Marissa Payne Email & Phone Number

Des Moines, Iowa, United States

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States

• Producing 3-8 stories weekly on local government and business news in Cedar Rapids and Linn County, Iowa's second-most populous city and county• Broke news on city studying possibility of police chief staying as a civilian department head after he aged out of his officer certification• Lead Community and Economic Development track for annual Iowa Ideas conference aimed at discussing solutions to biggest challenges facing Iowans

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States

• Continuing coverage of the Aug. 10 derecho, the most costly thunderstorm in U.S. history, which has included news of tenants displaced from destroyed apartments, a city public-private partnership to replant downed trees, and the drawn-out efforts to repair damage in Cedar Rapids• Broke news on a voicemail the mayor left a nonprofit leader threatening to withhold future allocations of hotel-motel tax revenue for holding an event featuring his challenger• In-depth stories include coverage of increased demand for food pantries because of COVID-19 and the derecho, decadeslong efforts to revitalize an urban lake, trend stories on economic development, coverage of a polarized and contentious mayor's race• Investigated claims made by Iowa politicians or about Iowa politics through the Fact Checker• Served on our newsroom Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee to promote inclusion and improve representation in our coverage

Iowa City, Iowa, United States

• Part-time staff member coaching 3-4 students on state politics/government reporting and 6students on city/county government reporting through weekly meetings and story feedback• Teach students about topics including source building, story idea development, news judgment,reporting and writing, public records, Iowa politics and government, local government• Edit and coach students to pursue bimonthly enterprise stories on Iowa politics

Iowa City, Iowa

• Oversaw the UI’s award-winning daily, independent student-run newspaper, website, and live 10-minute TV broadcast with a staff of 120 people, including 20 section editors, to serve the University of Iowa and Iowa City communities• Communicated with the publisher, professional staff, and board members; represented the DI to the community, administrators, alums, and donors• Managed a budget exceeding $100,000 for payroll and travel, mediated conflicts, gave final edits on stories, determined newspaper/website layout, directed coverage• Led coverage of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required quick adaptability to move from a daily to weekly print workflow as well as to continue providing constant breaking news updates and daily online stories, all with our student staff largely scattered across the U.S. as they moved back home.• Led coverage of the 2020 Iowa caucuses, a night of delayed reporting and no announced results as the Iowa Democratic Party's new rules caused confusion among many precincts when it came time for implementation• Worked with around 12 DI editors and reporters and the PolitiFact staff to fact check Iowa politicians and local officials as the official PolitiFact Iowa branch

Greater Philadelphia Area

Reporting on news and features in South Jersey and the Philadelphia suburbs. By collaborating with the audience team, a story I wrote about Atlantic City rebranding as North Beach had more than 20,000 page views a week after it was published, and was also featured in Politico's New Jersey newsletter.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Second-in-command to the Editor-in-Chief, helping oversee 125 print and TV staff members. Managed daily operations and worked with section editors to direct coverage. Led a shift in coverage to focus on more public-affairs, issue-based reporting and collaborated with the news, politics, and digital sections to deliver breaking news and hard news stories in a timely fashion.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Area

Created daily content for the state’s second-largest circulation newspaper. Covered eastern Iowa news, including government, education, business, public safety, and community issues. Work was often featured on page A1.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Pitched stories weekly for myself and other reporters while working on multiple long-form stories. Covered politics and higher education, and conducted regular interviews with the university president and vice president for Student Life. Designed the print and web versions of long-form pieces that I wrote over the course of the spring 2018 semester.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Posted content online and adjusted the layout of the website. Managed the publication's social media accounts and increased audience engagement. Responded to inquiries on the publication's main email account. Used analytics to define coverage and communicate coverage needs to various sections.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Managed a staff of about seven reporters to produce daily content. Pitched stories to assign to my reporters and worked with them to refine their own pitches. Edited five stories daily and wrote three to five stories weekly. Collaborated with photo and design staffs to ensure the mediums came together to tell a story in a comprehensive package.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Designed pages at least two nights weekly. Took over as Design Editor from April-May 2017 and oversaw the section nightly. Worked with reporters to aid in designing long-form stories. Communicated with photographers and editors to ensure final page layouts were visually appealing.

Iowa City, Iowa Area

Pitched and wrote three to five stories weekly and reported on breaking news under tight deadlines. Covered the higher education beat, which encompasses all news relating to the Iowa Board of Regents and University of Iowa administration, and learned how to read a budget and pitch story ideas by reading meeting agendas. Helped the politics team cover the 2016 election, reporting on the outcome of a state House race.