Resume

Erik Hall

Current position:
Managing Editor
of The Telegraph
in Alton, Illinois

Erik Hall, red shirt, interviews Bureau Valley athlete Adam Sanden during the Don Gooden Track & Field Invitational at Mendota, Ill., on April 10, 2010.

(Photo by Vicki Sanden)

Resume PDF

Work experience

The Telegraph; Alton, Illinois

Managing Editor, March 2024 — present

As the Managing Editor of The Telegraph in Alton, Illinois, I oversee a team of six editorial professionals, ensuring our publication adheres to its style, editorial policy, and publishing standards. I have successfully enhanced local news coverage, particularly by expanding our focus on area schools, which has driven a 49% increase in traffic over the past year. My leadership prioritizes improving editorial quality through hands-on collaboration with writers, fostering their growth, and ensuring the publication resonates with the community. With a strong digital-first approach, I navigate the challenges of an early print deadline while emphasizing enterprise work and continued traffic growth.

KSDK-TV, St. Louis

Assignment Editor, Dec. 2023 — March 2024

As an Assignment Editor at KSDK-TV Channel 5, I played a key role in managing the assignment desk, coordinating reporters and photographers to capture stories that mattered to the community. My tenure was defined by achievements such as leading coverage of a high-profile murder case and securing an exclusive interview following a dramatic escape by a murder suspect. My role required strong news judgment, ensuring we stayed ahead of the curve with accurate and timely reporting. Serving as a linchpin in the newsroom, I facilitated seamless collaboration among producers, directors, and management. I also leveraged my background in writing and digital media to enhance broadcast operations and drive storytelling forward.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Digital Sports Editor, Aug. 2022 — Oct. 2023

As Digital Sports Editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I guided the sports coverage into a new digital era, preserving its storied legacy while implementing innovative strategies. I led the development of data-driven content strategies, leveraging tools like Google Trends to focus on high-impact stories, which resulted in significant traffic growth—particularly a 174% increase in football coverage and a 188.4% rise in basketball coverage. My efforts also helped earn industry recognition, including our University of Missouri beat writer ranking in the top 10 by the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2023. I introduced a robust video strategy, doubling output and enhancing our multimedia approach, especially in covering MLS. Overall, I aimed to push the boundaries of storytelling while keeping our audience engaged and connected to the local sports community.

USA Today

Lead digital producer for sports, March 2018 — July 2022

In my role, I led the digital and social media strategy for sports coverage, driving traffic through timely, SEO-optimized content and leveraging platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. In 2021, I generated over 7.82 million page views, with key events such as the NCAA Tournament and the college baseball and softball postseasons contributing significantly to our success, including 1.3 million views in March and 4.9 million in May and June. Collaborating closely with sports editors, writers, and multimedia teams, I created engaging, evergreen stories while staying ahead of industry trends. Under my leadership, my team achieved notable milestones, including over 1.1 million views during the 2019 NCAA March Madness and over 433,000 views in a single week for Lafayette, Louisiana, during the 2020 college football national title game. My work also included award-winning coverage of the 2019 LSU-related plane crash, which earned third place in the Louisiana-Mississippi AP contest for breaking news.

OutSports.com

Regular contributor, April 2014 — March 2019

Wrote feature stories. Wrote a regular report on the performance of LGBT college athletes. Took photos. Produced video stories.

You Can Play Project

Social media coordinator and producer/Digital manager (part-time), July 2017 — March 2019

Created and planned social media content for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for $300,000 revenue non-profit. Published videos and press releases on the You Can Play website. The Canadian Olympic Committee presented the 2017 International Olympic Committee Trophy for Sport Beyond Borders to You Can Play.

The Roanoke (Virginia) Times

Assistant Sports Editor, April 2015 — April 2017

Identified, edited, and published stories on Roanoke.com. Edited stories and worked with writers. Updated social media content on Facebook and Twitter. Coordinated with page designers and copy desk on daily print product. Used Chartbeat to inform editorial decisions. Wrote enterprise stories. Wrote book reviews. Contributed to receiving the 2016 APSE award for website/mobile and special sections and the 2017 APSE award for Sunday sections.

Columbia (Missouri) Missourian

Assistant sports editor, May 2013 — May 2014 and July 2014 — January 2015

Covered the story of Michael Sam. Wrote feature stories. Edited sports stories. Updated social media. Designed pages.

San Diego Union-Tribune

Sports intern, May 2014 — July 2014

Covered the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and Western Conference Final; the 2014 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon; the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Galaxy.

University of Missouri J-School Alumni Magazine

Copy editor, Jan. 2013 — May 2013

Charleston (Illinois) Times-Courier and Mattoon (Illinois) Journal Gazette

Full-time news/sports feature writer, news/sports copy editor, Jan. 2012 — Jan. 2013

Wrote profile stories, wrote book reviews, designed pages, edited photos, updated the website, updated Twitter, updated Facebook, and ran the daily news meeting regularly.

Industry Dive

Aggregated marketing news for MarkingDive.com, Oct. 2012 — Jan. 2013

Illinois Department of Transportation

Communications for Green Initiative, Sept. 2011 — Dec. 2011

Promoted and tracked participation by Illinois schools in International Walk to School Day. Looked at the feasibility of IDOT buildings going to tankless water heaters.

NewsHallOnline.com

Created website to cover cross country, Aug. 2011 — Nov. 2011

Wrote stories. Took photos. Used HTML code to improve the appearance of site.

