WORK EXP ER I E NC E

Texas Tribune, Austin, Editorial Assistant! ! ! ! ! ! March 2013 - June 2013• Covered the 83rd Texas Legislature, maintaining diverse beats amid a highly rigorous reporting environment.• Became accustomed to writing magazine-quality treatments of complex subjects at internet speed.• Quickly assembled a diverse network of sources around the legislature, city and state.• Used social media to report live from the floors of the Texas House and Senate.• Took the lead in reporting some of the most contested and lobbied subjects before the 83rd session.• Traveled extensively to cover issues in the far reaches of the state, from McAllen to Amarillo, Houston to El Paso.• Expanded knowledge of interactive and data journalism.

! Gothamist, New York City, Intern! ! ! ! ! ! August 2012 - December 2012

• Gained extensive experience editing copy and helped to streamline daily content production.• Became conversant with short-form blog writing style and respectful aggregation techniques.• Assisted with coverage of major citywide events, including the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.• Developed skills regarding multimedia production, social media, and white-hat SEO optimization.

New School Free Press, New York City, Deputy News Editor! ! August 2011 - December 2011 ! ! ! Arts and Culture Editor ! ! January 2012 - May 2012

• Assigned stories, guided reporting, and edited coverage of a wide array of events in the greater metropolitan area.• Organized coverage of the early stages of Occupy Wall Street that gave the paper national attention.• Reported and wrote; edited and copy-edited articles for the News, Arts & Culture, and Opinions sections.• Helped spearhead an overhaul of our online and print format that won two Associated College Press Awards.• Assisted with the design, back-end and business side of the paper; helped bring the paper to profitability.

Texas Tribune, Editorial Intern! ! ! ! ! ! ! May 2011 - September 2011• Reported the end of the 82nd Texas legislature, and the early stages of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign.• Covered subjects as diverse as federal court cases, the last space shuttle flight, rural Tea Party meets, and:• Freed Perry’s A&M yearbook photos, for a story that became one of the Trib’s most-read of 2011.• Wrote both short- and long-form pieces, as well as blog posts and explainers.• Spent an extensive amount of time doing archives and research work in the service of larger stories.

EDUCAT I ON

The New School University, New York City! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2009 - 2012• B.A. in History and Politics• Focus on the Arab Middle East, Iran, American history and politics.• Honors: Dean’s List, Fellow of the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies in Wrocław, Poland.

SK I L LS ! Proficient in HTML, CSS, multiple CMS platforms, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, Ruby. Can play ! with Javascript, jQuery. Adept at social media. Experienced with state and federal information act ! requests, database and archive research. A good guy once you get to know him. Very basic Arabic and ! Spanish. Interests include film, history, politics, Iran, the Oxford comma, and third-coast hip-hop.

C H R I S T O P H E R H O O K S 4307 WATERFORD PL . , TX 78731 | 5 12 .626. 16 12 | CHRISTOPHERDHOOKS@GMAIL .COM | @cd_hooks

CL I PS

1) Lone Star: Filibustering state Sen. Wendy Davis may have done the impossible — revive the Democratic Party in Texas.Slate – June 27, 2013.

Gov. Ann Richards’ official portrait, which oversaw the protests in the frequently crowded rotunda, became a source of fascination for the pro-choice demonstrators. Some tweeted pictures of their daughters in front of the portrait, and others imagined her running commentary from the afterlife. In the Taiwanese animation of the filibuster, Ann Richards appears as a green, floating ghost that hovers over Davis’ podium.

2) As Towns Say No, Signs of Rising Resistance to Smart MetersNew York Times / Texas Tribune – May 18, 2013.

Thelma Taormina, founder of the We the People Are the 912 Association, a Houston-based Tea Party group that advocates for smart meter opt-out options, gained notoriety over a news report that when a meter installer arrived at her home, she met him carrying a gun.

3) Proposed Pipeline Brings Risks, Conflict to the Mouth of the HudsonNew School Free Press – November 8, 2011.

But federal regulators have taken issue with Spectra Energy in the past. When the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, inspected the company’s Operating and Maintenance Plan in Houston this June, it saw fit to cite Spectra for 17 “inadequacies.” It was the the third time this year that PHMSA had issued Spectra with a notice of probable violation.

The report, publicly available on PHMSA’s website, says that the regulatory body found Spectra’s emergency plans were inadequate, and that its welding procedures fell below standard. Defective welding caused last year’s San Bruno disaster.

4) Texas A&M Years Launched Perry — and a RivalryTexas Tribune – August 2, 2011.

Perry learned that he could drop something down the second floor toilet and get it to come out the first floor toilet. Then he learned M-80s had waterproof detonators — a perfect combination. His accomplice, Sharp, would give the high sign out the window when a potential target wandered into a stall. Perry, from the floor above, would flush the lit firework down.

C H R I S T O P H E R H O O K S 4307 WATERFORD PL . , TX 78731 | 5 12 .626. 16 12 | CHRISTOPHERDHOOKS@GMAIL .COM | @cd_hooks