ZACHARY PERELES
540-649-4104 | zapereles@gmail.com
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
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
CBS Sports
November 2021-Present
Senior Writer
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Author the CBS Sports HQ AM newsletter, a five-day-per-week publication delivered to nearly one million email inboxes every day
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Cover breaking news and deliver need-to-know information concisely and accurately
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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
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Won a Sports Emmy for contributions as a lead researcher for SportsCenter in 2020
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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
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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
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Coordinated immersive graphics and video packages to tell stories on ESPN’s premier programming
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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
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Co-authored “Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 NCAA Championship”
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Credentialed reporter for 2019 Final Four; reported ~10 stories in four days from Minneapolis
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Increased Virginia basketball content readership fivefold with savvy SEO and social media practices
Denver Broncos
August 2018-January 2019
Digital media contributor
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Authored several cover profile stories as well as other feature content on players and coaches for the Broncos Gameday Magazine distributed at home games
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Following internship, continued work as a freelance writer covering both the NFL and fantasy football
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Produced a weekly column evaluating NFL rookies that includes fantasy advice, updates and analysis for Yahoo’s fantasy football blog, Roto Arcade
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Contributed game stories, analysis and live coverage for Yahoo’s NFL blog, Shutdown Corner
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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
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Worked primarily as a fact checker and researcher for the magazine, helping ensure accuracy throughout the magazine for both long- and short-form stories
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Published several pieces for SI.com covering mainly the NBA but also the NFL and college football
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Conducted meticulous research to help with various special projects for both the magazine and online platforms.
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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
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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
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Appeared on the Big Ten Network (both online and on television), various ESPN radio shows and Northwestern News Network SportsNight live television show
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Transformed small-market SB Nation blog into a consistent top-25 site on the SBN college network
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Won 2015 SPJ Region 5 Mark of Excellence Award for Best Independent Online Student Publication
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Produced compelling features, in-depth statistical and video analyses and insightful commentary
12up Sports
April 2016 - September 2016
NFC East beat reporter and intern
Part of Minute Media, a website combining sports commentary with social commentary; a lively interactive platform for readers
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Developed and produced own story ideas, with over 300,000 total reads on over 200 articles
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Covered breaking news and produced longer, more in-depth analyses in an easy-to-read format
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Closely monitored and analyzed the day-to-day events throughout the NFL offseason
WNUR Sports
September 2014 - June 2016
Broadcaster and staff writer
Northwestern’s student-run radio station, sponsor of Northwestern baseball, women's basketball and more
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Broadcasted both play-by-play and color commentary of Northwestern athletics
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Developed and broadcasted bi-weekly sports updates on WNUR news shows
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Spearheaded weekly wrap-up podcasts of Northwestern basketball and a Big Ten Tournament podcast
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Participated as a host and a special guest of “The Sports Voice,” a weekly Sunday night radio show
News Virginian
June 2013 - September 2015
Freelancer and staff sports writer
Newspaper covering events around the Waynesboro area and into Augusta County and Charlottesville
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Published front-page feature that received nomination for Virginia Press Association award
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Authored biweekly opinion columns that reached over 10,000 readers
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Analyzed over 20 high school football teams to produce weekly game previews
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Wrote front page feature on the Salvation Army’s job-training initiative Pathway of Hope
SKILLS, ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS
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Skills: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Express, Chorus, WordPress, NFL CMS, ENPSphy
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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