Charleston (Illinois) Times-Courier and Mattoon (Illinois) Journal Gazette

Freelance sports writer, May 2002 — Aug. 2005; Aug. 2011 — Dec. 2011

La Salle (Illinois) NewsTribune

Full-time sports writer and columnist, Aug. 2005 — Aug. 2011

Covered high school, college and youth sports of every kind. Regularly copy-edited stories and pages, designed the four to six daily sports pages, and took photos of sports and events.

WLPO-AM

Provided sports news reports and was a regular guest on “Chalk Talk” sports talk radio program, Aug. 2005 — Aug. 2011

Champaign (Illinois) The Daily Illini

Sports beat writer, fall 2001 — spring 2005

Covered each of these University of Illinois sports at least one season: men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, track and field, swimming, golf

Decatur (Illinois) Herald and Review

Freelance sports writer, spring 2003 — spring 2005

WEIU-FM

Broadcaster for high school basketball games, 2004-05 season

WPGU-FM

News and sports reporter, 2001

Skills

SEO expertise

Digital, social media strategy

Writing

Editing

Photo/Video editing

Education

University of Missouri — Columbia

Master’s student at Missouri School of Journalism studying investigative and convergence journalism

Classes: January 2013 — December 2014; Completed master's thesis May 2016

University of Illinois — Urbana/Champaign

Bachelor of Science in News-Editorial Journalism

August 2001 — May 2005

Charleston (Illinois) High School

August 1997 — May 2001

Awards

Took third place in the breaking news category of the 2019 Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press contest.
Named the 2017 LGBTQ Journalist of the Year, which is named the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award, by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
Honored with third place for explanatory journalism in the 2017 Associated Press Sports Editors contest.
Selected as finalist for The Best American Sports Writing in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Received the 2016 Excellence in Journalism award for Sports Writing.
Named the runner-up for 2016 LGBT Journalist of the Year from the NLGJA
Selected to receive the 2015-16 Associated Press Sports Editors Diversity Fellowship
Contributed to the Missourian receiving 2015 awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for top five Sunday section and top five daily section.
Contributed to the Missourian receiving 2014 awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for top five Sunday section and top five daily section.
Contributed to the Missourian receiving 2014 awards from the Missouri Press Association for first place in best sports pages and best overall design; second place in general excellence; third place in news or feature special section; honorable mention in news or feature special section.
Contributed to JG-TC receiving 2013 first-place awards from the Southern Illinois Editorial Association in general excellence, best local news coverage, newspaper design, best use of photography and best local sports coverage.
Contributed to JG-TC receiving 2013 awards from the Illinois Press Association for newspaper design, general excellence, best web project, news reporting single story, and best website
Honored by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn with 2011 Green Government Coordinating Council Award for work at the Illinois Department of Transportation to organize International Walk to School Day
Received awards from the Illinois Press Association while writing at the LaSalle NewsTribune: twice for sports column writing, once for sports feature writing and once for sports reporting
Won three Society of Professional Journalists regional awards as contributor to Best Student Magazine Published Once a Year, Best All-Around Online Student Magazine, and Best Radio In-Depth Reporting

Experience/Accomplishments

Elected in Aug. 2019 to a two-year term on the national board for NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. Re-elected to the national board in 2021. In 2022, elected to a two-year term as Vice President of Print and Online for NLGJA. Re-elected in 2024 to a two-year term as NLGJA Vice President of Print and Online.
Elected to the APSE Foundation board in February 2023. Took over the APSE Foundation secretary role in December 2023.
Elected in Aug. 2019 to be APSE Southeast Region Vice Chair for a two-year term. Served as APSE Southeast Region Vice Chair from 2019-21, and I served as APSE Southeast Region Chairman from 2021-23.
Orchestrated the Associated Press Sports Editors Student Contest in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Led a panel at the 2016 Associated Press Sports Editors national conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, on best practices for covering LGBT people in sports. Served on a panel at the 2024 APSE national conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the uses of artificial intelligence in sports journalism. Served on a panel at the 2023 APSE national conference in Las Vegas on sports trending coverage.
Led a panel at the 2016 NLGJA national conference in Miami on sports journalism. A panel member at the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists Conference in 2023.
Judged the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest every year from 2014-24. Served as a judge for the inaugural Billie Jean King Award for women's sports journalism.
Judged the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Editor and Publisher website and multimedia EPPY Awards contest
Spoke on a panel at the 2014 Associated Press Sports Editors national conference in Washington, D.C., about the Missourian's coverage of Michael Sam. The panel also included New York Times sports editor Jason Stallman and Poynter Institute vice president Kelly McBride.
Had a story picked up by The Associated Press on Missouri athlete Greg DeStephen, and the story was used in the Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, and Washington Times.
Selected to judge the Illinois High School Association state journalism competition, April 2012
An active member of the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, National Sports Media Association, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Former member of the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and Track and Field Writers of America (TFWA).
Volunteered at the Illinois High School Association Track & Field State Finals, 1996-2004
Articles published in USA Today; Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill.); OutSports.com; Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.); Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill.); The Leader (Walnut, Ill.); The Index (Wenona, Ill.); Illinois Basketball 2003 Postseason Media Guide; The Daily Register (Harrisburg, Ill.); Lake Forrester (Lake Forrest, Ill.); and Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, Ill.).