JAMES NORTON | 3515 31st Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55406
jrnorton at gmail dot com
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Wherever there is good journalism to be done — in print, on the radio, on the Web, or in book form — I’m interested in getting involved.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Food Writer
Dec. 2006 — Present
Founded and edits the Heavy Table (heavytable.com), a daily gastronomic magazine for the Upper Midwest
Plans, researches, and writes books including The Secret Atlas of North Coast Food (2013) and Lake Superior Flavors (2014)
CHOW.com | Blogger and Vlogger
2007-August 2013
Daily video blogger for CHOW.com, conceiving, shooting, editing, and publishing five three-minute or shorter videos a week to YouTube and CHOW for an audience of more than 15,000 subscribers.
Blogged for CHOW.com, and had a weekly column for CHOW since August, 2007 through early 2012
The Al Franken Show | Senior Producer
Dec. 2005 — Feb. 2007
Oversaw booking for a daily political talk radio show
Consulted with senior staff on hiring and programming decisions
The Al Franken Show | Research Director
March 2004 — April 2005
Researched political and media-related queries on tight daily deadlines
Booked and pre-interviewed guests
Wrote script elements including top-of-the-hour billboards
Briefed hosts on breaking news, original research, and upcoming guests
Created the quiz show segment “Wait, Wait… Don’t Lie to Me”
The Christian Science Monitor | Middle East Editor
Jan. 2002 — Feb. 2004
Commissioned and edited international news stories
Helped shape coverage of hotspots including Iraq and Afghanistan
Wrote book reviews and “briefing pages” on complex issues
Vetted story pitches and edited copy from staff and freelance writers stationed throughout the Middle East
The Christian Science Monitor | Online News Editor
2000 — Jan. 2002
Coordinated online coverage of the 2000 presidential election
Co-created the
Commissioned, created, and edited value-adds for print edition stories
Made news judgments for the csmonitor.com frontpage
Created and wrote a semi-regular column called “The Digital Pilgrim”
The Daily Cardinal | Editor in Chief
May 1997 — May 1998
Supervised student staff of 12 editors and more than 50 writers
Initiated daily post-mortem of newspaper content, semi-annual personnel reviews and online classifieds
Transferred distribution duties from business to editorial staff to ensure reliable delivery
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Co-Author and Editor of Minnesota Lunch: From Pasties to Banh Mi
Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2011.
Led a team of four writers and two photographers to tell cultural and historical stories of Minnesota through the vehicles of eleven different sandwiches and other casual folk foods
Co-Author of The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, 2009.
Conducted interviews with and wrote profiles of more than 40 Wisconsin cheesemakers for a coffee table book about the state’s cheese industry.
Author of Saving General Washington
. New York, 2006.
Researched and wrote an upcoming non-fiction book that uses the lives and political ideas of the Founding Fathers to critique the policies of the Bush White House.
Flak Magazine | Founder and Editor
1998 — 2008
Created and co-edits a daily online magazine that, at its peak, had more than 250,000 unique monthly visitors. PC Magazine named Flak one of its Top 100 Undiscovered Sites, and the Detroit Free Press called it “a highly regarded Web site devoted to cultural criticism”
Author of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Advocate of Government by Consent
. New York, 2005.
Wrote a short intellectual biography of Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau for younger readers
The Christian Science Monitor | Modern Parenthood blogger
August 2013-Present
Contributes 3-4 posts per week to CSMonitor.com’s Modern Parenthood blog
The Christian Science Monitor | Online Debater
2004
Debated former Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson for each night of the 2004 Republican and Democratic conventions and two of the three presidential debates
EDUCATION AND MISC.
Graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Winner of the 2005 William Wesley Young Award from the
Winner of a 2010 Midwest Book Award for The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin
REFERENCES
Available upon
James Norton 