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Mike Elek: Resumé / Details
Independent Consultant
  • Assisted with the creation of the website for The Dominion Post of Morgantown, W.Va.
  • Developed a social media policy for the Website.
  • Developed a privacy policy for the Website.
  • Created pages for Associated Press content for the site. Topics included Nation & World, Business and Entertainment. These were constructed using AP Custom News modules and the site's existing templates. Development of this content required higher-level knowledge of HTML, CSS and DIV structures, as well as deciphering the site's Content Management System.
  • Conceived, designed and led the construction of a video studio and control room, including lighting, equipment and workflow. This was all done on a very tight budget (well under $3,000).
Philly.com
  • Overhauled and rebuilt the online presence for the presentation of business news from two print editions, as well as the Associated Press and other third-party sources.
  • Created a weekly "Top 10" slideshow that focused on the Philadelphia region. Topics included: Wealthiest ZIP Codes; Biggest Sports Contracts; Top Careers and more.
  • Re-established relationships with The Daily News and strengthened the relationship with The Inquirer.
  • Ensure that a site redesign would allow the business channel to properly serve its audience.
  • Used numerous AP modules to display news.
  • Restored the market indexes to the business channel.
  • Created and wrote short daily pieces to highlight other business-related content on the Web.
  • Developed relationships with other content providers.
  • Conceived and created the Philly 50 - a list of 50 local companies that represented the Greater Philadelphia region's economy. I had planned a series of events thatwould be tied to the Philly 50, including an annual economic conference.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Redesigned the home page (2004). Monthly site traffic increased by about 10 million to an average 35 million page views. The redesign also unified home page production into one tool and one publishing platform (previously, editors used Microsoft Word and Microsoft FrontPage to create content and three separate publishing processes). The redesign included providing section headings to aggregate news, as well as creating a small entertainment guide for the home page.
  • I had an advisory role in two successive redesigns (August 2007, July 2008) and am leading the team in correcting ongoing technical, design and content issues.
  • Developed an <IFRAME> solution to display a scrolling list of breaking news article headlines. Previous attempts included listing all of the headlines or limiting it to just four.
  • Incorporated the use of head shots and logos on the home page to draw the reader into a story. Created and continue to build a head shot library. Currently, there are roughly 1,100 head shots and logos in the library.
  • Continue to develop and incorporate style guidelines for how the home page and articles should appear.
  • Developed a templating system for building the home page. Previously, editors overwrote the previous day's work, providing no ability to roll back in case of errors or to reuse special packaging when needed.
  • Wrote a number of Microsoft Word macros to handle repetitive chores, such as formatting lists, converting tables to HTML, inserting popups, changing URLs to open a new browser session and many others.
  • Create pages for special events: Elections, significant deaths, the Super Bowl and All-Star game.
  • Use some innovative ideas, including allowing readers to cycle through a number of photos on the home page without having to reload the page.
  • Develop special pages, some using rollovers, image maps, frames and other javascript to make the page seem more interactive.
  • Developed online quizzes, interactive maps and other interactive material.
The Wall Street Journal Online
  • During my last three years with The Wall Street Journal Online, I oversaw the Asian-Pacific operation based in Hong Kong after helping to set up WSJ.com’s operation Europe.
  • The addition of bureaus in Europe and Asia required revisions to our editing system that would allow editors to remotely edit and publish articles from those regions. The editing system had been designed for editors based at a central location, and we were given five weeks to make necessary changes. I was the editorial liaison with the programmers, because I could understand the technical requirements, while being able to gauge the necessary performance for editors.
  • In Hong Kong as senior editor, I oversaw news production and also assisted with marketing, circulation and advertising of the product. In addition to news production, here are some of the other projects in which I had a role, sometimes a major role:
    • – 2000: Negotiated and launched a test of sending WSJ.com content to mobile phones, using SMS (short messaging system) technology.
    – 2000-2003: Made weekly sales calls with advertising staff to possible ad clients, explaining WSJ.com and Asia-specific content that might appeal to advertisers.
    – 2000-2003: Worked with circulation and marketing, often providing information on coverage and target areas. Also used the marketing and circulation information to guide coverage.
    – 2002-2003: Made regular appearances on CNBC Asia, commenting on economic and financial topics.
    – 2002-2003: Played a lead role in the creation of Chinese WSJ.com, a Chinese-language version of The Wall Street Journal Online:
  • Assisted in negotiations for servers
  • Coordinated with U.S. art staff on design
  • Helped to secure advertising sponsor (LG Electronics of South Korea) to launch site
  • Worked closely with U.S. group to launch Chinese-language e-mail service
  • Developed Excel-based processes to produce data tables to track site usage
  • Negotiated with Hong Kong-based vendor to provide HTML e-mail delivery system
  • Negotiated content-sharing deal with Zaobao.com, a Singapore news Web site
  • Continued to work with staff on product promotion and development, eventual pricing and long-term strategy
  • Negotiated content-sharing deal with Yahoo! Hong Kong
Other notable items
  • Various awards for page layout and headline writing, 1987-1994
  • Employee of the Year, Vineland Daily Journal, 1989
  • Created a monthly magazine (Tempo), 1987
  • U.S. Air Force Commendation Medal for providing security during the release of the American hostages held in Iran, 1981