Resume

JESSICA KWONG


The US Sun, New York, New York
REPORTER, June 2020 – present
–      Cover national politics, coronavirus, race and other issues for The Sun U.K.’s U.S. edition.
–      Write several stories and explainers daily and manage election 2020 live blog.

TV Host / Producer / Writer, New York, New York
November 2019 – present
–      Interview and book guests for news and public affairs television show airing weekly.
–      Cover New York and Bay Area MLB, NBA, NHL games and talk on Sports Radio Service podcast.

Newsweek, New York, New York
POLITICS REPORTER, September 2017 – November 2019
–      Covered national politics with a focus on the Trump administration and family, balancing original reporting with aggregation. Write explainers and fact-checking pieces.
–      Monitored Twitter and Google for top news, trending topics and write SEO headlines accordingly.
–      Consistently achieved 1 million unique views per month.

The Orange County Register, Anaheim, California
GOVERNMENT & TRANSPORTATION REPORTER, July 2015 – September 2017; TRAVEL WRITER, July 2015 – present
–      Covered the county seat, Santa Ana, with immigration, gang violence, homelessness and budget issues.
–      Covered Orange County Transportation Authority and regional transit systems. Stories published across Southern California News Group/Digital First Media properties.
–      Write travel stories monthly on personal trips within the U.S. and abroad including Cuba, Iceland and Mexico.

San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California
TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING REPORTER, August 2013 – July 2015
–      Covered city and regional transit including the height of controversy over Uber and Google shuttle buses. Got scoop on city taxi head’s resignation.
–      Chronicled housing affordability crisis. Broke series on Chinese family evicted through the state Ellis Act. Focused on immigrant Latino and Chinese communities.

Time Warner Cable Sports, El Segundo, California
WRITER, PRODUCER & CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR, July 2012 – August 2013
–      Wrote feature stories, game previews and Spanish-language “Fan’s Voice” blog on the Los Angeles Lakers. Coordinating producer for Time Warner Cable Deportes at all Lakers home games in the 2012-13 season. Reporter and coordinating producer for #LAPREPA, a high school sports show in Spanish.
–      Helped launch Time Warner Cable Deportes, the first Spanish-language regional sports network in the U.S.

La Opinión, Los Angeles, California
METRO REPORTER, February 2012 – July 2012; FREELANCE REPORTER, July 2012 – August 2013
–     Covered Compton, where Latinos are the majority and fighting for political representation. Use public records and investigative skills for crime stories including Joanna Ramos tragedy in Long Beach and USC students shooting. First Asian reporter at the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the U.S.
NEWS & FEATURES INTERN, June 2009 – August 2009
– Wrote general assignment news stories and entertainment features in Spanish. Took photos.

San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas
CRIME & COURTS REPORTER / HEARST FELLOW, June 2011 – February 2012
–     Covered night crime beat with police, fire and sheriff scanners and produced multiple breaking news stories daily. Reported on Bexar County court trials. Embedded self in Occupy San Antonio and wrote series from start to finish. Pursued enterprise including education in Eagle Ford Shale oil region.

The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California
CITY HALL REPORTER / HEARST FELLOW, September 2010 – May 2011
–     Wrote award-winning series on student whose immigration case prompted Sen. Dianne Feinstein to sign a private bill for temporary stay, interviewed family in Cantonese. Covered public works, arts, library, film and zoo beats, ethnic communities. Contributed to daily column/blog on city government.

El Mensajero, San Francisco, California
MULTIMEDIA NEWS REPORTER / SPORTS COLUMNIST, August 2009 – May 2011
–     Wrote news stories and ‘Lo que viene’ look ahead in sports column for Spanish-language weekly. Shot and edited videos including Oscar Grant/BART protests in Oakland, World Cup. Took photos.

SFBay.ca, Sports Radio Service, San Francisco, California
LOS ANGELES CORRESPONDENT, October 2012 – present
· Write news features relevant to the Bay Area. Cover Bay Area professional away sports games in Los Angeles and Orange County.

The Compton Herald, Compton, California
FREELANCE REPORTER, May 2013 – present
–     Cover city hall, crime, police corruption, schools stories for Compton weekly paper.

Forbes, Patch.com, Oakland Local, Berkeleyside, El Tecolote, Bay Area, California
FREELANCE REPORTER, February 2010 – August 2010
–     Covered eco-tech for Forbes; city government for Patch in San Ramon, Albany, Danville; elections for Oakland Local; community life for Berkeleyside; health for Spanish-language biweekly El Tecolote.

