Resume

Experience

STAFF CULTURE WRITER/PODCAST HOST, MTV NEWS  (March 2016-present)

• Develop and write 3-4 culture-related stories weekly, including features, profiles, Q&As, timely blog posts, reviews, recaps, op-eds, humor pieces and more  •  Plan, write, and host critically acclaimed weekly podcast, Lady Problems. Based on my weekly column of the same name, the pod focuses on the way pop culture treats women, and has been recognized by the likes of Nylon, Cosmo, and Marie Claire. Interview subjects have included writers, actors, directors, and culture critics, including Brit Marling, Melanie Lynskey, Phoebe Robinson, and Karyn Kusama  •  Write popular column To the Stars, in which I interview the colorful characters who often orbit celebs, like Justin Bieber’s nutritionist, Beyonce’s nail artist and a medium who claims to speak intimately with Elizabeth Taylor  •  Wrote the third most-read story in the site’s history, an in-depth profile of Rachel Bloom 

WEEKEND EDITOR, VANITY FAIR  (Oct. 2015-Feb. 2016)

• Headed up VanityFair.com’s weekend news coverage, finding and writing multiple entertainment, general news and pop-culture stories each day  •  During the week, wrote film and TV reviews, op-eds, long-form celebrity interviews and profiles, and pithy pop-culture news items for outlets including Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Grantland, Vulture, and Cosmopolitan  •  See more clips at rachel-handler.tumblr.com

NEWS EDITOR, THE DISSOLVE  (Jan. 2015-July 2015)

• Edited and managed the daily news section, Newsreel  •  Assigned and edited or wrote 12-15 stories each day covering the full spectrum of news on film, the movie business and pop culture  •  Managed more than a dozen freelance writers  •  Conceived, developed and wrote a weekly column, Female Stuff, examining how the entertainment industry treats and represents women, LGBTQ individuals and people of color  •  Conceived, developed and wrote Newsies, a daily column curating and commenting on the day’s most essential film headlines  •  Appeared on bimonthly, critically acclaimed podcast, providing insights and banter on film culture, news and history  •  Contributed to The Dissolve Canon, long-form lists and features on the greatest films in various categories  

MANAGING EDITOR, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES  (Jan. 2013-Jan. 2015)

• Promoted from Associate Editor after one year  •  Managed creative direction and production of weekly culture and lifestyle magazine, Splash, distributed to more than 300,000 subscribers across Chicago area  •  Reported and wrote cover stories, conducting interviews with celebrities such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joan Rivers to produce 1,500-word profiles  •  Conceived, reported and wrote several additional stories per week on topics including pop culture, the arts, fashion, philanthropy and food  •  Directly supervised and managed team of in-house reporters and designers, as well as a stable of freelancers  •  Managed digital content, editing daily posts, blogs and a newsletter, reviewing site analytics to develop best practices for increasing traffic and helping develop active communities on social media

STAFF EDITOR, GROUPON  (Jan. 2011-Jan. 2013)

• Promoted from Staff Writer after four months  •  Edited upwards of 2,500 words daily for voice, style, accuracy and grammar, and coached team of nine staff writers  •  Coordinated with copy editors, sales, marketing and PR teams to carry out various on-brand projects, such as search-engine-optimized web content   •  Selected by management to be interviewed, observed and featured prominently in a New York Times story

Skills

Education

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 2009;  Bachelor of Arts in English and Film