PEYTON BIGORA
Welcome to my Portfolio
ABOUT PEYTON
Peyton is currently a staff reporter for Grocery Dive, a publication under Informa TechTarget (formerly Industry Dive), with beats focusing on specialty grocers, retail media, organized retail crime and heath & wellness. Currently residing in Washington, D.C., she is originally from Long Island, New York.
Peyton graduated from American University in May 2022, receiving a BA in journalism and completing minors in political science and creative writing. During her time in AU’s School of Communications, she focused her reporting mostly on education, social justice, the LGBTQ+ community, Washington politics and other facets of local news. She took up those beats through her Reporting, Advanced Reporting, Feature Article Writing, Race/Ethnic Community Reporting classes as well as her Journalism Capstone.
Peyton served as Her Campus American’s editor-in-chief from May 2021 to May 2022 and was part of the campus publication throughout her four years at AU. As a freshman, she started as a feature writer and, by her second semester that year, was promoted to section editor. She was promoted once again to managing editor at the start of her sophomore year and held that position until taking on the lead role of editor-in-chief. Peyton was also a staff writer at AU's student newspaper, The Eagle, during her freshman year.
From January to June 2020, Peyton was an intern at Voice of America's News Center Hub. In their office for 10-plus hours every week, she wrote a variety of news stories used by VOA language services and the English website. In addition to writing international and domestic news, she pitched original enterprise story ideas, assisted in research and conducted interviews. Her articles are published under both her own byline or the byline "VOA News."
Aside from reporting, Peyton hopes to continue traveling, exploring and writing about her experiences. When she’s not writing, you can find her either reading with a cup of tea or at a local bookstore.
JOURNALISTIC WORK
GROCERY DIVE
JULY 2022 - PRESENT
Currently, Peyton is a staff reporter for Grocery Dive, a publication under Informa TechTarget (formerly Industry Dive), with beats focusing on specialty grocers, retail media, organized retail crime and heath & wellness.
She writes daily beat articles as well as feature articles and Deep Dives and assists in covering breaking news.
HER CAMPUS AMERICAN
AUGUST 2018 - MAY 2022
Her Campus is a nationally recognized online magazine in which universities and colleges can establish their own chapter under the organization to produce original content.
Her Campus American writes for the online magazine, produces monthly podcast episodes, puts out their print magazine Collegiette every semester and more.
As HCAU's former editor-in-chief, Peyton oversaw the entire staff. Specifically, she was tasked with running the editorial team, editing all published works, overseeing weekly general and executive board meetings and budgeting/event planning. As a Campus Correspondent for HCAU, Peyton communicated with Her Campus Nationals and the university in order to maintain Her Campus American's Elite chapter status (top 5% of all HC chapters).
VOICE OF AMERICA
JANUARY 2020 - JUNE 2020
As the largest U.S. international broadcaster, Voice of America produces TV, digital and radio news in 47 different languages to stations around the world.
Located in Washington, D.C., Peyton interned for Voice of America's News Center Hub. Peyton wrote international and domestic news stories under both her own byline and the byline "VOA News." To read articles not published under her own name, please click here to access their links.
AMLIT
AUGUST 2019 - MAY 2021
American Literary Magazine, known as AmLit, produces a semesterly print magazine featuring American University student's poetry, prose, photography, art and other creative works.
Peyton submitted her creative work to AmLit as early as sophomore year and took creative writing classes, including Writing Through Genres and workshops for poetry, fiction and nonfiction
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THE EAGLE
AUGUST 2019 - MAY 2021
The Eagle has been American University's primary student-run paper since 1925. They produce daily online content, a special print issue once a semester and more.
Peyton wrote for The Eagle's Life Section for the entirety of her freshman year. She covered AU theatre productions, wrote movie reviews and covered on campus events.
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RACE, ETHNIC & COMMUNITY REPORTING
JANUARY 2022 - MAY 2022
During this American University course her senior year, Peyton came up with the beat LGBTQ Businesses in Washington. Her goal was to highlight their impact on the surrounding community and hear from LGBTQ workers.
