Ryan Vincent Voyles

Herald & Review - Decatur, Ill.

Special projects reporter focusing on local and state government, public records and watchdog reporting.
First to break major news affecting the Central Illinois region such as a plan to appoint billionaire philanthropist Howard Buffett to serve as local sheriff, lawsuits filed against the state’s attorney and how a one-vote election victory became a fierce legal battle.
Organizes data in spreadsheets to add context to stories related to the millions poured into Central Illinois for gubernatorial advertisements and breakdown voter numbers to see how specific neighborhoods voted in elections.
Streams important events through social media like Facebook Live to generate additional web traffic, increase reader engagement.
Records and edits the “Herald & Review Voices” podcast and places it on RSS feeds so listeners can subscribe and listen to on apps like iTunes.
Balances creating long-term investigative pieces with daily copy for a newspaper with circulation over 40,000.
Manages relationship with variety of sources to discover stories relevant to readers, which are published to our growing social media audience ahead of competitors.
Repeatedly behind articles with high web traffic over 25,000 and always produces clean copy before deadline.

Reoccurring appearances as a commentator on Capitol Connection, the weekly Sunday morning political show on the local CBS affiliate.
Work has been featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lee Enterprises newspapers across the country, the St. Louis Business Journal, Paste Magazine, Wired, Associated Press, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association website.
Coordinates with the AP during every election since 2012 to report poll results in important races.
Photos have been published through other Lee Enterprise newspapers as well as the Chicago Law Bulletin.
Served as main or assistant photographer for four separate weddings.

Co-founder of multimedia sports project dedicated to Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire franchise.
Hosted, recorded and edited the weekly "Fire On Ice Soccer Podcast", with more than 100 subscribers and just over 200 unique listeners per episode across iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Soundcloud.

Localized state legislation to apply to more than 150,000 suburban Chicago readers.
Worked under tight deadlines to file several stories a day for web and print.
Cultivated connections with state lawmakers, interest groups and other policy makers to break news on how lawmakers addressed one of the worst budget deficits in the nation.
Wrote in-depth analysis on new laws and proposed policy changes and its effect on readers.

Reported for largest college daily newspaper in Illinois and second-most circulated newspaper in southern Illinois region at more than 23,000 readers.
Managed 4 - 5 reporters while filing 5 - 6 stories per week.
Promoted from sports reporter up to sports editor, followed by campus news editor and arts and entertainment editor.
Maintained 30-35 hour work week while enrolled full time in college courses.

University of Illinois Springfield

August 2011 - May 2012

Masters Degree in Public Affairs Reporting

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

August 2007 - May 2011

Bachelors of Science in Journalism

Minor in English