Here's an informal review of my career as a writer and editor. You can also view a more-traditional résumé in a printer-friendly format, along with information about my books and editorial services.

News editor, Infocom Group (October 2003 to present)

This is a company that provides "media placement intelligence" for public relations pros. That's a fancy term for "pitching tips" -- my job involves calling reporters, editors and producers at major media outlets, learning about their preferences for dealing with PR pros, and then writing reports for the edification of our readers. I also found myself in a never-ending battle to maintain our company's journalist database, a task that included extensive programming in Visual Basic. Last but not least, I was the primary developer and founding editor of Bulldog Reporter's Inside Health Media, a daily news website for PR pros in fields related to health and medicine.

Freelance writer/editor (March 2001 to October 2003)

This was my lifeline as I struggled through a horrible recession. My two biggest clients were HOW and Rockport Publishers, which produces books on graphic design. I wrote numerous software reviews and other articles for HOW magazine, which also serves graphic designers. For Rockport, I wrote a book on Adobe Photoshop and served as project manager/copyeditor for three additional titles on design topics. I also collected unemployment for a few stretches and did telephone surveys. A dark moment in my career, to be sure, but it was also a time of rest and reflection.

Editor, MacWEEK.com (February 2000 to March 2001)

What a ride! I was asked to take on this daily news site in February 2000 and soon found myself on the editorial equivalent of a runaway train, getting up every morning at 5 a.m. for the first post of the day and often not quitting until I hit the sack that night. But we had a terrific team of reporters and editors--David Leishman, Joe LiPetri and David Read--plus some great columnists. It was bumpy at times, but we were covering the most interesting company in the computer industry, and I think we provided a valuable service to the Mac community even if the economy didn't cooperate. On March 2, Mac Publishing closed the site, and I was one of seven people to be laid off.

Senior Editor, Macworld (May 1996 to February 2000)

Talk about timing; I moved to the Bay Area to become the news editor at Macworld just as Apple was teetering on the brink of insolvency. Then, thanks to Steve Jobs and Co., Apple revived itself and became the most interesting story in the computer business. I lived through the infamous Joint Venture, when Ziff-Davis and IDG merged their Mac publications to form a new company called Mac Publishing LLC. I continued as news editor, while also writing features, reviews and how-tos. Later, I moved to the reviews section, until I was asked to take on the job of editing MacWEEK.com.

Executive Editor, Micro Publishing Press (August 1987 to May 1996)

When I started here, there were two of us in a small office in Torrance (near L.A.)--Jim Cavuoto and I--plus Cavuoto's fiancee helping out on the phones. We began with a desktop publishing newsletter and some market studies. Two years later, we launched Micro Publishing News, and the rest was history: first a Southern California edition, then a Northern California edition, then New York. Eventually, the Southern edition hit more than 100 pages per month; we were twice named as a finalist for best computer newspaper in the Computer Press Association awards. When I left in May 1996, the company was up to 15 employees. I also helped launch Digital Imaging magazine, wrote a bunch of books, and edited several others. Being in L.A., we had our share of Hollywood experiences. Once, Marlon Brando called to order a copy of The Scanner Book. Later, Graham Nash served as a judge in our digital art contest.

Senior Editor, Hispanic Business (January 1986 to August 1987)

I don't speak Spanish, but this was an English-language magazine set in the magical land of Santa Barbara. I was a copy machine, generating so many articles that I used a list of Latino pseudonyms: Juan Guedella, Esteban Velez, and so on. Each month, I would pick two or three of my favorite articles to get my own byline, then assign the others to Juan or Esteban. I also wrote travel articles under the name Gabriella Reyes. Imagine my embarrassment when people would call to speak with her! The practice of using the pseudonyms began with my predecessor, a pleasant fellow from England named John Coombs, who referred to them as his "phantom family." So if you had asked for Gabriella back then, you would have been connected to a guy with an English accent.

In addition to my editorial responsibilities, I was the in-house computer guru. My crowning achievement was writing a dBase program that converted data about Latino-owned businesses into typesetting codes used to generate the Hispanic Business 500 listing. This was very much pre-desktop publishing.

Some of my editorial highlights include interviews with then-N.Y. Mayor Ed Koch and "La Bamba" director Luis Valdez. I stirred up a storm with an investigative piece about the relationship between Coors and leading Latino organizations (Coors dropped its advertising in the magazine after the article appeared). I also wrote a major piece on the history of Spanish-language television. This prompted a professor from the University of Texas, El Paso, to invite me there as the keynote speaker for a conference on Spanish-language media. I explained that I didn't speak Spanish (he said that didn't matter), and more importantly, I had already moved on to Micro Publishing by then.

Editor, American Veterinary Publications (July 1983 to January 1986)

My first editorial gig. I was hired (two years out of J-school) to launch a newsletter called Veterinary Computing. I knew nothing about computers or veterinary medicine, but I was a writer, and they wanted someone who could clearly communicate complex subjects. So I engaged in an intensive period of information-gathering, and before you knew it, I was one of the world's foremost authorities on veterinary computer systems (which is sort of like being the tallest building in Des Moines).

My big achievement came in 1985, when I won the Newsletter Association Journalism Award for Best Spot News or Exclusive Single News Story (second place went to a Dow Jones newsletter). I had written an exposé of a controversial computer certification plan by the American Animal Hospital Association. The story ultimately resulted in modifications to the plan.

Education

B.A., Journalism, Magna cum laude, Temple University, Philadelphia, Penna.

Yes, I hold a degree from Bill Cosby's alma mater, a great school for comedians. In fact, I was editor of the humor magazine, Spice. But I also got an excellent education in journalism, much of it from working professionals.

Alternative West High School, Radnor, Penna.

This was an alternative public high school in the Philadelphia area that drew students from the suburbs and the inner city. Although it had a reputation for lax academic standards, it also encouraged students to express their creativity and take responsibility for their own education. We just had a great reunion back in Philly, with plans for another one in 2007. It's been quite uplifting to reconnect with so many old friends. One alumnus, Wayne Wright, has produced a Web site for A-School grads. Wayne also took the photo of yours truly on my home page. You can blame me for applying the Adobe Photoshop filters that make it look like an illustration.