Jason Foster Email & Phone Number

Charlotte, Nc, Us

--Write news, analysis and features for Major League Baseball’s official website, contribute research to assist MLB’s other writers and content partners, and provide on-site reporting as needed.--Write and send push notifications to MLB.com’s mobile customers to promote news and highlights.--Wrote stories that led the MLB.com homepage, including analysis of Aaron Judge’s pursuit of 400 total bases, and analysis of the MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year races.--Wrote long-form reported features on Chase Burns and Nick Kurtz, two top-10 MLB Draft prospects.--Provided original content for the official 2024 MLB All-Star Game program.

Charlotte, North Carolina Area

--Led Sporting News' day-to-day coverage of Major League Baseball, managing SN's baseball staff in production of daily and enterprise work. --In first season as MLB editor, unique users to SN's baseball pages grew by 2.6 million over the previous season. --As a writer and BBWAA member, generated 5 million page views and 2.9 million unique users with reported features, opinion columns and original enterprise stories.--Wrote and narrated original MLB explainer videos on YouTube that collectively generated nearly 192,000 views (an average of 24,000 views per video) and included the company’s most-viewed MLB video of 2021. --Grew SN's baseball Twitter account by 12,000 followers from 2017 to 2019 through engaging content, product giveaways and interaction with readers.--Expanded the frequency and depth of SN's original reporting and unique features through more strategic use of contributors and a greater focus on enterprise work.--Organized or delegated voting and tabulation for the annual Sporting News MLB awards, polling MLB players, managers and executives to determine the prestigious end-of-year superlatives that have been part of SN's brand since 1936.--Provided and led on-site coverage of MLB events, including the All-Star Game and World Series.--Held three separate deputy editor roles concurrent with MLB duties: managing SN's digital content producers in breaking and trending news across all sports (2016-17); managing SN's staff-wide enterprise output (2018); managing SN's senior writers in daily and enterprise coverage of the NFL, NBA, MLB and college sports (2018, 2020-21).

Charlotte, North Carolina Area

--Generated 7.2 million page views and nearly 900,000 unique users with original features, opinion columns and news stories across the NFL, NBA, MLB, college sports and more, with emphasis on nighttime breaking and trending news.--Nominated for a Society for American Baseball Research award in Historical Analysis/Commentary in 2016.--Managed SN night operations on weekends, supervising and editing other producers in news coverage.--Assisted and coached SN staff writers and producers in development and execution of original content and enterprise across all sports.--Had stint as point person and manager/editor of SN's contributors program.--Often managed the SportingNews.com home page and various social media accounts.--Was promoted to deputy editor within 18 months of initial hire.

Charlotte, North Carolina Area

--Three-month contract position that included advising and coaching freelance writers, most of whom had little or no professional experience, on editorial best practices for Charlotte digital media startup.--Served as copy editor on select stories, editing for accuracy, style, clarity and crispness.--Wrote stories and columns as needed.

Charlotte, North Carolina Area

--Edited copy and wrote compelling headlines for news, business and sports stories in print and online for The Charlotte Observer and The (Raleigh) News & Observer, editing for content, clarity, accuracy, crispness and search engine optimization. --Was lead copy editor on "Failing the Test," an Observer/N&O investigative series on the flaws in North Carolina's auto inspection/emissions testing program. The series won a McClatchy President's Award in 2012.--In addition to SEO, digital responsibilities included making sure online supplements to stories (embedded tweets, videos, maps, etc.) appeared and functioned as planned.--Frequently served as a slot editor, making assignments, supervising the work of up to six copy editors and having final oversight of stories, headlines and associated elements while also helping ensure a fluid workflow and compliance with nightly deadlines.--Frequently served as national editor, selecting, budgeting and editing wire stories for the Observer, the N&O and The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald.

