Stephen Humphries

Current

• Arts Writer at Chrisitian Science Monitor

Past

• Senior Arts editor/writer for Weekend Section at The Christian Science Monitor
• Assistant Editor / Writer: Arts Section at The Christian Science Monitor
• Sub editor/US News section at The Christian Science Monitor

• Sub editor/Arts section at The Christian Science Monitor

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Education

• Hillsdale College

Connections

76 connections

Industry

Writing and Editing

Stephen Humphries’s Summary

I'm a seasoned journalist of arts & entertainment news who thrives in a progressive, cutting-edge environment and brings flair, color, humor and a distinctive voice to articles, interviews, profiles, reviews, and trend pieces.

I was asked to conceptualize, launch and manage the arts & entertainment section of a Pulitzer-prize winning national paper. Executed this new section with a magazine-like feel, snappier writing, new features, and coverage of a wider variety of subjects—leisure, arts & entertainment, sports, and books—including a focus on music each week. In addition to frequent non-bylined pieces, I write very occasional feature stories, as well as music and movie reviews.

Stephen Humphries’s Specialties:

Widely read entertainment industry expert, with detailed knowledge of the current trendsetters in music, film, and television.

Stephen Humphries’s Experience

• Arts Writer

  Chrisitian Science Monitor

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  Transitioned into full-time Arts writer covering music, TV, movies, and social media.
  
  Working from Los Angeles bureau.
  
  See one of my latest stories on pop culture:
  http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/10/23/george-w-bush-and-pop-cultures-perception/

• Senior Arts editor/writer for Weekend Section

  The Christian Science Monitor

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  August 2005 — May 2008 (2 years 10 months)

  • Conceptualized an entertainment section designed to both kick off the weekend and to provide a break from the paper's Pulitzer-prize winning hard news coverage while still remaining informative and of high caliber. Executed this new section with a magazine-like feel, snappier writing, new features, and coverage of a wider variety of subjects — leisure, arts & entertainment, sports, and books — including a focus on music each week.
  • In addition to frequent non-bylined pieces, wrote feature stories, music and movie reviews, and blog content.
  • Managed a staff of four, implementing new productivity and quality standards. Hired and trained an assistant editor, and developed roster of new freelancers.
  • Managed the section budget. Lowered section expenses by 40%.
  • Instituted a search for and found a nationally recognized film critic.
  • Won an internal award for excellence in recognition of the success of the section (nomination by peers).

• Assistant Editor / Writer: Arts Section

  The Christian Science Monitor

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  2003 — 2005 (2 years )

  • Initiated and wrote several articles (reviews, profiles, features, interviews) per month on top of full-time editing duties. Multiple articles picked up in syndication by USA TODAY and Yahoo!, among others.
  • Responsible for the weekly Arts section on Fridays as well as arts stories that ran in the Features section on other days of the week.
  • Trend-spotted story ideas for beats including music, pop culture, new media, movies, and pop culture.
  • Managed three staff writers as well as dozens of freelancers.
  • Edited copy, restructuring or rewriting where needed.
  • Prepared display copy, line editing, fact checking, and, where applicable, restructured and rewrote copy by staff writers and freelancers.
  • Acted as assignment editor, looking for stories and commissioning pieces for staff writers and freelancers.
  • Formats: first person interviews with musicians, directors, movie stars, in-depth profiles, movie reviews, album reviews, reported trend pieces.

• Sub editor/US News section

  The Christian Science Monitor

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  2001 — 2003 (2 years )

  Sub-Editor: U.S. News Section (2001 – 2003)
  • Edited copy by freelancers and writers for the daily paper. Oversaw a cadre of writers – both staff and stringers – in several geographic regions of the U.S., including California, the Midwest, and the South.
  • Writers’ beats ranged from political stories to newsy society and culture pieces to environmental stories to news events.
  • Learned to shape stories, rewrite and/or overhaul when necessary under intense deadline pressure.
  • Acted as assignment editor by looking for regional stories and trends and encouraging freelancers to pursue these assignments. Read pitches and forwarded the ones with potential to the section editor.
  • Worked with the best editor in the organization, gaining on-the-job learning from the top of the journalistic field.

• Sub editor/Arts section

  The Christian Science Monitor

  (Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)

  1999 — 2001 (2 years )

  Sub-Editor: Arts Section (1999 – 2001)
  • Worked alongside the section’s editor and assistant editor by editing a variety of pieces and providing display copy, as well as suggesting story ideas.
  • Contributed stories, often written during off hours.
  • Learned journalism basics and editing skills.
  • Entered the organization as a junior editorial assistant and adapted quickly. Promoted to this position within a few months as acknowledgement of detailed knowledge of arts and popular culture.

Stephen Humphries’s Education

• Hillsdale College

  BA , economics, politics , 1993 — 1996

  Activities and Societies:

  Internships
  
  • Editor at the Foundation for Economic Education, a New York economic think tank (Summer 1995).
  • Researcher for The Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C., policy think tank (Summer 1994).
  • Writer for The Collegian, the college newspaper.
  • President of PRAXIS, the political economy club.

Additional Information

Stephen Humphries’s Interests:

Rugby; scuba diving; kayaking; travel; music (especially Led Zeppelin/Robert Plant, Marillion, Gary Moore, Joseph Arthur, Kate Bush, Porcupine Tree, Neil Finn/Crowded House), TV shows (esp. "The Wire," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica," "Veronica Mars"), and cinema (including an irrational love of 007 movies).

Stephen Humphries’s Groups:

•    Hillsdale College
•    Online reporters and editors
•    Hillsdale College Alumni Network
•    Journalist and Journalism

Stephen Humphries’s Honors:

Employee Recognition Honor (nomination from coworkers) for launching new Weekend Section

Stephen Humphries’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• getting back in touch