Education

Graduate education: M.A., University of Missouri School of Journalism, May 1983.

Undergraduate education: B.S., Eastern Michigan University, major in political science, minor in journalism, April 1981.

Writing Experience

• January 1989-present: Freelance writer, editor, and publisher. I have written, edited, co-authored, or contributed to more than 20 books for publishers such as Congressional Quarterly Books and Workman Publishing; launched Silver Hammer Publishing, an electronic publishing firm; written articles for numerous national magazines and newspapers; written and edited a group of newsletters about state and local political issues; presented seminars about how to access government information on the Internet and BBSs; and written extensive content for a corporate Web site.

• August 1988-October 1988: Temporary staff writer for the Congressional Environmental and Energy Study Conference.

• July 1986-July 1988: Investigative reporter, WTOL-TV, Toledo, Ohio. Duties included reporting and producing both short- and long-term investigative projects.

• July 1983-July 1986: Special projects reporter, Rochester (Minn.) Post-Bulletin. Duties included all aspects of preparing in-depth and investigative projects, ranging from developing story ideas to shooting pictures for the projects.

• Spring 1983: Reporter, University of Missouri Washington Reporting Program.

• Spring 1982-Spring 1983: Editor of the Missourian Weekly, the 40,000-circulation newspaper published by the School of Journalism, and assistant editor of the Columbia Missourian, the daily community newspaper published by the Journalism School. This was a teaching assistantship.

• Fall 1981: Reporter, the Columbia Missourian.

• Summer 1980, 1981: General assignment reporter and photographer, The Alpena (Mich.) News. Duties varied, but included covering beats, editing and laying out a section, designing and shooting photo stories, and developing special reporting projects.

Books

• Co-editor, Historic Documents of 1999 (CQ Press, 2000).

• Author, How to Track Politics on the Internet (CQ Press, 2000).

• Author, Insider's Guide to Finding a Job in Washington: Contacts and Strategies to Build Your Career in Public Policy (CQ Press, 1999).

• Co-editor, Historic Documents of 1998 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1999).

• Author, How to Find Health Information on the Internet (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998).

•Author, How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet, fourth edition (Congressional Quarterly Books 1998).

• Coeditor, Historic Documents of 1997 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998).

• Author, How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet 1998 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1997).

• Coeditor, Historic Documents of 1996 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1997).

• Author, How to Access the Government's Electronic Bulletin Boards 1997 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1996).

• Author, How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet 1997 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1996).

• Coeditor, Historic Documents of 1995 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1996).

• Author, How to Access the Government's Electronic Bulletin Boards 1996 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1995).

• Author, How to Access the Federal Government on the Internet (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1995).

• Editor and primary writer, Historic Documents of 1994 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1995).

• Author, How to Access the Government's Electronic Bulletin Boards (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1994).

• Co-author, What Are We Feeding Our Kids?, with Michael Jacobson (Workman Publishing, 1994).

• Contributing writer, Historic Documents of 1993 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1994).

• Contributing writer, The Supreme Court A to Z (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1993).

• Contributing writer, Historic Documents of 1992 (Congressional Quarterly Books, 1993).

• Editor, Tech Prep Marketing Guide (American Vocational Association, 1993).

• Editor, The Educator's Guide to the Americans With Disabilities Act (American Vocational Association, 1993).

• Editor, The AVA Administrator's Guide to Federally Funded Tech-Prep (American Vocational Association, 1993).

• Co-author, Marketing Disease to Hispanics: The Selling of Alcohol, Tobacco and Junk Foods, with Michael Jacobson (Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest, August 1989).

Selected Articles

• "Some Sites for More Brain Facts and Fun," USA Weekend, January 3, 1999.

• "12 Tips to Search the Internet Successfully," USA Weekend, November 8, 1998.

• "New Breast Cancer Therapies and Resources," USA Weekend, September 27, 1998.

• "Internet Mailing Lists Help Track the Federal Government," Database, October/November 1996.

• "Political Connections: Getting the Party Line on E-Mail," The Washington Post, February 22, 1996.

• "Gateways to State and Local Government Information on the Internet," Database, December 1995.

• "The 10 Best Federal Government Internet Sites," Database, August/September 1995.

• "The 10 Best Federal Government BBSs," Database, December 1994.

• "The 10 Best Government BBSs," Home Office Computing, September 1994.

• "Stretched to the Limit?," Parenting, February 1991.

• "Turning Down Work Is Hard To Do," Home Office Computing, February 1991.

• "Anti-Drunk-Driving Push Focuses on Taking Licenses," Governing, May 1990.

• "New Crash Claim: Suits Allege Misleading Continental Ads Induced Air Travel," ABA Journal, April 1990.

• "Star Goes to Bat for Youngsters: Mattingly in Battle with H&B Over Louisville Slugger Rights," Advertising Age, March 5, 1990.

• "PACs are Packing a Bigger Punch," Florida Trend, March 1990.

• "Law-Firm Influence: Law-Related PACs Get $2.75 Million Start on 1990 Election," ABA Journal, January 1990.

• "Judges Experiment, Reshaping the Role the Jury Plays," Governing, January 1990.

