New Interactive Resume

I'm in the process of creating an updated (and hopefully more user-friendly) Interactive Resume using WordPress. It's a work in progress, but you can check it out at http://www.courtneydrake.wordpress.com/. Let me know what you'd like to see on the new version of my online portfolio. I'm always looking for ways to improve!

Graduation!

That's right...yours truly has graduated Magna Cum Laude from Belmont University with her BA in journalism. Not only have I learned how to write a story in a clear, compelling manner, but I also know how to use the Internet to present the layers of a story, edit stories according to AP style, and think outside the box to present stories in the most interesting way.

Job prospects? Please e-mail me!

Social Media Tutorials

New media and social networking Web sites have taken on a life of their own in today's society. Since it's a journalists' job to keep up with what's going on in the world, I have been exploring various social networking sites and their uses as part of a class. Below you can link to two tutorials I have done, the first on Utterli, the second on Digg, and the third on Newsvine.

Have a tutorial you'd like to see? E-mail me!


Utterli Tutorial




Digg Tutorial



Newsvine Tutorial

Wynonna Judd Interview, February 2009

Wynonna Judd visited Belmont University in February for a CD Release Party for her latest album, Sing Chapter 1. I covered the CD release party and concert using new media tool, CoverItLive.com, which allowed me to post live updates of the concert all while interacting with users. You can read the CoverItLive session below. (Click replay, then click within the box and use keyboard arrows to scroll.)

I was also able to interview Judd after the concert about her CD and her experiences at Belmont . The story was published in Belmont's student newspaper, The Belmont Vision.

My interview with Taylor Swift for CountryHound.com

Read the story here.

Part 1:


Part 2:

Then I Became A Country Hound

My most recent journalistic endeavor begain in summer 2008, when I began an editorial internship for Country Hound, a Country Music news Web site which is updated daily. I created their daily news agenda each day and assigned writers to each of the eight stories. I also wrote music chart histories, which were posted on the site.

In August, I was offered a job at Country Hound as an editor. I accepted the offer and now work part-time editing stories each day and posting them to the Web site using a content management system.

Visit Country Hound to see my work.

Student Reporter Courtney Drake Receives Inaugural CMA Close Up Award of Merit

In June 2007, I had the opportunity to be a media volunteer for the Country Music Association. I was one of four college students chosen to cover various aspects of the 2007 CMA Music Festival. At the end of the four-day festival, one of us would be chosen as the CMA Close Up Award of Merit winner. As a reward, the winner would attend the 2007 CMA Awards in Nashville in the press room.



A week after the Festival had ended, I received a call telling me after much deliberation, they had chosen me as the winner of the Award of Merit. I was ecstatic the night I attended the awards, my dreams of becoming a music journalist unveiling themselves. See the photo, above, with me holding my plaque with CMA Close Up Editor Bob Doerschuk, left, and Wendy Pearl, CMA President of Communications, right.



To read the press release about the award, click here.



To read my work during the CMA Music Festival, visit the following links (look for the article titles in bold on each page):

• Day 1 (see: The Party Continues at the Chevy Music Tour; Souvenirs, Autographs and a Mellow Pace of Celebration Reign at the Fan Fair Exhibit Hall)

• Day 2 (see: Cruisin’ with Chevy on a (Briefly) Rainy Afternoon at Chevy Music Tour; Autographs Flow from Stars at Fan Fair Exhibit Hall)

• Day 3 (see: Arena Concerts Take Country Music from Heartland to Hispanic Horizons; Up-Close and Personal Items Abound at YW Celebrity Auction in Crisco Family Zone; Ugly Betties and Country Hunks Entertain at ABC Block Party)

• Day 4 (see: LP Field Extravaganza Brings Memorable End to 2007 CMA Music Festival)