Professional History
Freelance Voiceover Artist
I narrate audio books, flash presentations, videos, educational software and more. Demos at http://profile.guru.com/865381, www.voice123.com/VanessaFinney, and http://soundandstory.com/Radio.html.
Freelance Writer
My published essays, profiles, book reviews and features are credited at http://soundandstory.com/Writing.html. Highlights include a first-person narrative for Scuba Diving magazine and a profile of Grammy winner Kurt Elling.
News Anchor, Inland Empire News Radio, Riverside, CA (February 2007 – September 2009)
I anchored and engineered daily newscasts for the award-winning IENR for broadcast on:
KUCR 83.3FM (University of California, Riverside)
KCAA 1050 AM (an NBC station in San Bernardino)
KVCR-FM 91.9 (a PBS/NPR station in San Bernardino)
This position requires me to coordinate with several reporters on a variety of print and audio material. Skills include digital audio editing, writing and voice work.
Reference: Jim Ness, General Manager newsradio@sbcglobal.net
News Director/Features Producer/DJ, KBHR 93.3 FM, Big Bear Lake, CA (February 2003 – )
For four years, I served as News Director & Anchor, which required clarity under pressure and the ability to synthesize and condense large amounts of information for broadcast. I wrote and announced all stories, then posted them on our website.
In 2007, I produced a weekly profile series, Arts on the Air, recording sound bytes from my interviewees, narrating the report and mixing over a music bed.
I then became the Weekend Station Manager, which included announcing music, traffic, weather and news (live and recorded) with on-air control board, loading songs into the library, commercial production, transferring carts between computers, conducting research and interviews, producing remote broadcasts, answering heavy phones and updating the website.
Reference: Rick Herrick, General Manager rick@kbhr933.com
Singer 6/04-9/06. The Mandoline Bistro, Big Bear Lake, CA
I sang jazz standards with a pianist and a trio.
Interviewer for The Lighthouse Project, Big Bear Lake, CA (May 2008)
Reference: Beth Gardner, Director beth@bigbearlighthouse.com
Field Producer, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), London, U.K. (July 2007)
I engineered a segment of Hot August Nights, a special on Neil Diamond.
Reference: Marya Burgess, Producer marya.burgess@bbc.co.uk
On Camera Interviewer of the Author of You, Me & Morrissey and The Artist’s Tao (April 2007)
Demo video forthcoming. Reference: Sean Starr sean@seanstarr.com
Editorial Intern, KCRW/”Which Way, LA?” Santa Monica, CA (Summer 1997)
I edited producer Warren Olney’s copy and assisted in research.
Copy Editor, Universal Music Group, Universal City, CA (January 1991 – June 1996)
I gathered, edited, formatted and trafficked the packaging copy for albums.
Reporter, KTOT/KBBV, Big Bear Lake, CA (1984-1987)
I wrote and announced the “High School News Report” at Big Bear High School.
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Nonfiction. Antioch University, Los Angeles
(Commencement Speaker at Graduation)
Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature. University of California, Los Angeles
Computer Skills
Digital audio editing, web editing, all Microsoft and Macintosh software.
Affiliations
Board of Directors, Big Bear Lake International Film Festival,
Board of Directors and Founder, Big Bear Chapter of Slow Food International
Former member, Radio-Television News Directors Association and Foundation
Former Board Member, Arts Council of Big Bear Valley
Travel
China, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, with 2010 trips planned for Hungary and Italy
