Resume

Tom Mitsoff

mobile: (608) 345-4319 | thomas@tommitsoff.com

Communications Management: Media & Public Relations, Digital Media, Social Media, Marketing, Publications

• Highly successful communications leader with in-depth experience driving all facets of content creation, editing, production, and publication for nationally syndicated digital and print media.
• Keen attention to detail and exceptional work ethic with a dedication to developing award-winning public communications.
• Strong history of increasing responsibility acquired through rapid acquisition of new skill sets and a desire to achieve continued excellence in attaining organizational goals.

PC & Mac Proficiency | Photoshop | HTML | MS Excel | AP Style | Expense Management | Video Editing & Production

I am new in the Madison area, having relocated here due to my wife’s job opportunity. I am looking for my next great opportunity and available to interview and start immediately!

Professional Competencies

Digital Media Manager

Drove initiatives to launch digital newspaper presence across websites, mobile applications, and social media during company transition from paper to online. Managed all facets of production and introduction of mobile applications.

• Championed new income streams by implementing automated pre-roll advertising on videos.
• Established video department including sourcing of staff and development of key resources.
• Pioneered processes and procedures for daily production of 10+ video segments for website and apps.
• Curated content from outside sources to improve and increase website content.

Web Optimization

Innovative online entrepreneur leveraging expertise in Internet marketing techniques to provide website hosting and search engine optimization services to clients across various industries and for personal entrepreneurial business.

• Achieved Top Google rankings for clients and personal ventures.
• Garnered reputation as expert in creating original video marketing (see http://tommitsoff.com/videos/).

Executive Editor, Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Editor

Extensive career leading publication and department management for targeted content development including copy editing support and page production. Oversaw 45 staff including 13 publication editors and 5 composing room personnel. Fostered staff accountability to ensure compliance with strict deadlines, and facilitated training to improve staff skill sets. Commanded 2,000+ daily and weekly publication issues, and personally authored more than 1,000 published articles.

• Spearheaded management of two operations including 180,000 paid and free circulations.
• Facilitated training in page design to support quality upgrade of company community publications.
• Led organization to achieve 60 awards in three years for Journalistic Excellence.
• Increased circulation through enhanced focus of content for target audience.
• Acquired exceptional skill in Quark Xpress while paginating and copy-editing numerous daily stories.

Writer

Multifaceted roles developing content for national syndication on topics including website management and sports.

• Authored two Amazon.com/Kindle best-selling books, “The Web Ranking Manual” and “Bitcoin Decoded.”
• Produced more than 50 nationally published NFL, NBA, and NCAA articles.
• Received Wire Service Awards for Writing Excellence, including top sports column in Ohio.

 

Professional Summary

Digital devotee.    Extensive knowledge of and experience in the process of creating web sites, mobile web sites, mobile apps, as well as the processes to get them noticed.

An accomplished editor.     Recognized by superiors, readers, fellow journalists and state journalism associations for achievements in producing publications targeted at specific markets and niches. Hired by publishers to establish or improve their coverage of the niche market, and achieved objectives each time.

An outstanding writer.     Over 1,000 news and sports articles published in print and electronic media. Covered NFL football for four years, with more than 60 articles published in nationally distributed magazines. Published in hundreds of print and Web publications across the U.S.

An experienced manager.     Managed staffs and departments ranging from five to 45. Managed expenses in excess of $1 million, always meeting budget. Lauded by superiors for ability to get the most out of subordinates. Praised by subordinates for managerial style. Produced over 2,000 publications as editor in charge. Years of experience successfully managing work cycles with multiple daily deadlines. Co-owned community newspaper company.

Internet-savvy entrepreneur.     Created and managed two community newspaper Web sites, which both exceeded 1 million page views annually within two years of startup. Started own Internet marketing company, Expert Online Business Solutions. Educated in Web authoring and marketing techniques.

 

Key Strengths

• Intelligence and integrity;
• Business management skills at all levels: owner, executive director, line manager;
• Outstanding knowledge of grammar and spelling;
• Reliability and good health;
• Excellent work ethic, good listener, skilled at deadline management;
• Friendly with good sense of humor

 

Career Accomplishments:

• Journalism – as editor of The Sunday Challenger, directed the editorial staff which won 63 state journalism awards in less than two full years of operation; awards included first-place, general excellence; twenty-one years in the print media business; 19 as executive editor, editor and-or managing editor.
• Writing– top sports column, Ohio Associated Press; top sports column and sports story, United Press International; honorable mention, best column, Kentucky Press Association; published in The Washington Times.
• Internet— created and managed two media company Web sites; played key role in the rebuilding and relaunch of a daily newspaper Web site resulting in 200 to 300 percent traffic increases.
• Video— created web video channels that posted an average of 10 short news and sports segments per day to web, mobile apps, social media; created video department at daily newspaper which generated enough video views to start new revenue stream of pre-roll video commercials.
• Management— as executive editor of Suburban Newspapers of Dayton (SND), I led the integration of two companies’ news staffs, covering 13 publications, following SND’s purchase of a competing newspaper chain; this task included computerizing the offices of the acquired company, and helping to train staff in relevant software.
• Entrepreneur– started two media companies (one newspaper, one Internet), and was hired to help start another.

