Derek J. Whitlow
Media Relations Specialist, Higher education
Richmond, VA · (804) 555 0128 · name@example.com · linkedin.com/in/derekjwhitlow
Key Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
Six years in media relations, four in higher education.
INDUSTRIES
Higher education, research institutes, regional news.
SPECIALTIES
Expert placement, research publicity, press releases, spokesperson preparation.
SYSTEMS
Cision, Muck Rack, Meltwater, WordPress, Google Analytics.
CREDENTIALS
Member of the Public Relations Society of America.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Results at a Glance
340
Stories last year
60
Faculty members
31
Requests accepted
Executive Summary
Media relations specialist at a public research university, handling roughly 500 press inquiries a year and pitching faculty expertise to national outlets. Six years in the work. Known for finding the professor who can explain a breaking story clearly and getting that person on the phone with a reporter inside an hour.
Signature Achievements
- Placed faculty experts in 340 stories last year, including 44 national broadcast or wire mentions.
- Cut average response time on reporter inquiries from six hours to under 90 minutes by building a searchable expert database.
- Secured an embargoed exclusive on a climate study that ran in two national papers on the same morning as publication.
- Prepared 60 faculty members for interviews, of whom eighteen had never spoken to a reporter before.
- Reduced published errors about university research by requesting corrections promptly, with 31 of 34 requests accepted.
Professional Experience
Media Relations Specialist
Commonwealth State University, Richmond, VA 2022 to present
News office of six serving a university of 29,000 students and 1,900 faculty across nine colleges.
- Handles daily press inquiries and decides which ones go to a dean and which to a researcher.
- Writes press releases on research findings, grants and university announcements.
- Runs the embargo process with journal publishers and national science reporters.
- Coaches faculty before interviews and sits in on the difficult ones.
Communications Coordinator
James River Research Institute, Richmond, VA 2020 to 2022
Independent research nonprofit of 80 staff studying water quality and regional land use.
- Wrote press materials and the quarterly research digest for reporters.
- Built the institute's first media list of environment and science journalists.
- Coordinated two report launches including press briefings for regional outlets.
Licensure and Certification
Member, Public Relations Society of America
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Virginia Commonwealth University
Core Skills
Media relations · Expert placement · Press release writing · Embargo management · Spokesperson preparation · Research publicity · Correction requests · Media list building · Coverage reporting · Interview support