Michael A. Freeman Résumé - CV 1

Michael A. Freeman Los Angeles, CA

(310) 486-4897 freeman.michael.a@gmail.com

A proven journalist and editor who is fully-versed at tirelessly digging for research, source-based information in writing informative, engaging and enlightening news stories and features under unceasing deadlines — in addition to copyediting and managing a reporting staff. An online portfolio of journalism clippings and marketing collateral are available for viewing at http://www.behance.net/MFreemanBizFXMedia.

Professional Experience: Editorial/Marketing/Promo Director – Biz FX Media – Los Angeles, CA 2002 – Present

An independent contracting business offering a full array of corporate/business journalism, marketing, promotions, and media consulting services.

♦ Conceptualized, researched, wrote and produced collateral marketing and promotions material for Showtime Networks Inc., Sony Pictures Television International, RGB Networks, Synacor, ESPN, Thomson Electronics, Accenture, BroadLogic, WealthTV, Charter Communications, Pioneer Digital Technologies, Casino & Gaming Television, and Game Show Network (now GSN) — among other corporate clients serviced. Freelance journalism clients have included Mediaweek magazine, Sweepsbook, Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter.

! As Director of Editorial Services, Corporate Communications for Showtime Networks Inc., I centralized and accelerated the conceptualization and writing of all corporate and consumer press releases; media/press kits; series/telefilm press kits and synopses; Web content; executive speeches; and other promotions/marketing collateral pieces – in addition to planting exclusive/non-exclusive news/feature story pieces in national/local business and consumer publications.

! As Senior Copywriter at Sony Pictures Television International, I founded new in-house copywriting department to centralize the conceptualizing, writing and copyediting of all marketing collateral pieces; print advertising copy; sales sheets; sales kits; the Annual Los Angeles Screenings catalog; series and motion picture synopses; show press kits for international client Web database; and PowerPoint presentations.

Senior Editor — Electronic Media/Television Week — Los Angeles, CA 2000 – 2002

A national weekly trade magazine (owned by Crain Communications Inc.) covering and chronicling all forms of the electronic media.

♦ Beat coverage and reporting of the television business for the six commercial U.S. broadcast

networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, WB, UPN), PBS, the Spanish-language Telemundo and Univision networks, and U.S.-based cable networks – as it pertains to prime time series, original program development, original long-form programming, theatrical/series acquisitions, sports rights/program acquisitions, news/public affairs programming, and daytime soaps and talk show programming.

♦ Coverage of the major Hollywood studios (20th Century Fox TV, NBC-Universal, Paramount, Touchstone Television, and Warner Bros.) and independent TV producers (such as Carsey-Werner Co., Sony Pictures Television, Lions Gate Television, etc.) as it relates to the development and production of network TV series.

Michael A. Freeman Résumé - CV Cont’d 2

Michael A. Freeman Résumé - CV 2

♦ Developed and wrote stories utilizing and revolving around the five major Hollywood talent agencies and labor unions/craft guild regarding writer-producer/talent, casting and series packaging deals, labor relations, and residuals negotiations — resulting in greater national visibility of the magazine in the Hollywood and New York creative and advertising communities.

Entertainment Editor — Bridge News — Los Angeles, CA 1999 – 2000 An institutional trading system delivered to over 200,000 stock brokerage traders globally, offering streaming data and newswire services (Bridge News) monitoring publicly-traded companies.

♦ Daily, by-the-minute coverage duties entailed monitoring any significant upward or downward pricing movement for 35 media-based stocks.

♦ Sat in on 10-Q and 10-K earnings conference calls, interpreting statements of senior executives (i.e. CEOs and CFOs), analyzing and writing recaps based on the company's actual earning results.

♦ Copyedited, proofed and re-wrote freelance news stories and features, including my own Hollywood-based feature specials on the TV and motion picture businesses (including reviews and box-office analyses).

