Heather Rule
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Resume


Below you will find my resume. If you prefer, you may also download my resume using either the word document or PDF file.
Heather Rule - Resume
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Heather Rule - Resume
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Picture
Mpls., Minn. 55304
@hlrule • 612.306.6106 • heather.rule86@gmail.com
www.heatherrule.com • thoughtsfromthestands.blogspot.com
DIGITAL SUMMARY
Website: www.heatherrule.com                                          
Twitter: @hlrule - twitter.com/hlrule
Sports blog: thoughtsfromthestands.blogspot.com          
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hlrule
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/heatherrule86              
Instagram: instagram.com/hlrule/        
EDUCATION
University of St. Thomas                                                                                      
St. Paul, Minn.
B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication, English minor                                 
EXPERIENCE
Major League Baseball Advanced Media                                            
​June 2015 to February 2021

MLBAM has delivered world-class digital experiences for more than 10 years. The organization distributes content through all forms of interactive media for 30 MLB teams.
In-game social media coordinator, Mpls., Minn.
Watch all Minnesota Twins baseball games and updated the team’s Twitter account @Twins with scoring plays, stats, graphics, GIFs and videos. Post boxscore graphics to team social media accounts.
  • Helped grow the @Twins Twitter account from 302,000 followers to more than 600,000.
  • Tweet a variety of reactions to plays including creative #hashtags like #DozierGoesDeep.
Freelance sports writer                                                            
​December 2010 to present

Various publications

Bylines published with:
  • Star Tribune
  • USA Today
  • The Athletic (Minnesota)
  • Chicago Tribune-Pioneer Press
  • 1500ESPN.com (later re-branded as SKOR North)
  • USAHockey.com
  • Minnesota Hockey Magazine
  • Breakdown Sports Magazine
  • ZoneCoverage.com
  • SportsEngine
  • WildXtra.com
  • Red Wing Republican Eagle
  • Omaha World-Herald
  • The Herald-Sun (North Carolina)
  • The Register-Guard (Oregon)
  • The Times of Northwest Indiana
  • Fridley Patch.com
  • Wrote sports children's books through publisher Red Line Editorial 
Reports on a variety of sporting events including the Minnesota boys' and girls' state hockey tournaments, high school football sectional and state playoffs, Minnesota Wild games and Minnesota Gophers men's basketball. Writes features on high school sports and other athlete profiles.
  • Balances game coverage with live scoring, online commenting and Tweeting.
Sports blogger                                                                                      
​June 2009 to present

Thoughts from the Stands
Thoughts from the Stands is a sports blog started to keep up my writing skills. It has more than 35,000 total page views.
Composes blog entries typically ranging from about 400 to 800 words sharing opinions and results about various sports including baseball, hockey, IndyCar racing and high school athletics. 
  • Wrote a series of posts about the Minnesota Twins Game 163 and playoff series in 2009. It boasts the most blog page views.
  • Comments from readers: “Very thoughtful and heartfelt. Excellent job!” “This was heartfelt. Your article was very meaningful for me.” “Perfectly said.” 
Fergus Falls Daily Journal                                                    
​February 2013 to August 2014

The Daily Journal is a six-days a week newspaper with a 6,200 circulation that provides area news to those in Fergus Falls and surrounding communities in Otter Tail County.
News reporter, Fergus Falls, Minn.
Covered the crime and city beats, along with general assignment reporting and photography. Updated the newspaper website and sent out daily email updates. Copy edited pages on a daily basis.
  • 2015 Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award winner: 3rd place for Arts & Entertainment Story (Newspaper)
  • Exposed questionable closed city council meetings related to the Minnesota Open Meeting Law.
  • Provided the sports editor and stringer with a tutorial on how to maintain their Twitter accounts.
  • Created live breaking-news website updates during the Boston Marathon bombing, and then interviewed a local runner via text messages for a story.
  • Maintained a strong and trusting relationship with sources.
Sports reporter (part time)                                                
​January 2013 to February 2013
Albert Lea Tribune, Albert Lea, Minn.  

This 24/7 news outlet publishes six days a week providing local news to Albert Lea and nearby residents.
Covered local prep sports. Interviewed players and coaches and wrote stories. Took photos at local sporting events. Published stories and photos to the website. Wrote weekly news features.
  • Dedicated around 30 hours/week to the position that started out as 10-20 hours/week.
Post-Bulletin Co., LLC                                                          
​March 2011 to December 2012

The Austin Post-Bulletin was a six-days a week newspaper with about a 7,800 circulation providing coverage to Austin and surrounding communities in Mower County.
News reporter, Austin, Minn.                                                                                         
Reported on the city, education and general assignment beats. Also took photos and covered spot news.
  • Caught the local HRA in violation of Minnesota Open Meeting Law and wrote a series of stories.
  • Assisted a co-worker with setting up her Twitter account and gave her a tutorial on usage.
  • Maintained a strong and trusting relationship with sources.
Sports copy aide (part time)                                          
​December 2009 to February 2011

