michael mccullough

Directing daily news operations of 35-person staff, winning Newspaper of the Year honors from the Michigan Press Association in first year of operation.

Oversight of newsroom operations, production and special projects. Winner of Gannet’s Supervisor Recognition Award and top Well Done award for the special centennial edition, “A Cause to Glorify.”

Responsible for ensuring clarity, style and accuracy of reporters' copy and translating that content into compelling news design at the dawn of the desktop publishing revolution in the newspaper industry

* Designed and implemented the Enquirer’s “newsroom of the future,” a digital transformation that re-envisioned every position and job description around audience priorities and passion topics. Results: * Grew mobile audience about 140 percent— in a fiercely competitive market. * Average story engagement of about a minute versus an industry average of less than 40 seconds. * Among the top tier in the USA Today network — more than 100 newspapers — for growth of unique browsers. * A Facebook page ranked No. 1 among USA Today network pages for interaction rates, and No. 2 for year-over-year page growth in 2016. * Top performer in Gannett Michigan’s 2016 video challenge for plays and reach. * Podcast plays ranking 9th among 40 across the USA Today network. * Winner of four industry and company content awards for features, columns and innovative storytelling.

* Led the Enquirer through the economic collapse and industry reset, implementing strategies that reduced costs while maintaining core First Amendment and community responsibilities. * Outsourcing of printing, copy editing and design functions, generating annual payroll savings of more than $500,000. * Reduction in force of more than 100 employees, about 75 percent staff. * Relocation of operations to new offices; market and sale of former building. * Continued focus on public service journalism, earning numerous awards including state and national honors for series examining failed strategies to mitigate impacts of generational poverty in greater Battle Creek

Elevated through management from copy editor and designer, ultimately directing a desk of eight editors and overseeing the presentation and design of all news content. Implemented the company's desktop publishing workflow and led the team that selected and implemented a new content management system. Represented the management in labor contract negotiations and on several Times Mirror Co. initiatives, among them the METPRO minority recruitment program. Was selected to the Times Mirror Leadership Institute for Managers in October 1996.

Roles as a reporter and copy editor under one of southern New Jersey's most venerable mastheads. Covered municipal, economic and environmental affairs during the explosive growth of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Major accomplishments: Statewide award for interpretative writing about the regional rapidly disappearing wetlands and the failed regulatory system designed to preserve them. Extensive coverage of the struggle over the future of the Maurice River that pitted environmentalists against developers and the region's major electric utility. An investigation into the activities of the Ku Klux Klan and its members. Exposed a buried state Department of Environmental Protection study that indicated a nuclear power facility was responsible for the crash of the Delaware Bay fishery. (Nominated for Pulitzer Prize.)

Assisted in the creation of a new position that engages residents and organizations to foster opportunities to learn. Directed, facilitated and wrote a strategic plan that relied on the input of residents and staff to develop a dramatically different mission for the library.

The Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at WVU — since renamed the Reed College of Media — is one of the nation's oldest journalism institutions of higher learning. Then and now, students learn by doing, producing real stories for real clients. I learned my craft as a staff member and editor at The Daily Athenaeum, WVU's independent, student-run newspaper.