About Gregory Thomas
Working as a beat reporter for two years prior to j-school it became apparent to me that reporting techniques are changing and that I have to evolve with them to be effective in this brave new world. That being said, my natural proclivities pull me toward long-form writing and investigative reporting, and those are the courses and projects I've focused on during my first year at Cal. My j-school experience so far has been kind of a tug-of-war between my passion for in-depth writing and my desire to stay competitive in the field.
Education:
- Masters of Journalism, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
- August 2010 - May 2012
- Bachelor of Arts, Willamette University
- English
Published Stories:
- Shorter hours for young MDs, but not all cheering
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, investigates how work hour reductions for young hospital residents effects patient safety, doctors' quality of life, hospital expenses, and an overarching shift in medicine ethics.
- Foul and phenomenal
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, reveals the inspiration behind Go The Fuck To Sleep, a "children's book for parents" that incited a frenzy of Internet love months before its publication date and changed the way some in the publishing industry conceive of social media marketing strategies.
- Everybody into the pool (not you, kid)
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, profiles a new adults-only swim club in a trendy neighborhood in Philadelphia as a window into the process by which one prominent property developer is steering the neighborhood's demography.
- Senate passes stronger penalties for cockfighting
- California Watch
- Gregory Thomas, class of 2012, reports on California's latest attempt to curb the ancient practice of cockfighting, an activity that has surged in recent years and contributed to the proliferation of harder crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal gambling and murder.
- (AUDIO SLIDESHOW) Graffiti Artist Evolved
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, dives into the life of CUBA, a 46-year-old professional graffiti artist trying to eke out a livelihood spray painting walls in San Francisco.
- (VIDEO) Holiday Cocktails: The Caipirinha
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, films Mission Local reporter Samantha Bryson's attempt to mix the perfect caipirinha, a rendition of Brazil's national beverage, as one chapter in a series of holiday food-and-drink videos.
- LSD Museum or Institute of Illegal Images?
- The Bay Citizen
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, profiles Mark McCloud, a San Francisco-based art collector seeking validation through his extensive collection of 1960s-era psychedelic blotter art.
- (AUDIO SLIDESHOW) Blotter to the People
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, takes viewers behind the curtain into Mark McCloud's "Institute of Illegal Images," a cache of psychadelic blotter art so risqué it landed McCloud in federal court – twice. This piece accompanies Thomas' print story, "LSD Museum or Institute of Illegal Images."
- SF Planners Find City's Oldest Home
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, traces the heritage of a house San Francisco city planners peg as the city's oldest surviving home.
- South Mission Historic Homes Pegged for Protection
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, explores the relationship between architecture and cultural values by chronicling a city initiative to preserve historic buildings in the Mission District.
- Sidewalk Enterprises Bloom in the Mission
- Mission Local
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, takes a comprehensive look at unlicensed street merchants to show how the national recession is fueling alternative economies in the Mission.
- Seabird Populations Plummet on Coast
- Half Moon Bay Review
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, sheds light on what biologists call a "total breeding failure" for nesting colonies of recovering seabird species off the California coast.
- The $24 million Wave
- Half Moon Bay Review
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, explores the methodology surfer-scholars are using to measure the worth of Mother Nature's assets.
- A Devil of a Drill
- Half Moon Bay Review
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, gets an inside look at the state's multimillion dollar tunneling project at the Devil's Slide bypass north of Half Moon Bay.
- Nature's Services
- The Gutenberg (zine)
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, underscores an emerging trend whereby companies and individuals are turning to Mother Nature's age-old processes to solve their problems. The story focuses on three case studies – involving falcons (air), goats (land) and mosquitofish (sea).
Work Experience:
- Feature Writer
- The Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia PA ( May 2011 - )
- Greg Thomas, class of 2012, writes news features for Philadelphia's famous daily newspaper – circulation about 340,000. His stories run the gamut – from health and medicine to gossip and entertainment – and are published in various sections. He also produces video for the Inquirer's website, www.philly.com, and consults for a hyperlocal project the newspaper is building from scratch.
- Land Use Reporter
- Mission Local - San Francisco CA ( August 2010 - December 2010 )
- During my first semester of grad school I reported for Mission Local, a San Francisco-based "hyperlocal" news website funded through the university. I mainly covered land use issues – from food cart feuding in Dolores Park to a city initiative to preserve the Mission's historic homes – but occasionally departed to write, photograph and film juicy features about local artists and entrepreneurs.
- Freelance Reporter
- Potrero View - San Francisco CA ( January 2009 - October 2009 )
- Shortly after relocating to the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco I sought out the man in charge of the community's newspaper and told him I wanted to contribute. I knocked out about one article per month for him for the year I lived there. Subject matter ranged – from a feature on the city's beleaguered and last-standing powerplant to a review of the documentary film "Tyson."
- News writer/Reporter
- Half Moon Bay Review - Half Moon Bay CA ( June 2008 - April 2010 )
- For two years after college I commuted south of San Francisco to an understated sliver of coast called Half Moon Bay where I got paid to write about people's opinions, insights and life stories for the local weekly newspaper. It was awesome. Sealed the deal on my affection for journalism.
- Assistant to the Sales Director
- Chicago Reader - Chicago IL ( January 2007 - May 2007 )
- During my junior year of college I relocated to Chicago for a semester to get a better sense of what kinds of jobs I'd want to work if I weren't in school. I targeted newspapers and managed to wedge my way into the Reader on the ground floor – breaking down competitors' advertising data. In my spare time at the job I'd sneak away and bother reporters about their jobs.
- Web Contributor/Community Partners Rep.
- Money.Power.Respect. Report - Chicago IL ( January 2007 - May 2007 )
- I lived in Hyde Park during my stint in Chicago and connected with the organizer of the Hip Hop Civic Engagement Project, a non-profit organization geared toward inspiring political awareness and activism by linking community issues and a pervasive pastime: hip hop. He and I produced and designed a community news tabloid for residents on the city's south side called the Money. Power. Respect. Report, a 60-page tab consisting of content I compiled and wrote, ranging from profiles of local hip hop artists and aldermen to essays on the pervasiveness of hip hop culture.
Skills:
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I am proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, WordPress, FinalCutPro, SoundSlides and GoogleMaps.
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