This is Gian Trotta's online resume  E-mail: trotta@trottamedia.com

SERVICES
 Writing/editing
 Project Management
 Content Strategy
 Online community
 development
 E-newsletters

ARTICLES
 Better Homes
 and Gardens



 MSNBC.com


 Associated Press


 NYT Custom  Publishing


 Newsday


 Village Voice


 Il Sabato
(Italian newsweekly)

The Pentagon
Can't Find Bosnia

(interview with George Kenney, Jr., who resigned from State Department to protest U.S. inaction on Bosnia):
English | Italian

 PRODIGY


 ACCESS


 Excite


 Sidekicks


 REFERENCES
 James Kinsella

 Walter Isaacson

 Jim Bellows

 Bud Collins

 Bill Walton

 Digby Diehl


EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

  ebizQ.net
   (Managing Editor Marketing Director/Director of Business Development (December 2002-April 2008)
  • Managed complete redesign of e-integration news site from object model to final page design level; built editorial best practices
  • Designed campaign to increase community beyond 100,000 registered IT and business professionals
  • Developed best practices for Webinar/podcast/White Paper production and marketing
  • Developed content development and co-marketing campaigns with dozens of other IT publishers, including Gartner, Forrester, IDG (InfoWeek), SAP and IBM.

  Better Homes and Gardens
  Newsletter Producer (March 2001-September 2004)
  • Developed (and continue to author) 750,000-subscriber weekly Home Improvement Ideas e-newsletter that has significantly boosted sales and usage of promoted articles, interactives, project plans and publications.
  • Write topical articles (e.g., Creating Safe Rooms) for main BHG.com site.

  OuterForce Systems
  Content Director (February 2000-April 2001)
  • Recruited, managed and produced training materials for 100-strong international network of freelance writers and software testers.
  • Created and published twice-weekly OuterNotes newsletter to publicize company among content industry decision-makers.
  • Provided RFPs and RFEs to development staff, prepared client lead lists and analyses for marketing staff and managed customer-service department.
  MSNBC
  Producer/Columnist (February 1998-September 1999)
  • Responsible for conceptualizing and producing original text, audio, video and interactive features from NBC Sports assets and talent.
  • Start-up (including cover art production) of MSNBC's online sports section and coordination with other departments at midday editorial meeting.
  • Covered French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Davis Cup and other high-profile sporting events as multimedia producer/columnist.
  • Wrote and produced numerous multimedia columns and slide shows on baseball, basketball, college football, golf and tennis.
  • Produced interactive talent features such Bill Walton's NBA Mailbag, Ann Meyers' WNBA Mailbag and tennis features by Bud Collins and Chris Evert.
  • Developed "Bluelinks and Gold" Notre Dame Central Newsletter that became the model for MSNBC's other newsletters.
  About.com
  Senior Editor (February 1997-February 1998)
  • Responsible for refining recruitment, management and mentoring procedures (including style guide) for 13 editors and 500-strong remote staff of independent Guide/contractors producing timely feature articles and strong Internet resource libraries; directly managed 85 Guides.
  • Managed 24/7 updates of home page; developed interactive editorial calendar and daily content digests to allow editorial, business development, marketing and public relations staffs to cooperate on short- and long-term content strategy.
  • Increased syndication income with multi-guide special features used both on-site and by MSN, Netcom and Bell South.
  Excite
   Editorial Manager/Columnist (January 1996-February 1997)
  • Wrote and designed weekly columns, instructional Web site tours and special feature packages (e.g., 1996 Atlanta Olympics Special) in response to breaking news, consumer needs and/or social trends.
  • Arranged writer reviews into effective and entertaining 10,000-site strong hierarchy for use on-site and in America Online's Net Find directory.
  • Created and maintained online editorial style guide used by 20 reviewers.
  Time Inc. New Media
  News/Features/Community Producer (January 1995-November 1996)
  • Initial client contact, site development and staff training for Time Warner properties, including TIME-LIFE Photo Gallery, TIME Online Education Project, Sports Illustrated for Kids and `Campaign '96` section that grew into AllPolitics.com site.
  • Won Wired Magazine's 1995 Site of the Year Award for producing the LIFE Magazine Web site.
  • Managed home page and coverage of breaking and feature news stories.
  • Design, deployment and day-to-day management of 115 special interest online forums that attracted two million page views per month and daily live chats with newsmakers and celebrities.
  • Hired, trained and managed 16 assistant producers and board and chat moderators.
  • Daily promotional writing for Bulletin Board and Chat home pages.
  • Represented Time Inc. at negotiations with prospective outside content partners and software developers.
  • After joining Excite in January of 1996, continued working with Time Inc. as an interactive consultant.
  Prodigy News Services
  Highlights Page/News Slot Editor (January 1992-January 1995)
  • Daily coordination of 5-15 other editors, reporters, artists and technicians in news department of two-million member online service, with a special emphasis on story selection, graphic design, headline writing and content integration for continuously updated Main and News Highlights Screens.
  • Wrote and edited columns (and created feature packages) in three particular areas of expertise: computers, politics and sports.
  Newsday Online
  Writer/Editor (January 1988-January 1992)
  • Drew upon newswire and in-house sources to continuously update news headlines for Times Square 'Zipper' electronic news sign.
  • Created and edited new daily news, business, sports and computer online bulletins
  • Conceptualized, researched and developed new audiotext, online and facsimile-based information systems (e.g.: high school scores line, online sports conference and auto reviews via fax).
  • Contributed articles to computer, travel and sports sections of main paper.

PAST PART-TIME/CONSULTING POSITIONS

  Space.com
  Director, Space Reporters Network (August 2001-April 2002)
  • Recruited, trained and managed 100 external contributors producing news articles and product reviews on aerospace, astronomy and space exploration after Space.com licensed OuterForce softwware.
  Fox Sports/iGuide Inc.
  Community Producer/Writer, Sports (December 1996-March 1997)
  • Produced new sports-themed bulletin boards and live chats for Fox Sports columnists while maintaining quality of discourse on iGuide's boards.
  • Wrote (under the nom de Net of `The Pigskin Prognosticator`) pre-game analyses of NFL mathcups on the NFL Tailgate bulletin board.
  Associated Press
  Reporter, Rome Bureau (May-July 1990)
  • Covered Italian national team during 1990 World Cup; numerous articles were published by major international media, including the International Herald Tribune.
  Village Voice
  Freelance Writer (1990-1995)

EDUCATION
  • B.A. Political Science (journalism minor), Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y. 1984.
  • Extracurricular activities: Senior Editor, The New Voice (campus paper), Political Affairs Club.
  • Academic Honors: Provost's List, Dean's List; State University of New York's Washington Internship Program.
  • Honors Essay: The Rise and Fall of AT&T

LANGUAGES
  • Italian (native fluency), French and Spanish (intermediate)

COMPUTER SKILLS
  • All MS Office applications (PC and Mac versions), MS Project, Adobe PhotoShop and ImageReady, HomeSite, Dreamweaver, Quark and SoundForge.