CAITLIN FITZSIMMONS

1996 Bachelor of Arts (Communication), Charles Sturt University
Majoring in Broadcast Journalism; electives in politics and theatre

1993 Higher School Certificate NSW, Glenaeon School
Tertiary Education Rank (TER): 98.25 (top 1.75% of state)

Skills & Knowledge
I have a strong track record as a reporter, features writer and editor, including for national newspapers in Australia and the UK. My career background has given me a solid grounding in general news, as well as particular expertise in social reportage and media and technology. I am familiar with the demands of a quality daily newspaper and also possess extensive experience with online media. This includes reporting and editing breaking news for the web, blogging and producing audio reports, developing my own websites, and building communities online. I am confident with typing, shorthand, basic HTML, and sub-editing to a house style guide.

Career history

Freelance
January 2006 to present
I write for major newspapers such as The Guardian and The Australian and consumer and business magazines. I specialize in foreign and social reportage, traveling to locations such as Syria to write about an Iraqi wedding for G2, Senegal to write about Chinese immigrants, and Papua New Guinea, Uganda and Nicaragua to write about coffee. I also specialize in media and technology, including news shifts for MediaGuardian.co.uk and features for the Media Guardian, The Independent, The Australian, and trade magazines such as Media Week and Campaign. I am a motivated and disciplined journalist and skilled at managing relationships with contacts and editors. This is demonstrated by the fact that I have successfully run my freelance business for nearly three years, earning above the London average and increasing my earnings by 10% every year.

Media Week (Quantum Publishing / Haymarket Publishing)
Media Week is a trade magazine for the commercial media industry
Deputy News Editor / Acting News Editor
June 2004 to December 2005
Reporting to the news editor, my role was help produce 16 pages of news, analysis and reviews every week. I also acted as news editor in his absence, including for three months in 2005. My role included managing and mentoring a team of four news reporters and freelancers, deciding on story placement and editing copy, and representing the magazine externally. I also had reporting responsibilities, writing news, analysis, features and comment. I took on extra responsibility to edit the bi-annual supplements on the Audit Bureau of Circulations consumer magazine reports.

The Australian (News Limited)
The Australian is a quality broadsheet and the best selling national newspaper in Australia.
General Reporter – Sydney bureau
January 2003 to April 2004
Reporting to the Sydney bureau chief, my role was to write articles for the general news pages, including page leads, picture stories and color pieces. I reported on major news events such as the aftermath of the Bali bombings, and broke off-diary stories on abuses of the Federal Government’s First Home Buyer’s Grant and controversy over the introduction of genetically modified crops. I looked beyond my everyday duties to write in depth features for the daily features page and Inquirer, the weekend features section, and other sections such as Business, Media, Travel, Schools and Arts. At the end of 2003 I was rewarded by the company for being one of the most outstanding journalists of the year.

Technology Journalist
August 2000 to January 2003
Reporting to the editor of The Australian IT and the online editor of australianIT.com.au, I wrote breaking news for the website and off-diary news articles for The Australian’s weekly IT section. I also contributed articles on technology and new media across the newspaper, particularly for Business, General News and Media. I was one of a team of three reporters who built the website from launch phase and a monthly readership of 300,000 to over 1.6 million by 2002. After the relaunch of the section in 2002, I was promoted to features editor and handled a commissioning budget for three sections covering the IT industry, business and consumer technology. During my time on the technology beat, I won an industry award from ITJourno for consistently breaking scoops.

Australian Reseller News (IDG Communications)
Australian Reseller News is a trade newspaper for the computer reseller industry in Australia.
Features writer / section editor
September 1999 to August 2000
Reporting to the editor, I wrote news and features on business issues affecting IT trade, including the dotcom stockmarket crash in April 2000.

Other
Between January and August 1999, I spent four months working for community development organisation Youth Challenge International in Guyana as a headquarters assistant, followed by a season as a camp counsellor at Hawthorne Valley Farm Camp in upstate New York.

The Village Voice (Village Suburban Newspapers)
Not to be confused with its New York namesake, The Village Voice is a chain of local newspapers in inner-city Sydney.
Journalist
November 1997 to December 1998
Reporting to the editor, I wrote news on local issues, including police and council rounds. As one of only two reporters in the company, I helped launch the monthly Leichhardt, Glebe & Annandale edition, for which I had primary responsibility. I also contributed to the Balmain & Rozelle edition and my duties extended to photography, page lay-out and proof-reading.

Other
At the end of university, I volunteered with Youth Challenge International. After a vigorous selection and fundraising process, I spent three months in Costa Rica, first on an aqueduct construction project and then on a cataract surgery program with SEE International. After my return to Australia, I worked at the NSW Department for Women as a receptionist, while looking for my first job in journalism.

Professional development
Training includes a features writing course with the NUJ in 2008, a food writing course with Sophie Grigson and Alastair Hendy at the Arvon Foundation in 2007, a travel writing course with Dea Birkett in 2006, a news editing course with the PMA in 2005, several media law courses most recently in the UK in 2005, and the News Limited subbing course, for which I received a high distinction. I am a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Interests
I enjoy film and theater, books, cooking and travel.

Referees
Written reference available from Chris Mitchell, editor-in-chief of The Australian.

Please see my LinkedIn recommendations.

Other referees available on request.