top of page

ZACHARY PERELES

540-649-4104 | zapereles@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

CBS Sports

November 2021-Present

Senior Writer

  • Author the CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter, a five-day-per-week publication delivered to nearly one million email inboxes every day

  • Cover breaking news and deliver need-to-know information concisely and accurately

  • Contribute to the CBS Sports NFL section with statistical insights and detailed previews of key games every week

ESPN

July 2019-October 2021

Sports Content Researcher

  • Won a Sports Emmy for contributions as a lead researcher for SportsCenter in 2020

  • Published stories on Gonzaga basketball’s undefeated regular season and the 2020 NFL season for ESPN.com; developed game previews, recaps and enterprise stories for ESPN’s internal site

  • Executed research for SportsCenter during breaking news scenarios including Kobe Bryant’s death, the March 2020 sports shutdown and the men’s 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket reveal

  • Coordinated immersive graphics and video packages to tell stories on ESPN’s premier programming

  • Emerged as a leader on the men's college basketball team, leading several organic projects as well as studio wraps throughout the 2020-21 season
     

Augusta Free Press

January 2019-June 2019

University of Virginia men’s basketball beat writer and columnist

  • Co-authored “Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 NCAA Championship”

  • Credentialed reporter for 2019 Final Four; reported ~10 stories in four days from Minneapolis

  • Increased Virginia basketball content readership fivefold with savvy SEO and social media practices

Denver Broncos

August 2018-January 2019

Digital media contributor

  • Authored several cover profile stories as well as other feature content on players and coaches for the Broncos Gameday Magazine distributed at home games

  • Provided beat coverage for the Broncos throughout the preseason and regular season by producing weekly and game-day written content for the team website and interviewing players and coaches throughout the week and following games

  • Introduced and curated a weekly feature called “Numbers That Matter,” an in-depth statistical preview of every regular-season matchup and how those stats may determine each game’s outcome

  • Edited a weekly feature, "Through My Eyes" in which I interviewed players and then used their quotes to compile a first-person story from their point of view

Yahoo Sports

June 2017-August 2018

Intern and contributor

Insightful and nuanced analysis and reporting across all sports on one of the most popular Internet destinations

  • Worked as an intern in Playa Vista, CA from June-September 2017, covering a variety of sports on a range of different levels: game stories, feature content, original reporting and statistical analysis

  • Following internship, continued work as a freelance writer covering both the NFL and fantasy football

  • Produced a weekly column evaluating NFL rookies that includes fantasy advice, updates and analysis for Yahoo’s fantasy football blog, Roto Arcade

  • Contributed game stories, analysis and live coverage for Yahoo’s NFL blog, Shutdown Corner

  • Also produced coverage for the PyeongChang Olympics and the NCAA Tournament

Sports Illustrated

March 2017 - June 2017

Intern reporter

The nation's most well-respected sports magazine and an ever-evolving online outlet 

  • Worked primarily as a fact checker and researcher for the magazine, helping ensure accuracy throughout the magazine for both long- and short-form stories

  • Published several pieces for SI.com covering mainly the NBA but also the NFL and college football

  • Conducted meticulous research to help with various special projects for both the magazine and online platforms.

  • Helped write and edit Sports Illustrated's 2017 Fantasy Football issue.

SB Nation: Inside Northwestern

September 2014 - March 2017

Editor-in-chief

Consistently one of SB Nation’s top college sites, and the most widely read student-published source for Northwestern sports

  • Ran day-to-day operations of the site, including producing organic story ideas, writing and editing, breaking news, managing social media accounts and helping younger writers

  • Appeared on the Big Ten Network (both online and on television), various ESPN radio shows and Northwestern News Network SportsNight live television show

  • Transformed small-market SB Nation blog into a consistent top-25 site on the SBN college network

  • Won 2015 SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence Award for Best Independent Online Student Publication

  • Produced compelling features, in-depth statistical and video analyses and insightful commentary

EDUCATION

Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

September 2014 - March 2018

Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications, Minor in History

Overall GPA: 3.8/4.0; GPA in Journalism Classes: 3.9/4.0

Magna Cum Laude

SKILLS, ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS

  • Skills: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Express, Chorus, WordPress, NFL CMS, ENPSphy

  • Interests: basketball, football, golf, soccer, reading, American history, psychology, statistics

REFERENCES

J.A. Adande, Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University: ja.adande@northwestern.edu

Ben Swanson, managing editor for DenverBroncos.com: Ben.Swanson@broncos.nfl.net

Johnny Ludden, editor-in-chief for Yahoo Sports: ludden@oath.com

Henry Bushnell, feature writer for Yahoo! Sports: ​henrydbushnell@gmail.com

Josh Rosenblat, SEO editor for philly.com: joshua.m.rosenblat@gmail.com

bottom of page