Resume

William R. Fonda Jr.

Acton, MA | 508-360-2857 | Wrfonda@gmail.com | billfonda.com | linkedin.com/in/bill-fonda

● Writer ● Editor ● Manager ● Storyteller

CORE SKILLS

  • More than 20 years of experience writing, reporting and editing for print, digital and social media, along with executive experience as managing editor and manager.
  • Passionate about storytelling, with a track record of being motivated by informing readers what news means to them.
  • Effective at meeting deadlines for multiple projects.
  • Resourceful, whether finding a source for a story or solving a problem.
  • Effective at managing, including coaching and inspiring numerous reporters, editors and interns.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Editor, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, Peterborough, NH, 2021-present

  • Editor of twice-weekly newspaper covering 16 towns in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire.
  • Manages reporters and interns and works with them on developing stories.
  • Edits reporters’ stories and contributions from the public.
  • Coordinates opinion pages.
  • Designs and edits pages.
  • Maintains newspaper website and tags items for weekly e-newsletters.

Managing Editor/Manager, Gatehouse Media New England (now Gannett) Concord, MA, 2014 to 2019

  • Managed and oversaw the news operations of 17 publications.
  • Served as primary editor for one publication, The Beacon, covering Acton and Boxborough, including managing a reporter and overseeing print, digital and social media content.
  • Read and edited 25 to 30 stories each week.
  • Coordinated communication between editors and reporters across Massachusetts, as well as with operations in Austin, Texas.
  • Helped recruit and train editorial staff, including editors, reporters and photographers, and managed the office’s college internship program.
  • Led investigations, including on local gun laws and the gun control debate.
  • Developed strategy for regional content and complex projects, including streamlining the process for editing and publishing regional stories.
  • Developed and implemented departmental procedures, coordinated production schedules, filled in for absent editors and conducted troubleshooting as needed.

Editor, GateHouse Media New England (now Gannett) Marshfield, MA, 2006 to 2014

  • Managed a veteran staff after the departure of a longtime editor.
  • Edited stories, columns and letters to the editor for multiple publications, coordinated photography and managed print, digital and social media.
  • Led the newsroom transition to a new content management system (CMS).
  • Wrote weekly editorials and columns.

Reporter, The Cape Codder, GateHouse Media New England (now Gannett) Orleans, MA, 2003 to 2006

  • Wrote six to 10 stories per week on the towns of Orleans and Chatham, the Nauset Regional School District and people and institutions of the Outer Cape. Topics included the proposed Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, the lawsuit that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and life for people under 40 in a town with one of the highest average ages in the commonwealth.

AWARDS

  • Second place, General Excellence for weeklies over 5,000 circulation, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, New England Newspaper and Press Association
  • First place, General Excellence, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, New Hampshire Press Association (twice)
  • Second place, General Excellence, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, New Hampshire Press Association
  • Distinguished Newspaper, Small Circulation Weekly, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, New England Newspaper and Press Association
  • Second place, General Excellence, Marshfield Mariner, New England Press Association awards
  • First place, Coverage of Local Election, Scituate Mariner, New England Newspaper & Press Association awards

EDUCATION

University at Albany, Albany, NY: Master’s Degree, Political Communication

Utica University, Utica, NY: Bachelor’s Degree, Speech Communication/Radio-TV and Journalism