The Daily Californian, Berkeley, California, CITY NEWS EDITOR, January 2007 – December 2009
–     Edited, assigned and wrote city government, crime, courts, business stories for award-winning 150-student staff UC Berkeley newspaper. Implemented video, podcast, slideshow, multimedia elements. Taught investigative reporting class. Former assistant city news editor and business beat reporter.

Pasadena Star-News, Pasadena, California, NEWS INTERN, June 2009 – August 2009
–     Wrote news and features about city government, crime, business, education and community life.

Diario El Mercurio, Manta, Ecuador, NEWS INTERN, May 2008 – July 2008
–     Reported in rural areas and wrote health and culture features in Spanish for Ecuadorian newspaper.

KALX Radio, Berkeley, California, ON-AIR NEWS REPORTER, January 2007 – May 2008
–     Compiled and delivered local, national and international news for morning UC Berkeley radio show.

Time Warner Cable, South Pasadena, California, TV PRODUCTION INTERN, Oct. 2004 – Aug. 2006
–     Reported on-camera TWC SoCal news stories. Helped edit videos. Broadcasted live city meetings.

AWARDS

Orange County Press Club, Excellence in Journalism Awards, 2020
–     THIRD PLACE, Travel story
“Experiencing Italy’s Coast Requires Some Footwork” (Orange County Register)

Orange County Press Club, Excellence in Journalism Awards, 2019
–     SECOND PLACE, Travel story
“Is it Too Soon For Tourists to Return to Puerto Rico?” (Orange County Register)

Orange County Press Club, Excellence in Journalism Awards, 2017
–     SECOND PLACE, Travel story
“Cuba: How to Get There Ahead of the American Tourist Invasion” (Orange County Register)

San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards, 2015
–     FIRST PLACE, Series
“Tech Commune The Negev Disrupts San Francisco Housing” (SF Examiner)
–     FIRST PLACE, Feature of a specialty nature
“Exposing San Francisco’s Asian Poverty” (SF Examiner)
–     FIRST PLACE, Feature of a light nature
“Tunnel Diggers Reach the End” (SF Examiner)
–     SECOND PLACE, Continuing coverage
“San Francisco’s Housing Crisis” (SF Examiner)
–     SECOND PLACE, Breaking news
“Head of San Francisco Taxis to Retire” (SF Examiner)
–     THIRD PLACE, Feature story of serious nature
“The City’s Most Thankless Job” (SF Examiner)

California Newspaper Publishers Association, Better Newspapers Contest, 2014
–     SECOND PLACE, Breaking News
“Head of SF Taxis to Retire” (SF Examiner)
–     BLUE RIBBON FINALIST, Enterprise Reporting
“You Better Have a Ticket to Ride Muni” (SF Examiner)
–     BLUE RIBBON FINALIST, Best Feature Story
“Injured SF Pedestrian’s Medical Bill Highlights Gap in Insurance Coverage” (SF Examiner)

San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards, 2013
–     FIRST PLACE, Series
“Lee Family Ellis Act Eviction” (SF Examiner)
–     FIRST PLACE, Breaking News (Broadband)
“Spending Accusations Spin Elks Lodge Into ‘Turmoil’” (SFBay.ca double byline)
–     SECOND PLACE, Continuing coverage
“Evictions in San Francisco” (SF Examiner)
–     SECOND PLACE, Sports story
“A Hollywood Occasion at Warriors’ Season Opener” (SF Examiner)
–     SECOND PLACE, Feature story of light nature
“A Bridge to the Past” (SF Examiner)
–     THIRD PLACE, Continuing coverage
“Taxi Transportation stories” (SF Examiner)
–     THIRD PLACE, Feature story of serious nature
“The City’s Most Thankless Job” (SF Examiner)

New York Times Fellow, May 2014
“The Changing Face of America: Immigration and the Politics of Reform” conference participant at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

National Association of Hispanic Publications, José Martí Publishing Awards, 2012
–     BRONZE AWARD, Outstanding multiple article series
“¿Cambio en Compton?” (La Opinión)

East Bay Press Club, Excellence in Print Journalism Awards, 2010
–     FIRST PLACE, Series by individual or team
“Steve Li faces deportation to Peru” (SF Chronicle)

Hearst Newspapers Journalism Fellow, 2010-2012
Selected from 200 applicants. Staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News over 18 months

SKILLS
–     Native in Spanish and Cantonese
–     Experienced in Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Dalet, basic photo, social media

EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
–     GPA: 3.8
–     B.A. Comparative Literature in Spanish and English, Mass Communications
–     Honors: Dean’s Honor Roll, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Golden Key International Honour Society, Cal Alumni Association Leadership Award Scholar, Comparative Literature honors thesis