and sports pages and obituary section.

Other positions held: Reporter, copy editor and department editor (news, lifestyle and night)

Passion for news: Earned 17 awards during tenure at The News. Among the covered topics: Misuse of public funds within the Lawrence County Treasurer’s Office; fraud and theft of a failed housing agency; the case against former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta; a nationwide analysis on acquiring state legislators’ voting records; and ongoing coverage of the New Castle Area School Disrict.

Rapid Response: Part of a seven-person team developed for multimedia coverage. During an emergency, team members are sent to the scene and the incident is reported online as “Breaking News.” Photographs and video follow. A story is featured in the next edition of The News.

Other skills: Versed in AP style. Excel in investigative journalism using Internet research, public records examination and spreadsheet development. Shoot and produce videos for www.ncnewsonline.com. Helped young reporters improve their talents through workshops.

Progressive Insurance Companies
(February 1995 to October 2000)

Based in Mayfield, Ohio, Progressive is a Fortune 500 company with approximately 25,000 employees nationwide.

Claims representative: Specialized in the following services – automobile, motorcycle, casualty, mobile home, motor boat and special investigations (fraud, fire and theft).

Service: Recognized for efforts in claims negotiation, fraud investigation and customer response.

Accomplishments: Prevented potential $50,000 fraud involving stolen hotrod and another regarding an alleged $10,000 baseball card.

Morning Journal, Lisbon, Ohio
(April 1987 to August 1993)

Countywide daily newspaper focused on Columbiana County, Ohio.

Specialty: Wrote articles, edited copy and designed pages for the news and sports departments. Also designed weekly publication.

Niles Daily Times, Niles, Ohio
(May 1985 to April 1987)

Community-based newspaper serving communities of Niles, Mineral Ridge and McDonald.

Advancement: Promoted from sports writer to sports editor. Directed staff of one full-time reporter and five correspondents.

Responsibility: Produced and edited sports articles. Designed three to four sports pages daily, the sports sections of three weekly publications and an annual, comprehensive football section.

AWARDS
Investigative reporting
  •2009 – Golden Quill (first place), PAPME (first place) and Keystone Press (second place)
  •2007 – Golden Quill (first place)
  •2006 – Keystone Press (second place)
  •2005 – Keystone Press (first place) and Golden Quill (finalist)

Spot News
  •2011 – Keystone Press (second place)

News beat reporting
  •2008 – Keystone Press (first place)

Business reporting
  •2008 – Keystone Press (second place), co-author Lisa Micco

Ongoing news coverage
  •2007 – Keystone Press (second place), co-author John Manna and Nancy Lowry

Column writing
  •2004 – PAPME (second place) and Keystone Press (honorable mention), co-author Lisa Micco
  •2003 – Keystone Press (first place) and Golden Quill (finalist), co-author Lisa Micco

Special projects
  •2004 – Keystone Press (honorable mention), staff

Headline writing
  •2002 – Keystone Press (first place)

COMPUTER SKILLS
•Experience in PC-based and Mac OS systems
•Proficient in NewsEditPro, QuarkXPress, Adobe Photoshop, iMovie, MS Word and MS Excel
•Multimedia abilities include videography and video production; photography; and placement of breaking news, news stories, video and photographs on the New Castle News website using the Zope publishing application.

EDUCATION
Youngstown State University, Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing and Editing)

CIVIC/PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Job’s Daughters
(2001-present)
Adult volunteer for female youth organization. Create promotional materials, such as videos and press releases.

Community Legal Aid Inc., Youngstown, Ohio
(January 2009 to July 2009)
Assisted agency in the handling of Social Security, disability and bankruptcy cases. Collected and processed information in the representation of low-income clients.

Boardman Band and Orchestra Parents Inc.
(September 2005- June 2008)
Pro-active parent volunteer in an organization that provides fundraising, chaperone and support services benefiting the Boardman Local School District’s band, jazz and orchestra programs.

REFERENCES ON REQUEST

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011