Christal Hayes: Journalist

Orlando Sentinel: Breaking-news reporter

May. 2015- Present 

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Reporter covering breaking news and the University of Central Florida police, along with developing enterprise and long-term projects for newspaper with 200,000 daily circulation and monthly online reach of more than 24 million. The Poynter Institute featured my work during coverage of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. 

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- First reporter for the Orlando Sentinel at Pulse nightclub covering the worst mass shooting in U.S. history 
- Broke story about 2-year-old toddler being snatched and killed by alligator at Walt Disney World 
- First reporter at the Plaza Live where "The Voice" singer Christina Grimmie was killed. 
- Part of team that was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for coverage of the Pulse shooting

-  Major player in helping investigate police response and new developments in the Pulse nightclub shooting, which has led to number of scoops and exclusives. 
- Broke story about how the FBI confiscated forms that victims of the Pulse tragedy filled out at assistance center, which has led to a delay in the aid. The bureau says the forms are now evidence. 
- Shoot, edit and produce video as part of stories
- Help manage social media accounts and the homepage for Orlandosentinel.com 

 

Orlando Sentinel: Breaking News & Multimedia Intern

Jan. 2015- Present 

 

- Ran out of the office to cover breaking news and stories across Central Florida

- Created video packages in the field and posted live updates over Twitter

 

KnightNews.com: News Editor / Investigative Reporter

Jan. 2015- Present 

 

- Edited copy, created video packages and ran out in the middle of the night covering breaking news for aggressive campus newspaper at UCF

- Taught journalism students how to cover breaking news and how to use public records in their reporting 

- 2014 Finalist for Society of Professional Journalist Mark of Excellence Award for my Steven Sotloff vigil coverage

- Ran social media pages and scheduled content to post during prime hours when followers were online

 

Professional Artist Magazine: Editorial Intern

Aug. 2014- Dec. 2014

 

- Wrote content for website and national print magazine covering art and artists

- Edited copy, proofed layouts, filled orders for their online store and helped manage their social media pages. 

 

Orange County Government: Paid Communications Internship

Aug. 2014 - Jan. 2015

 

- Worked closely with the Orange County Mayor and Commissioners to cover and publicize events

- Wrote up press releases for events and advisories for reporters 

- Used marketing skills to generate followers and awareness on social media pages; Ran successful contests on pages

 

WESH 2 News: Web Internship

​May 2014- Aug. 2014

 

- Covered Central Florida news for NBC-affiliated TV station on Web desk

- Created slideshows, clipped videos, wrote content and learned several publishing programs

- Helped run Facebook and Twitter teases and learned how to send out alerts on mobile devices

 

Watermark Media: Freelance Journalist / Editorial Intern

May 2014- February 2015

 

- Helped cover gay-marriage lawsuits in South Florida and the legalization of same-sex marriages for LGBT newspaper in Orlando

- Helped manage website, social media pages and write news and feature stories

 

Centric Magazine: Visual Editor

Dec. 2013- May 2014

 

- Led a group of about 10 students through redesigning UCF's magazine

- Used Photoshop and Indesign to creat eye-catching layouts 

- Wrote several feature articles for magazine and website

 

Central Florida Future: Contributing Writer

2011- 2014

 

- Pitched and wrote pieces for UCF's print newspaper 

- Many of my stories were placed on the front page and followed by competing news organizations.