NIC F. ANDERSON
REPORTER, AUTHOR, FILMMAKER & ARTIST

ABOUT NIC F. ANDERSON
Nic F. Anderson (she/they) is a journalist; creative writer; filmmaker; photographer; graphic designer; and an occasional public speaker.
They are a fact-driven and detailed orientated reporter and creative writer experienced with developing, writing and editing articles with unwavering dedication. Anderson has experience with both print and online media, along with experience in newspaper layout.
Her articles, creative writing, artwork, graphic design, and photography have been published in newspapers, magazines, zines, anthologies and literary journals.
Anderson's experience in photography, filming and editing both film and audio have given her countless opportunities. Their films have been shown at the Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival in 2020 and the ninth annual North by Northeastern Film Festival in 2019. Anderson was recently selected to be included in the Political Edge Film Festival in Milwaukee Wisconsin in 2020.
Her research essay, “Queer Memes: Starting Conversations, Building Community and Unconsciously Raising Visibility,” won at NEIU’s 27 Annual Research and Creative Activities Symposium in the communication, media and theatre poster section.
They are a graduate from both Northeastern Illinois University and Wilbur Wright College where she received many awards for her academic and leadership success. Anderson occasionally goes back to Northeastern Illinois University to teach Associated Press (AP) Style workshops to the Independent staff.
Anderson has been mentioned in Noteworthy at Northeastern, ChicagoVoyage's Trailblazer series and was invited to interview author Becky Sarwate live at the Chuck Kane fundraising event.
Work Experience
Present
GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER
JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPER; 07/2019-PRESENT
Writes stories as assigned by editor for various northwestern Illinois suburbs such as Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Glenview and Park Ridge.
FOUNDER AND WRITER
YUNGMIGA.COM; 06/2015 - PRESENT
Finding and writing stories; finalizing photos using Photoshop; interviewing; fact-checking; headline writing; etc.
FREELANCE WRITER
VARIES; 01/2016 – PRESENT
Finding, pitching and writing stories; working with editors; establishing relationships.
FREELANCE EDITOR
VARIES; 01/2016 – PRESENT
Working with writers to edit their papers and articles using AP or MLA format.
Past
CO-MANAGING EDITOR
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER; 03/2018 - 05/2019
Maintain relationships between editors and other staff; supervising and coaching editors and staff; collaborating with the EIC; hire new staff members; and enforce deadlines.
NEWS EDITOR
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER; 06/2018 - 05/2019
Finding and assigning stories; teaching AP style to staff; editing articles; writing news stories*; fact-checking; headline writing; and collaborating with photographers and other editors. *has written more than 50 news articles at the Independent.
PRODUCTION MANAGER
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER; 01/2019 – 05/2019
Planning newspaper layout; finalizing photos using Photoshop; laying out the newspaper on InDesign; editing; proofreading; dropping stories, photos and ads; and following up with editors and staff about stories, photos, graphics and ads.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
CHRISTINA CROSS' SMILING SOULS; 02/2016 – 01/2019
Kept social media up-to-date with events, classes and news. Interacted with potential, new and current students via posts, comments and messages. Maintained brand awareness and online reputation. Created and managed content. Used search engine optimization (SEO) on Facebook page to draw more attention to social media page. Administered, created and published high-quality content that is relevant to Smiling Souls and/or owner Christina Cross. Kept a regular schedule for post publishing
EDITORIAL INTERN
CHICAGO NEWS MEDIA GROUP; 12/2018 –02/2019
Wrote and revised article; fact-checked; learned importance of SEO and how to use it properly.
STAFF REPORTER
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER; 01/2018 –03/2018
Wrote assigned articles for news, arts and life and opinions and revised articles.
BOOK EDITOR
TONY MEEHLEIS' BOOK "AUTISM TRANSFORMED"; 08/2017
Edited the entirety of the book; looking for grammatical and punctuational errors.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
THE WRIGHT TIMES NEWSPAPER; 04/2016 –12/2016
Took care of the day-to-day duties; coordinated with the advertisement agencies; had final say of what was published; managed a staff of 15; hired and trained editors; and maintained the social media pages.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
THE WRIGHT SIDE MAGAZINE; 08/2015 –06/2016
Collected, compiled and read through all of the submissions; designed the magazine’s style, size and theme and managed a staff of 10.
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
THE WRIGHT TIMES NEWSPAPER; 11/2015 – 04/2016
Wrote assigned articles for arts and culture, assigned writers articles and revised articles.
STAFF REPORTER
THE WRIGHT SIDE NEWSPAPER; 08/2015 –11/2015
Wrote assigned articles for news, arts and life and opinions and revised articles as requested by editor.
Education
2019 / Bachelors Degree in Communications, Media and Theatre
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, Illinois
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Summa Cum Laude (3.93 GPA)
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Wilson Media Award
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CMT Distinguished Scholar
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LEAD Student Award
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Legacy Award
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Dean’s List
2016 / Associates Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences
Wilbur Wright College
Chicago, Illinois
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Cum Laude (3.5 GPA)
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Howard Wilcox Award
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Dean's List