ERIC MINTON
2851 Park Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22302
703-567-0532
eric@ericminton.com
www.ericminton.com
A writer and editor with graphic and web design skills, I have 30 years' of professional journalism experience in newspapers, magazines, trade and association publications, and web-based publishing. I am proficient in Word, Quark Express and Dreamweaver and have a working knowledge of Excel, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Freelance Journalist, August 1984 to present. Published 1,177 articles in 100 publications, covering the amusement industry, disability issues, assistive technology, military affairs, legislation, disasters, travel, entertainment, sports, business practices, history, and personalities.
Copy Editor, Association of the U.S. Army (Arlington, Virginia), April 2004 to present. Duties include copy and substantive editing of Institute of Land Warfare research papers, bulletins, budget analysis, and Army yearbooks.
Editor, Concepts, Inc. (Olney, Maryland) for www.DisabilityInfo.gov, a web portal directed by Executive Order and operated by the Department of Labor, June 2004 to December 2004. Duties include editing all copy and content on DisabilityInfo.gov, researching for additional links, and writing/editing articles and promotional material as part of publicizing and marketing the site within the federal government and to the public.
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, THE LOOP, a biweekly on-line newsletter for the international amusement industry at www.gettheloop.com, February 2001 to October 2003. Duties included gathering news, writing, editing, posting, and delivering via email link the newsletter, in addition to assigning, writing, and editing articles for the "Reading Room" on the web site.
Bureau Chief
and Web Editor, Amusement Today (Arlington, Texas), February 2001
to October 2003. Duties included reporting and writing amusement industry news,
editing www.amusementtoday.com, and reporting, writing, and posting breaking
news stories for "Extra Extra" on www.amusementtoday.com.
Columnist, Freizeit Leisure Professional (Lichtenau, Germany),
February 2003 to October 2003. Duties included writing a monthly column on the
amusement industry in North America and contributing occasional profile stories.
Contributing Editor, Splash Magazine (Houston, Texas), August 2001 to September 2002. Duties included generating and writing feature articles on waterparks around the world, editing articles, and compiling a stylebook.
Contributing Editor, Funworld (International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, Alexandria, Va.), January 1999 to November 2000: Duties included writing feature articles and a monthly column with amusement industry news, analysis, and people profiles.
Contract Editor, Midwest Living, (Meredith Corp., Des Moines, Iowa) August 1995 and October 1998: filled in for associate editors on disability leave, shepherding editorial packages, assigning articles, writing, editing, and copy fitting.
Editorial Coordinator, Family Entertainment Center Magazine (International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions, Alexandria, Va.), July/August and September/October 1996 issues: generated and edited feature articles for the magazine as IAAPA transitioned to in-house production from a contract arrangement with a public relations firm.
Project Editor, Off Duty "National Guard/Reserve" 1992 and 1995 special editions, and "Welcome to Britain" 1989 and 1990 guides (Costa Mesa, Calif.): gathered all material, wrote and edited all copy, provided all art and photographs.
Assistant City Editor, Anderson Independent-Mail (Anderson, S.C.), June 1989 to May 1992: managed the city desk for two-edition daily, directed 10 reporters, two bureaus and a corps of stringers, edited all local copy, guided writers on enterprise projects, and wrote special reports.
Columnist, R&R In Britain (Leimen, Germany), January 1986 to December 1987: wrote "Greetings from England" humor column of an American's life in Great Britain.
Writer, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (Oklahoma City, Okla.), March to September 1984: wrote brochures, features, and press releases.
Columnist, Oklahoma Gazette (Oklahoma City, Okla.), September 1983 to August 1984: wrote "Nightlife" column covering the city's nightclubs and "On Sound" column covering music industry news and reviewing albums.
Publicity Director, Oklahoma Theater Center (Oklahoma City, Okla.), February to September 1983: planned and executed publicity and marketing campaigns for theater's seasons and shows.
Copy Editor and Music Critic, Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma City Times (Oklahoma City, Okla.), February 1982 to January 1983: edited copy and designed pages for zoned metro editions of daily newspapers; wrote profiles of musicians and reviewed concerts.
Copy Editor and Music Critic, The Sun and Daily Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), August 1980 to February 1982: edited copy and designed pages on sports and universal copy desks for morning newspaper; wrote musicians' profiles and reviewed concerts.
PUBLIC SERVICE
Member, Communications Subcommittee, President’s Committee on Employment
of People with Disabilities, 1997 to 2001. Served as Associate Editor of “The
Disability Messenger,” a sample newspaper exemplifying media coverage of
people with disabilities, and as chair of the task force that revised and designed
“Ready, Willing, and Available,” a business primer on hiring people
with disabilities. Also served as judge for 1993 and 1994 National Journalism
Scholarship, the 1995, 1998, and 1999 Nordstrom Business Scholarship, and the
1998 and 1999 Nike Sports Business Scholarship.
AWARDS
American Society of Business Publication
Editors’ Silver Award for Individual Profile in central region competition,
2001, for “All Fired Up in Texas” profile of G. Kemble Bennett,
director of the Texas Engineering Extension Service and chairman of the National
Domestic Preparedness Consortium, Industrial Management, January-February 2000.
Magazine Association of Georgia GAMMA
Silver Award for Best Feature Writing or Reporting—Business to Business,
2000, for “A Philosophy of Change” profile on Jong-Yung Yun, CEO
of Samsung Electronics Co. Industrial Management, July-August 1999.
Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Subject
Related Series of Articles, 1999, for “Is Our Water Safe? Recent events
surrounding bacteria surviving in water are raising an old familiar question.”
Swimming Pool/Spa Age Special Report, August 1998.
Magazine Association of Georgia GAMMA Silver Award for Best Feature Writing and Reporting—Business to Business, 1997, for "The Concern For Pool Safety: Ornamental fencing and gate systems can save lives while giving fabricators a profitable new market niche.” With sidebar: “Safety Consciousness” about marketing safety. Fabricator, September-October 1997.
Magazine Association of Georgia GAMMA
Bronze Award for Best Feature Article—Business, 1997, for “Finding
Good Workers: As more and more young people vie for white collar jobs, the metalworking
industry is left with a serious shortage of trained craftspersons.” Fabricator,
November/December 1996.
National Easter Seal Society EDI Award for Print Journalism, 1995, for “Implementing A Can-Do Attitude: While the business community frets over the impact of laws to hire the disabled, some companies have chosen to focus on people’s abilities and not their disabilities. Their successes have the whole world watching.” Hemispheres, July 1994.
EDUCATION
Master of Humanities degree in Disability
Studies at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. August 1996. Thesis topic:
“Cinematic images of People with Disabilities and Native Americans: a comparative
study.”
Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, major in magazine journalism with a broad liberal arts curriculum. May 1980.