Jack Lail – Resume


CONTACT INFORMATION

1801 Northshore Hills Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37922

Phone: (865) 686-6033

Email: [email protected]

OBJECTIVE

To have a challenging management role with growth potential in the Digital Content  area.

EXPERIENCE

02/19 – WATE-TV, Knoxville, TN

Digital Manager

10/16 – 1/19 The Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN

Consumer Experience Director

Responsible for digital strategy and content

3/12 – 10/16, The Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN

Director of Digital

Responsible for digital strategy and content.

2/10 — 3/12, The Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN

MultiMedia Editor

Responsible for online, photo, entertainment and digital staffs.

Responsible for day-to-day digital operations and strategy.

7/08 — 2/10 The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Knoxville, TN

Director of News Innovation

Responsible for online editorial content, development of multimedia strategies, development and implementation of new products and features.

6/02 — 7/08 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Managing Editor/MultiMedia

Responsible for online editorial content, development of multimedia strategies, development and implementation of new products and features.

6/98 — 6/02 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Director/Online Media

Launched an auto inventory site, knoxcars.com, and a careers site, knoxcareers.com, in the spring and summer of 2000.

Launched a real estate listings site in January 1999. Site won a Digital Edge award (“Edgie”) from the Newspaper Association of America in 2000 for Best Classified Use of New Media, Circulation 75,000 to 250,000

Lead a group of 6 involved in New Media publishing of award-winning family of Web sites. Reorganized in the summer of 1998 as a full division of the company and renamed Online Media from Online Publishing, reflecting its growing importance strategically for the newspaper. Named a director of the company.

9/95 — 6/98 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Manager/Online Publishing

Put up an online store for the newspaper in March 1998 that sells University of Tennessee licensed merchandise, newspaper published books and print subscriptions. Sold over $10,000 worth of merchandise in first six weeks.

Developed and implemented a plan in 1997 to add an online yellow pages to our suite of products. Expanded our sales staff and focused much of our selling efforts on the yellow pages product. Online revenues were four times revenues in 1996.

Developed and implemented a business plan in 1996 to create three large newspaper web sites, www.knoxnews.com, www.govols.com, www.gosmokies.com and migrated away from our KnoxLink service, shifting those subscribers to a third-party ISP service that we market, InfiNet. Newspaper was among first in chain to sell online advertising.

Assisted in the development of online classified system for Scripps Howard newspapers. Beta tested system in 1995 and launched the product in November 1995.

Launched a dial-up bulletin board system for the Knoxville News-Sentinel called KnoxLink that offered an American Online-type environment for newspaper content as well as access to the World Wide Web. Gained great understanding of what the user wanted to do online.

Created a web site for the Knoxville News-Sentinel 1994 and piloted centralized hosting at the corporate headquarters with content management at the property level. The Knoxville News-Sentinel was one of the first two Scripps papers to go online and the first to be centrally hosted at the corporate headquarters.

7/93 – 9/95 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Assistant Managing Editor/Technology

Planned and developed a newspaper computer Bulletin Board system called KnoxLink. The project included everything from the development of a business plan to configuring hardware and software.

Assisted and taught reporters how to use Computer Assisted Reporting tools such as databases, spreadsheets, online services.

7/90 – 7/93 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Metro Editor

Directed staff of 25 reporters and three assistant metro editors.

2/89 — 7/90 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Assistant Metro Editor

Helped direct Metro Desk reporting staff

10/87 – 2/89 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Knoxville, TN

Business Editor

Directed a Business reporting staff of three in daily coverage.

1/84 – 10/87 The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Knoxville, TN

Reporter

General Assignments, Tennessee Valley Authority Beat, Business Writer.

11/78 – 1/84 The Courier-Tribune. Asheboro, NC

Reporter

Covered city government, county government, politics for excellent small town paper.

9/77- 11/78 The Times Thomasville, NC

Reporter

General assignment reporter and part time layout

EDUCATION

1973-1977 East Carolina University Greenville NC

B.A., English with minor in Journalism

PROFESSIONAL

Elected to the board of the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists chapter in 2017.

Elected to the board of the Associated Press Media Editors in 2014-2016.

Began serving in 2014 on the board of the Tennessee Associated Press Media Editors.

Elected to the board of the Associated Press Managing Editors in 2008.
Re-elected in 2009 and 2010.

Served two two-year terms on the Newspaper Association of America’s Digital Media Federation.

Served as national chair of the Society of Professional Journalists New Information Technology Committee, regional chair of the SPJ ethics committee, local chapter president and board member. Received a national “President’s Award” in 1995 for efforts on SPJ’s behalf. Developed and maintained a Web site for SPJ in early 1994. Founded an electronic mailing list called SPJ-L in 1994 that is a forum for about 1,000 subscribers worldwide.

Have written freelance articles for The Quill, American Journalism Review, and The New York Times.

PERSONAL

Computers, gardening, cooking, outdoors.