Star Tribune, Mpls., Minn.
The Star Tribune is the state’s No. 1 local source for news, information and events. It’s read by 1.4 million adults weekly in print and online editions.
Answered phones and recorded sports results. Entered boxscores onto designated websites. Created weekly stats leader lists for the print editions.
  • “Heather did a great job and was very dependable… She is suited to a variety of different tasks and can be trusted with all of them.” – Michael Rand, supervisor.     
  • Covered the 2010 girls’ tennis and adapted soccer state tournaments.
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Website content manager                                                 
​January 2009 to December 2009

North American Membership Group (currently SCOUT Media), Minnetonka, Minn.
Digital media network SCOUT operates web, print and television properties focusing primarily on male enthusiasts. Its multi-platform delivery includes more than 300 web destinations and a 21-million-deep customer list.
Maintained five magazine websites. Edited and loaded articles with photos. Organized member profiles and updated them online daily. Updated website polls and surveys.
  • Supervisor Tony Capecchi, about Heather: “Her work ethic was exemplary… No matter how many projects were thrown her way, Heather always completed them, without complaint, at an extremely high level.”        
The Aquin newspaper – University of St. Thomas    
September 2005 to December 2008

This student-run, 12-page newspaper published weekly with the latest news from around campus.

Sports editor, St. Paul, Minn.                                    
September 2007 to December 2008 

Provided editorial direction and managed three staff writers weekly. Compiled sports briefs for each edition. Assigned sports previews, recaps and feature stories. Copy edited stories using AP style.
  • Paid position with an average of 15 hours weekly while attending school full time.
  • “She took initiative to improve her writers’ skills by pointing out common mistakes and suggesting improvements.” – Michael Wilcox, Aquin editor.
  • Created a document for the writers about the details of writing a good sports story.

Staff writer, St. Paul, Minn.                                                    
​September 2005 to May 2007

Wrote 650 to 800-word stories weekly covering news and sports on the St. Thomas campus. Conducted at least three interviews per story with students, coaches and faculty. Built relationships with sources.
  • Always submitted my stories to editors by the Sunday evening deadline.
  • Chose a variety of sports stories to write about, fueling my passion for sports reporting.
PART-TIME FREELANCE WORK
Social media manager                                                                                          
November 2015 to present

Fox Nutrition and Diabetes Services, Andover, Minn.                                             
Fox Nutrition & Diabetes is a small business assisting people with healthier eating habits, weight management and overall care for diabetes.
  • Update and monitor Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ pages with links, articles and photos.
  • Copy edit and publish provided content for monthly e-newsletters via iContact.

Blogger                                                                                            
February 2015 to May 2017

StoryTeller Media + Communications, St. Louis Park, Minn.                                             StoryTeller is an inbound marketing and video production company which focues on telling stories.
Wrote 450 to 500-word blog entires for different StoryTeller clients, mostly Hazeltine Naitonal Golf Club.
  • Used internet research to learn more about set topics, like event planning, to write informal blogs.

Sports intern                                                                                    
​summers 2007 and 2008

Sun Focus newspapers, Osseo, Minn.                                                                                       
The Sun Focus published local news for residents in Blaine, Spring Lake Park and Fridley.
Wrote sports stories weekly. Interviewed coaches, athletes and community members. Composed season previews, profiles and stories on 5K community runs.
  • Covered large events including the Senior PGA 3M Championship and Schwan’s USA Cup.
  • Sports editor told me my stories required less editing than those from more seasoned reporters.
Color commentary broadcaster                                    
​November 2008 to February 2009

Minnesota Sports Broadcasting Network, St. Paul, Minn.                                               MSBN Sports Network runs broadcasts online for multiple sports from youth to college and the pros.
Broadcasted seven St. Thomas women’s hockey games as a color analyst. Worked along play-by-play commentator to create informative broadcasts.
  • Used my knowledge gained by watching hockey to comment on the plays as they developed.
Copy editor                                                                              
November 2009 to June 2010

InsideHockey.com
This website covers all NHL teams, as well as NCAA hockey, the AHL and ECHL.
Copy edited stories and published them to the Inside Hockey website. Made sure writing structure was sound for hockey stories.
  • Fact-checked names and statistics for stories posted within separate four-hour time frames.
Marco Andretti Examiner                                                        
​March 2010 to October 2010

Examiner.com
Examiner.com was a news and entertainment network with more than 20 million readers per month.
Watched IndyCar races and wrote three stories per week (66 stories in all) about IndyCar driver Marco Andretti using Examiner publishing tool. Polished stories with copy editing, choosing photos and adding links to text.
  • Attended the Mid-Ohio race to draw on own experiences and take photographs for the stories.
TECHNOLOGY SKILLS
Adobe (Social, Photoshop, InDesign), WordPress, Blogger, Weebly, Hootsuite, TweetDeck, various social media platforms, Constant Contact, iContact, Pro Tools (audio production), Avid (video production).

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Heather Rule

heather.rule86@gmail.com
​Last modified January 2021
Copyright 2010
​Andover, Minn.