--Supervised as many as four staffers, plus a team of freelancers, in focused coverage of City Hall, growth and development, education and other topics for the North Raleigh News and Midtown Raleigh News, twice-weekly N&O publications (and companion websites) with a combined print circulation of about 135,000. --Brought significant differentiation of content and appearance between the two papers, which previously had been nearly identical. --Increased page views at NorthRaleighNews.com and MidtownRaleighNews.com by 22 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over the previous year in part through strong keywording, SEO-friendly headlines and vigorous use of social media. --Significantly expanded the papers' social media presence by launching a Facebook page that steadily gained followers and by aggressive tweeting that more than quadrupled the number of followers on Twitter.--As part of the metro editors team, pitched and edited North Raleigh/Midtown stories for the daily mainsheet and website, and collaborated with other N&O editors on planning. Stories by my reporters often received prominent display at NewsObserver.com and included several 1A centerpieces in the print edition.--Expanded coverage of Wake Forest, Rolesville and parts of Franklin County, three outlying areas in the North Raleigh coverage area that are traditionally under-served by local media.--Oversaw launch of Sunday North Raleigh/Midtown editons in August 2010, which included the addition of a high school sports section.--Grew the number of freelance correspondents from four to 10, including the addition of featured Sunday columnists for both papers.--Was a regular contributor to the N&O’s weight loss/fitness blog, Turning the Scales.

--Fully transitioned into role of business editor in May 2009 and substantially increased the frequency and depth of The Herald's coverage of retail, economic development, consumer affairs and small businesses, eventually earning a first-place award in the Business Reporting category from the S.C. Press Association. --Helped supervise newsroom staff of six reporters and assisted other editors with story planning and editing. Served as night editor on Mondays, which included budgeting the wire report and coordinating layout with a remote design desk.--Posted, edited and managed stories and other digital content at heraldonline.com, with eye toward SEO-friendly copy and headlines.--Conceived and launched The Herald Biz Buzz blog, which included news, trends and helpful consumer tips. In 2009, then again in 2010, the blog received a third-place award for Online Column Writing from the S.C. Press Association in a category that was open to all daily newspapers in the state.--Successfully lobbied for and helped implement the newsroom's use of social media to interact with readers, spread news and drive traffic to heraldonline.com. Maintained Twitter and Facebook accounts for business coverage and live-blogged via Twitter from major news events, including a town hall forum on health care reform and a South Carolina gubernatorial debate.--Conceived and launched the weekly print Biz Buzz column, which ran on Sundays and looked at how national and regional business trends were playing out locally. The column was honored in 2009 with a second-place award in the Column Writing category from the SCPA.--Conceived and launched a series called "Under the Radar" to spotlight local businesses that often go unnoticed but whose products or services play critical roles in the community.--Again served as the primary reporter on stories about faith and values.

--Coordinated daily and weekend local news coverage in York County, S.C. (pop. 210,000 at the time), the second-largest county in metro Charlotte.--Co-managed seven reporters, assigned and edited stories and helped with long-term planning. --Posted and updated breaking news at heraldonline.com, utilizing SEO techniques, and assisted online editor with content management.--Worked with editors at sister McClatchy papers and The Herald's television news partner to share stories and resources.--Helped conceive commemorative keepsake front pages for the Fourth of July, the election of Barack Obama and Christmas Day. --Was lead editor on "20 under 30," a special project that spotlighted 20 people younger than 30 who are making a name for themselves in York, Chester and Lancaster counties.--Added duties of business editor in December 2008 to boost The Herald's coverage of local business news. This included writing enterprise stories focused on local reaction to the economic downturn. These responsibilities were in addition to regular city editor duties.