 

Education:

1980-1984: University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio

Communications, minor in psychology; 3.4 grade point average

1998: Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio

Various courses taken in HTML authoring

 

Experience:

2006 – 2015: TylerPaper.com, Tyler, TX

Digital Media Manager (2012-2015)

Promoted to newly-created management position to help print publication (daily newspaper) adapt to digital focus in publishing content

• Led process of selecting vendor to create proprietary content management system
• Managed process of creating mobile news apps that function off the same CMS as the company’s Internet properties
• Helped manage creation of daily video content

Web Editor (2006-2011)

Web site for the Tyler Morning Telegraph daily newspaper, serving 11-county region of East Texas

• Editor responsible for all editorial process creation and execution for rebuilt Web site (conversion from Town News to Saxotech platform).
• Played key role in 200 to 300 percent increases in traffic, compared to year previous, over 10 months.
• Played key role in execution and strategy for “Spotted” photo gallery Web site, acknowledged as industry-best.
• Led the development and implementation of online sections covering 77 East Texas high schools and more than 250 East Texas clubs and organizations.
• Led the implementation of reader forums on every story on the site.

 

2003 – 2006: The Sunday Challenger, Covington, KY

Editor in Chief

Sunday-only community newspaper with, 70,000 circulation, serving three Northern Kentucky counties (population 350,000)

• Editor in chief responsible for all hiring, editorial process creation, assignments, and production of community newspaper.
• Helped define and implement the plan to build a publishing company from scratch.
• Recruited and directed a newsroom staff: In less than two full years of publication, The Sunday Challenger won 63 journalism and presentation awards from The Kentucky Press Association, including first-place general excellence (best-in-class) twice.
• Created The Sunday Challenger’s Web site, ChallengerNKY.com, which generated more than 1 Million page views during calendar year 2005, and was on pace to eclipse that for 2006.

 

2002 – 2003: Northfield News, Northfield, MN

Managing Editor

Twice-weekly community newspaper, serving southern Minnesota city

• Produced popular, award-winning community newspaper and helped develop inexperienced reporters; two of them who I hired and nurtured won news writing awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association that year.

 

1992 – 2001: Amos Press Inc. / Brown Publishing

Community newspaper companies operating in the Dayton, Ohio market; worked continuously for nine years, including through acquisition of Amos Press by Brown Publishing, being promoted twice during that time.

Suburban Newspapers of Dayton, Tipp City, OH
Executive Editor

• Chief executive of editorial division of an 18-publication chain; responsible for 18 direct reports (including 13 editors) in 10 office locations, with a total of 46 employees in the department. Publications totaled nearly 200,000 in weekly circulation.
• Created and managed LAN system for sharing text and image files among 10 offices on a central file server.
• Created and managed SNDNews.com (Suburban Newspapers of Dayton’s online news product). The Web site I developed from scratch, using HTML, contained nearly 4,500 pages and attracted approximately 450,000 page views per month.
• Managed expense budget in excess of $1 million annually and held costs below budget.

Piqua Daily Call, Piqua, OH
General Manager / Executive Editor

• On-site manager for daily newspaper with circulation of 7,100.
• Hired to improve overall editorial product, and did so by increasing local content and improving layout and design.

Beavercreek News-Current, Beavercreek, OH
Editor

• Produced award-winning daily newspaper with circulation of approximately 4,500.
• Worked with inexperienced reporters and photographers to hone their skills; several reporters earned state awards.
• Led coverage of ongoing stories on police corruption, retail development and population explosion, school finances.

 

1988 – 1992: Beavercreek Current, Beavercreek, OH
Co-owner / Editor

Twice-weekly community news publication

• Primary investor and vice president of community newspaper company; merged with competing community daily publication.
• Consistently beat the competing daily newspaper on stories despite being only twice weekly.

 

1984 – 1988: Beavercreek Daily News, Beavercreek, OH
Staff Writer / Sports Editor / Assistant Editor / Editor

Daily newspaper

• Accepted reporting job upon graduation from college; covered crime, local government, personality feature beats.
• Received promotions to the positions of sports editor (for six months) and assistant editor (for six months), and editor.

 

Business skills:

Computers: PC and Mac, Word, Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark XPress, Pagemaker, HMTL, Excel, video editing

Writing / editing: Excellent proofreading skills, knowledge of AP style, eye for catching spelling and grammatical errors, awards won for columns, sports writing, information graphics from Ohio and Kentucky journalism associations, video creation from script to edited final product

 

Community service:

2005: Key contributor, Vision 2015 community visioning project, Northern Kentucky

Participated as a member of the education excellence action team, one of five action teams which spent more than a year brainstorming and conducting research on how Northern Kentucky can be a standout region in 2015.

1988-1993: Beavercreek Popcorn Festival, organizational committee member

Coordinated informational tabloid which previewed the festival and assisted in other publicity functions; served one year as treasurer

1989: Beavercreek Fourth of July Committee chairman

Chaired committee which organized Independence Day activities

1998-2000: Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce board of directors

Served as one of 15 board members elected by chamber membership; assisted in compilation of glossy publication designed to promote Beavercreek’s attributes

 

Interests:

Computers, sports, music.

Last update: November 18, 2015