What’s your top priority at work for today?
I’ve been in the midst of covering heavy topics involving drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence and foster care/adoption. My priority has been to pour my heart and soul into these very important pieces I am writing for magazines in Sacramento as well as for a local nonprofit. I feel honored to meet incredible people who have overcome these challenges, and it’s very rewarding to be able to write their stories. My hope is that their stories will inspire others who are struggling. I also hope that my writing will help encourage companies to help fund some of the amazing nonprofits in the area.
Tell us about your dream assignment.
After a recent interview, a woman told me I was very easy to talk to about her life, which was sad and hard to tell. I felt like a million bucks. My dream assignment would be to meet someone who has an incredible story to share, who just needs that person to piece it all together and get it out there.
Describe one of the wackiest proposals/ideas you’ve been sent.
The strangest writing assignment I have worked on was an article for a local magazine about a psychic who did cemetery tours. I believe I was 19. I interviewed her in her home, where she greeted me and said hello to another person she felt had come with me (I came alone). When she offered me some root beer, my wheels started spinning, imagining all the things that could be in that glass for some reason….
What is your PR/marketing pet peeve?
My pet peeve is when clients want high quality, original material that is specific to their company but do not have any of their own time to put into the project and are irritated by too many questions. This has been common with writing for website projects.
What’s a top industry trend you’re currently following or are interested in?
I’m interested to see what happens with the different social media platforms.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My passion is definitely interviewing people and writing creative articles, and I hope to be able to use those skills to share powerful testimonies that may ultimately help others. I also enjoy providing writing and editing services for the marketing departments of small and medium-size companies.
My family is very important to me—I am grateful for my husband of 13 years, Zach; my eight-year-old son, Rowan; and the incredible network of family and friends that surround us. I recently discovered that many of my favorite things begin with the letter “c.” Coffee, chocolate, candles, clothes, crafts, California… J
Thoughts or questions for Allison? Leave a comment below.
Hi Allison,
It was such a pleasure working with you on your recent article in Sacramento Lifestyle Magazine. Thank you for participating in our “Meet the Media” series and I look forward to crossing paths with you again in the near future.
Regards,
David
Allison, thanks for a great blog. Glad to see that you have written about foster care. When I worked in television (at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, the CBS affiliate), we started a program which was one of the highlights of my career. We used the power of television to help find homes for foster kids. It was called “Brian’s Kids,” (our weatherman’s name was Brian) and we placed dozens of kids in wonderful homes. Keep up the great writing. Cheers, David
Hi Allison. Thank you for participating on the LCI blog this week. Storytelling is so important and it sounds like you have a knack for it. Being a good listener as a journalist is also important as you hone in on your story. And, you wackiest assignment made me LOL. What an experience! It sounds like some other “c” words to add to your list should be writing Compelling Content. 🙂 All the best to you.
Okay, I am sold on the psychic cemetery tour!
Great blog, Allison. Thank you for writing stories that benefit nonprofits. I also love your passion for writing stories about amazing people!
It’s great that you use your position to highlight such great stories and nonprofits – thanks for sharing!