• "Cable Clone Draws Broadcasters' Ire," Advertising Age, Dec. 11, 1989.

• "Researching Jury Participation," ABA Journal, December 1989.

• "Business PACs Get Fast Start," Georgia Trend, November 1989.

• "Not So Fast," Common Cause Magazine, September/October 1989.

• "How I Lost That Story," Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 1987.

• "Populism Takes a Sharp Right," Mother Jones, April 1985.

• "Investigating the Nuclear Power Plant," IRE Journal, Summer 1984.

• "Newspapers Get High Marks on Nuclear Reporting," Editor & Publisher, Dec. 31, 1983.

Speaking Appearances

• American Academy of Pediatrics national legislative conference, Arlington, Va., March 1998.

• American Public Health Association national conference, New York, N.Y., November 1996.

• American Association of Law Libraries national conference, Indianapolis, Ind., July 1996.

• Meeting of the Washington Internet SIG, Springfield, Va., May 1996.

• Meeting of the Princeton-Trenton chapter of the Special Libraries Association, Princeton, N.J., April 1996.

• "Computers in Libraries '96," Arlington, Va., February 1996.

• "CAR Rock," conference sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting, Cleveland, Ohio, September 1995.

• Special Libraries Association national conference, Montreal, Canada, June 1995.

• Keynote speaker, "Electronic Public Records: The Who$, What$ and Why$ of Public Acce$$," Minnesota Journalism Center, Minneapolis, Minn., May 1995.

• Washington Independent Writers spring conference, Washington, D.C., May 1995.

• 4th Annual Federal Depository Library Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Arlington, Va., April 1995.

• National Association of Agricultural Journalists national conference, Washington, D.C., April 1995.

• "Computers in Libraries '95," conference sponsored by Mecklermedia, Arlington, Va., March 1995.

• Investigative Reporters and Editors/Society of Professional Journalists conference, Washington, D.C., February 1995.

• "Understanding and Using the Internet," Washington, D.C., January 1995.

• "Internet World '94," Washington, D.C., December 1994.

• US Army Program Status Review, Falls Church, Va., December 1994.

• Annual Users Meeting and Training Conference, Defense Technical Information Center, Crystal City, Va., November 1994.

• "GovCom '94," Washington, D.C., October 1994.

• "Thunder Bay Literary Conference," Alpena, Mich., September 1994.

• "A Brief Introduction to Cyberspace," Alpena (Mich.) County Library, September 1994.

• "How to Use the Internet to Find Free and Low-Cost Federal Information," seminar sponsored by Congressional Quarterly, Washington, D.C., July 1994.

• "Computers in Libraries '94," conference sponsored by Mecklermedia, Arlington, Va., March 1994.

• "Computing: The News Frontier," conference sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Raleigh, N.C., October 1993.

• Investigative Reporters and Editors national conference, Charlotte, N.C., June 1990.

• Sigma Delta Chi/Investigative Reporters and Editors conference, Omaha, Neb., September 1987.

• Investigative Reporters and Editors regional conference for college students, Ames, Iowa, March 1985.

Journalism Awards

• Finalist, Alicia Patterson Fellowships, December 1991.

• Invited participant, Seminar on Applied Ethics, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla., March 1988.

• Third place, investigative reporting, for "A House Out of Order," a six-part series that described how slumlords got away with repeatedly violating rental housing codes, Minnesota Page One Awards sponsored by Sigma Delta Chi, May 1986.

• Frank Premack Memorial Award for public affairs reporting, for "A House Out of Order," sponsored by the Premack Memorial Fund and the University of Minnesota, April 1986.

• Tied for first place - with self - in investigative reporting category of contest sponsored by the Minnesota Newspaper Association, April 1986.

• First place, Golden Hammer Awards, for "A House Out of Order," sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, December 1985.

• First place, investigative reporting, for article revealing the criminal background of a national farm figure, Minnesota Associated Press contest, September 1985.

• Second place, investigative reporting, for "Rebirth of the Radical Right," a six-part series about the growth of right-wing extremism in the Midwest, Minnesota Associated Press contest, September 1985.

• Second place, in-depth reporting, for "Losing the Gamble," a six-part series about the impact of the farm crisis in the Midwest, Minnesota Associated Press contest, 1985.

• First place, non-deadline writing, for "Losing the Gamble," Small Newspaper Group contest, June 1985.

• Second place, Champion-Tuck awards for business and economics reporting, for "Losing the Gamble," May 1985.

• Named Newspaper Farm Editor of the Year by the Newspaper Farm Editors of America, for "Losing the Gamble," April 1985.

• Honorable mention, for "Rebirth of the Radical Right," Newspaper Farm Editors of America contest, April 1985.

• Third place, investigative reporting, for four-part series about an accident at the Prairie Island nuclear power plant, Minnesota Associated Press contest, September 1984.

• $1,000 grant from The Fund for Investigative Journalism to investigate construction defeats at the Callaway nuclear power plant, 1982.

• First place, feature writing, for series on disposal of solid waste in northeast Michigan, Michigan United Press International contest, 1980.

Home

Page last updated March 30, 2000