Résumé

BRIAN BAKER

Toronto, ON

LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/brirbaker | Portfolio: http://www.brianrbaker.com

COMMUNICATIONS/JOURNALISM PROFESSIONAL

Creative and results-driven marketing professional with a proven track record in crafting compelling content for editorial and user experience optimization. Leveraging a background in journalism, I excel in simplifying complex concepts into engaging and digestible content, driving brand awareness and user engagement.

Specialties:
Sports Reporting, Entertainment Reporting, Interviewing, Social Media Strategy, SEO, Content Management Applications, Editing, WordPress, Interviewing High Profile Figures, Editorial Photography, Event Planning, Blogging, Newspaper Production, Community Management and Online Publishing.

Key Skills

Education

• Public Relations, Certificate — Ryerson University — 2017
• Archaeology (specialist), English and Geography (minors), Hon. BA — University of Toronto  — 2003

Work Experience

Onlia Insurance (Toronto, ON)

Content Designer (November 2022 — April 2024)

• Increased direct and organic traffic to Onlia by 10%
• Wrote and refreshed landing pages to improve traffic by 10% and conversion by 10%
• Worked with SEO to create easily navigated content to drive up organic traffic
• Optimized content flows for user experience
• ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Completed the Udemi course Microcopy & UX Writing; Launched GEO pages for growth; Established strong ties with brand partnerships and B2C content

Brian Baker Media (Toronto, ON)

Owner (2009 — Present)

• Freelance journalism, photography and copywriting (Haunted Magazine, Town Crier and Urban Male Magazine)
• Produce and manage an online portfolio, brianrbaker.com, through WordPress
• Utilize social media, Twitter, Facebook and Google+, to ensure brand visibility
• Monitor Google Analytics to gauge what and how people are drawn to the personal website
• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Guest lecturer at the Black Museum: Paranormal Investigators and their role in horror films; Appeared as a subject matter expert on “Haunted Hospitals”

The Canadian Press (Toronto, ON)

Page Editor, Pagemasters North America (September 2018 — November 2022)

• Design the sports and news pages for the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press in the U.S.
• Collaborate with American and Canadian clients to meet their editorial needs
• Adhere to strict publishing deadlines, ensuring all content is proofread and ready for print
• Manage a small team of editors during weekend publications

Teleperformance (Toronto, ON)

Technical Writer (2016 — 2019)

• Work on training materials for agents who deal in customer service
• Produce newsletters, marketing campaigns for B2B and B2C relations
• Design visual content to accompany e-commerce training materials
• Liaise with the client in daily and weekly meetings, focusing on reports and analysis

Streeter Publications (Toronto, ON)

Community Manager (2015 — Present)
Arts, News and Sports Reporter, Columnist (2014 — 2021)
Sports, Arts and Life Editor (2013 — 2014)

• Research, interview and photograph subjects with great sports and entertainment stories
• Manage three community Facebook pages and four Twitter accounts
• Created the column, Blast Radius, researching and reporting the relevance of midtown Toronto in pop culture
• Interview an array of people: actors, directors, musicians, politicians and sports figures
• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Launched the Town Crier‘s three Facebook pages and three community-based Twitter accounts

Sun Media (Toronto, ON)

National Online (Sports) Editor (2012 — 2013)

• Created and edited interactive visual and news content for all Sun Media websites
• Managed workflow for Slam! Sports and various Sun sites through content management systems
• Contributed breaking news, sports flashes and briefs for both print and online
• Maintained social media strategy leveraging Twitter, Facebook, Storify, ScribbleLive and Google Analytics
• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Drove thousands of visitors to Sun sites with two interactive votes: “The Ultimate Horror Villain Scrapfest” and “The Ultimate Fighting Game Battle Royale”

Town Crier (Toronto, ON)

Sports Editor (2009 — 2012)
News Editor/Reporter (2007 — 2009)

• Interviewed various figures in midtown Toronto for news, arts, sports and life features
• Managed the sports team, assigned stories for a small corps of sportswriters
• Delivered two regular columns, “The Game Fixer” and “On the Beat” to the content of the paper
• Copy-edited, proofread, and wrote headlines and cutlines through InDesign
• ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Helped launch mytowncrier.ca website, supervised and coordinated three events of 100 guests and won the Ontario Community Newspapers Associations’ Columnist of the Year for 2011

Reed Construction Data (Markham, ON)

Staff Writer, Daily Commercial News (2006 — 2007)

• Covered breaking news in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors of construction
• Photographed and edited candid photos to accompany articles
• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Travelled across Southern Ontario to meet with trades and unions, developing a strong relationship

Torstar Digital (Toronto, ON)

Associate Editor, Toronto.com (2005 — 2006)

• Wrote features profiling tourist destinations in Toronto for online publication
• Aggregated information for an events calendar
• ACCOMPLISHMENT: Helped launch Toronto.com’s new website and CMS in 2006 by beta-testing functionality

Professional Development

• Successfully completed First Aid and CPR training through the Canadian Red Cross

Community Involvement

• New College Mentorship Program — Mentor — (2011 — Present)
• International Association of Business Communicators — Member — (2014 —2018)
• Canadian Association of Journalists — Member | Community Manager — (2014 — 2018)
• Black Museum — Photographer — (2013 — 2018)