For years I worked as a journalist, covering a range of subjects including local schools, local government, presidential caucuses, lifestyles and entertainment.

Along the way, I noticed a host of emerging digital tools and methods that represented an exciting wholesale shift in the news ecosystem, so I took some time as a graduate student to begin to understand them. Specifically, I talked with newsrooms large and small to see what they expected from digital distribution and how they were putting it into practice. As it turned out, there were people interested in the findings.

Returning to the newsroom, I put the tools into practice — first in my own reporting and then by teaching my colleagues as well. In 2008, I organized NewsInnovation-Portland, one of the regional sessions of a nationwide effort to get people to embrace the chaos of modern media and hash out some ideas for moving forward.

Over time, my efforts moved further from daily reporting into shaping my newsroom’s practices and workflow to meet the needs of modern readers, and eventually into developing niche information products. In the process, I gained extensive experience with online reporting and content tools and WordPress.

These days, I work as Director of Communication for brass MEDIA, where I think a lot about how to use content to provide a better user experience and provide people with the right information at the right time. You could call it content strategy. You could call it audience development.

Away from the office, you can also find me developing niche projects on my own, building things around the house and obsessively flyfishing.

I’m a member of my local community radio station’s programming committee and occasionally help local organizations with Web consulting.