--Worked with city editor to plan and execute the daily report in a three-county, 300,000-person coverage area within the Charlotte metro market.--Edited most, if not all, local copy for each day's edition and coordinated nighttime breaking news coverage, which included posting and managing digital content at heraldonline.com. --Helped manage 8-10 reporters.--Helped lead newsroom staff to more than 30 journalism awards from the S.C. Press Association, including 16 first-place finishes.--As the ranking editor at night, led newsroom to meet and exceed goals for deadline compliance and corrections.--Co-created and co-hosted "PopCast,"​ an award-winning weekly pop culture podcast at heraldonline.com and on iTunes. The show had a worldwide audience and an average user rating of four stars at iTunes. In 2008, it received a third-place award for Innovative Concept from the S.C. Press Association in a category that was open to all newspapers in the state.--Wrote a general interest blog at heraldonline.com that covered everything from entertainment to parenting to news of the weird.--Introduced the Blog Spotlight, a weekly print feature that highlighted blog entries at heraldonline.com with the goal of driving more traffic to the website.--Reviewed movies for the print edition and won a first-place award in Critical Writing from the S.C. Press Association. This category was open to critics of all daily newspapers in the state.--Won the 2006 Best Individual Cooperation award from The Associated Press for outstanding communication with the Columbia bureau to ensure The Herald's best work made it to the wire.--Was lead editor for The Herald's local coverage of the fifth anniversary of 9/11.--Conceived, compiled and edited the book "Slice of Dys,"​ a collection of columns by The Herald's award-winning writer Andrew Dys, which has generated thousands in revenue for the company.--Occasionally wrote editorials in absence of opinion editor.

--Covered a newly created, enterprise-driven beat focused on lifestyle issues in ever-growing and changing northern York County (Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie), an affluent community of around 40,000 people just south of Charlotte. These issues included commuting, growth, entertainment, technology trends, parenting and more. Most of these stories played on 1A and included a number of Sunday centerpieces.--Wrote an occasional column called "Tales from the Border," offering a conversational and more intimate look at area issues, people and trends.--Was among the first reporters at The Herald to have a blog. The launch of The Border Blog in early 2006 offered tidbits and anecdotes from northern York County, along with material that supplemented stories in the print edition.--Added duties of assistant city editor in September 2005. This included coaching younger reporters and serving as the Saturday editor in charge of editing local copy for the Sunday edition. Also continued filling in for night editor during the week when needed.--Led the charge for greater use of alternative storytelling within the newsroom. This included coming up with alternative presentations, working with photographers and designers, and brainstorming with other reporters on how to use nontraditional methods to present news.--Continued as the primary reporter on stories about faith and values.

--Covered the city of Rock Hill (pop. 60,000), a premier beat at the 32,000-circulation McClatchy daily, using a mix of daily and enterprise stories to report on how decisions made by city leaders affected the lives of residents. --Also wrote profiles of interesting residents and features on various goings on around the city.--Frequently broke stories while in competition with The Charlotte Observer (then Knight-Ridder owned) and five television stations.--Was a top producer in the newsroom, writing roughly 300 multisource stories a year.--Produced more than 200 front-page stories, including numerous Sunday centerpieces.--Was the paper's primary reporter on stories about faith and values.--Filled in for night editor when needed.--Was part of a team that won a third-place award for Series of News Articles from the S.C. Press Association for a series on the challenges facing public and private recreation providers in York County.

--Covered three towns in fast-growing eastern Gaston County, N.C., just west of Charlotte, writing about local government decisions, interesting people, growth and development and other municipal issues for the 35,000-circulation daily.--Also wrote crime, business and education stories, along with other general assignments.--Was the primary reporter on stories about faith and values.--Frequently broke stories while in competition with The Charlotte Observer and four television stations.--Started as full-time newsroom intern in October 2000 and was promoted to staff reporter within two months.

--Interviewed Oscar- and Emmy-winning film composers and wrote CD reviews, feature stories and columns for the magazine and its website, www.filmscoremonthly.com.--Wrote liner notes for the magazine's CD releases of the scores to "Hombre" (David Rose) and "Beneath the 12-mile Reef" (Bernard Herrmann).--Former member of the International Film Music Critics Association.