Senior Editor — Mediaweek — Los Angeles, CA 1994 – 1999 A national weekly trade magazine (a unit of the Adweek Group/Billboard Publications Inc./VNU) dedicated to covering the domestic broadcast TV syndication, TV stations, broadcast networks, cable networks and sports rights beats.

♦ Broke a series stories detailing the then-record $2 billion-plus in off-network license fees and barter advertising revenue for Columbia TriStar Television's "Seinfeld" comedy series to TV stations (on behalf of series producer, Castle Rock Entertainment).

♦ Reported exclusively on Warner Bros.'s internal projections of nearly $600 million in license fees from the off-network sales for the first-cycle sales of (100 episodes) of "Friends" to TV stations.

♦ Reported extensively on Fox Broadcasting Co.'s coups to score successive four-year rights deals to National Football League regular- and post-season games — increasing, by billions of dollars, the amount of local and network advertising revenue going into Fox's coffers.

♦ Coverage included the children's TV business, including the emergence of the Fox Children's Network and similar formation of the KidsWB! weekend and weekday platforms.

♦ Wrote and produced on-location (in Montreal) feature story on first-of-its-kind High-Definition Television (HDTV) production of “The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne,” a jointly-produced Canadian-French series that broke ground in 1999 with the use of Sony HDcams and seamless digital post-production effects.

♦ Ongoing, extensive news and feature stories detailing the Federal Communications Commission’s mandated transition from analog to digital television spectrum (for TV stations, cable systems and satellite providers), specifically dealing with the ongoing transition to HDTV signal transmission and production.

Assistant Editor — Broadcasting & Cable — Los Angeles, CA 1988 – 1994 A national weekly trade magazine dedicated to broadcast TV syndication, broadcast network, cable network, children's TV, and Washington, D.C. regulatory beats.

♦ In a series of exclusive stories, detailed the then-record $1 billion-plus in first-cycle, off-network license fee bids from TV stations for Viacom's and Carsey-Werner Company's "The Cosby Show."

Michael A. Freeman Résumé - CV Cont’d 3

Michael A. Freeman Résumé - CV 3

♦ First reporter to get the exclusive feature story on Saban Entertainment's acquisition and development of the multi-billion dollar "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" franchise (for Fox Kids Network).

♦ Coverage of the TV syndication beat lead to numerous breaking, exclusive features, including being the first to report the details of Paramount developing a third spinoff of the billion-dollar "Star Trek" franchise in "Deep Space Nine" with the casting of the first African-American in a lead actor role.

Technical Skills: PC- and Mac-based operating systems ■ Microsoft Office Suite: MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Visio, MS Publisher, MS Project, MS Outlook, and MS Internet Explorer ■ Adobe Creative Suite: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign ■ CMS desktop platforms: QuarkXPress, Quark CopyDesk, and Open Pages ■ CMS blog sites WordPress, Blogspot ■ Social network portals Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, Vimeo ■ Social network aggregation tools HootSuite and TweetDeck ■ Camtasia 6 & 7 video studio presentation suites ■ Final Cut Pro 5 & 7 video editing suite software ■ Final Draft 8 and Final Draft AV ■ StoryView ■ Digital photography, taping/recording and transcribing ■ Business and industry-related, Internet database/search subscriptions with Lexis-Nexis, Bacon’s (now Cision), Burrelle’s, Gale General Reference Center Gold, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Co., Morningstar.com, Hoovers.com, NewsBank, Proquest Newspapers, Reference USA, Baseline.com, Variety.com, IMDBpro.com, StudioSystem.com, and Factiva.com (featuring Dow Jones, Reuters databases).

Education:

Murray State University, Murray, KY

Major: Radio-Television/Journalism Minor: Advertising/Marketing Honors & Awards:

The William H. Donaldson Award, presented by Mediaweek, Adweek & Billboard Publications Inc., for 1996 National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) pre- to post-convention special sections coverage.

Skill Set Scorecard Test Results:

Smarterer.com “Skill Set Scorecard Test Results” in a wide array of competencies are available for viewing at http://www.smarterer.com/freeman_michael_a.