While Washington is regarded as an accepting city and there are federal laws in place to protect queer workers, discrimination against LGBTQ workers is an issue far from solved. Which is why Peyton chose this beat.
Throughout the semester Peyton wrote news stories, economic stories and policy pieces all through the lens of this beat. The final project for the semester was to create her own original website to display them. You can find that website by clicking the button below.
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Philip L. Graham
Former Washington Post President and Publisher
"Journalism is the first rough draft of history."
RESUME
Peyton Bigora
https://peytonbigora.wixsite.com/website peytonlbigora@gmail.com (631)561-5381
EDUCATION
American University, Bachelors of the Arts Communications: Journalism, Washington, D.C. May 2022
Minors in Political Science and Creative Writing
School of Communication Dean’s List Scholar
Dean’s List Scholarship Recipient
JOURNALISM EXPERIENCE
Grocery Dive, Washington, D.C. July 2022-Present
Staff Reporter, Informa TechTarget (formerly Industry Dive)
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Write 4-5 quick-turn news briefs a week and 3-4 feature articles/Deep Dives a month centering on the grocery industry. Assist with breaking news and in-depth analysis pieces.
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Developed beats focusing on specialty grocers, retail media, organized retail crime and health & wellness and take lead on projects and coverage centering those topics.
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Present pitches, build industry sources and work on editing and production for the website and daily newsletter. Post all coverage on Grocery Dive’s social media accounts.
Her Campus American, Washington, D.C.
Editor in Chief May 2021-May 2022
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Managed a 75-plus person team including five executive and editorial branches in addition to general members to
ensure Her Campus Nationals requirements were met to maintain the Elite Level chapter status— indicating we were in
the top five percent of chapters.
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Edited all content published on the website and in the twice-yearly original print magazine Collegiette.
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Held weekly executive board meetings and general meetings. Created and organized publication’s budget as well as purchasing, planed and hosted events, worked with Student Media Board, and oversaw social media platforms.
Managing Editor August 2019-May 2021
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Presented article pitches at weekly general meetings. Oversaw Section Editors and up to 50 writers as well as edited the work of 20 assigned reporters.
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Responsible for pitching, creating and editing the monthly Editors’ Blog.
Section Editor January-August 2019
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Presented article pitches at weekly general meetings and edited the work of up to 20 writers assigned to me.
Feature Writer August-December 2018
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Contributed original content and articles to the official HCAU website and wrote articles for each edition of Collegiette.
Student Media Board, Washington, D.C. May 2021-May 2022
Board Member
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Worked with other American University Student Media Organizations on budgeting, large-scale events, and journalism ethics.
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Attended monthly meetings as well as bi-weekly individual meetings with Student Media Board’s faculty advisor.
Voice of America, Washington, D.C.
News Center Hub Reporting Intern January-June 2020
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Covered international and domestic news stories used by the VOA language services and the English website.
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Pitched original story ideas.
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Assisted in research and conducted interviews for stories being worked on by fellow VOA reporters.
The Eagle, Washington, D.C.
Life Section Contributing Writer August 2018-May 2019
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Report and cover on-campus and local D.C. events to be featured on The Eagle website.
GENERAL WORK EXPERIENCE
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Writer, The School of the New York Times, New York City, NY July-August 2017
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Instructor, Amore Learning, Washington, D.C. January-June 2022
RELEVANT COURSE PROJECTS
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Race/Ethnic & Community Reporting: Wrote a news story, business/economic story, policy story, and
long-form enterprise story for the beat LGBTQ+ Businesses in Washington.
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Advanced Reporting: Cultivated an original beat—LGBTQ+ Education in Washington—and reported on it, including two
beat stories and a profile piece.
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Digital Skills: Coded an original portfolio website using HTML and CSS Style.
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Journalism Capstone: Covered book banning and its effects on education and the publishing industry.
SKILLS
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Computer: HTML and CSS Style coding; Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
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Social Media: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok
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Photography: Nikon; film and digital mediums; Adobe Photoshop
