SANYA KAMIDI
I'm interested in creating stronger and more meaningful relationships between newspapers and the communities they cover, both through reporting and community engagement work.
REPORTING
The Baltimore Sun
As part of a new engagement initiative to focus on the majority-Black neighborhoods The Sun has historically neglected in its coverage, I spent time speaking with community organization leaders and long term residents in Belair-Edison to learn about what stories they felt were important for us to highlight.
Working in audience engagement, I could see the impact the city's health department was having on residents with its unconventional social media presence. I used my background to persuade the health department to speak with us about their approach months before their Twitter account went viral again and caught the attention of a number of national and local news organizations.
Daily Nexus
I broke national news that the UC was ending its study abroad program due to protests in Hong Kong and got the only interview with the program's executive director.
Ahead of the five year mark of the Isla Vista shooting, I spoke with community, university and student leaders about how they were working to remember and honor the victims of the tragedy in a community that changes so drastically every year.
After a series of reported sexual assaults and druggings at fraternity houses off-campus, my co-editor and I spoke with the woman who reported her sexual assault to the fraternity. I continued to follow up on the university and Greek life's response to the reports.
RESUME
Community Coordinator, October 2020-present
Audience Engagement Intern, June 2020-October 2020
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Revamped our Instagram presence, designing digestible graphics that translated explainer stories, longform enterprise pieces and breaking news updates into a more approachable format
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Managed flagship social accounts several days a week, winning a First Place and Best of Show award in Breaking News and Social Media for live social coverage of a major gas explosion and its impacts
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Organized and produced live virtual discussions reflecting on coverage during the pandemic
THE BALTIMORE SUN
DAILY NEXUS
Director of Social Media Strategy, December 2019-May 2020
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Created and led the paper’s first full-fledged social media team, outlining distinct responsibilities for each position, and hired and trained two people remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic
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Coordinated the transition from in-person to online recruitment, moderating a Reddit AMA, creating an Instagram highlight and overseeing an all-platforms campaign to attract new staffers
Deputy News Editor, September 2019-May 2020
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Broke national news that the UC had suspending its spring study abroad program in Hong Kong amidst protests and conducted an exclusive interview with the study abroad program director
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Led coverage of UCSB’s transition to remote instruction as an editor and a reporter, creating a live updates page to consolidate coverage and using Google My Maps to create a resource identifying which local businesses were open or closed during the early weeks of the pandemic in the U.S.
Assistant News Editor, June 2018-September 2019
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Wrote 100 articles in one year, focusing on student government accountability
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Broke the news that a prominent local businessman was facing charges stemming from a second victim after covering his court appearances on rape and kidnapping charges for a year
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Increased coverage of students of color, LGBTQ+ students and graduate students — previous blind spots in our reporting — and led the production of the paper’s first Black History Month print edition
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Used call-outs to flesh out stories about systemic issues and explain how they were directly impacting people and “ask me anything” forums to create student elections and housing guides based on reader questions
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Social Media Manager, November 2017-December 2018
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Wrote Twitter threads to break down news stories, recap content from our print editions, attract writers and solicit donations, often creating graphics as well
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Worked closely with the news editors for live coverage of strikes, elections and breaking news
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Organized quarterly events and social campaigns to invite our audience to get to know our editorial staff and ask us questions about how we do our work to increase transparency and trust
Staff Writer and Photographer, December 2017-June 2018
Copy Editor, September 2017-June 2018​
UCSB COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Research Assistant, June 2019- Present
Coded data, transcribed interviews and turned findings into digestible graphics for a study on how undocumented college students manage their stress and mental health
PACIFIC COAST BUSINESS TIMES
Business Reporting Intern, August 2018-September 2018​