Monica Charsley

I have joined The Sun on a three-month contract as a features writer. It is my role to come up with pitch ideas each morning, with the idea of developing and discovering new angles into trending stories. So far, I have already been sent on dispatch and have several exclusives scheduled covering real-life stories. I also secured a double page spread in print for St. George's Day. As a features writer, it is my job to consider forward planning and evergreen content and to understand what works well on our website, subscription service and in print for both Fabulous magazine and The Sun newspaper.

I freelance with the audience team at The i Paper. Since joining, I have been trained on homepage, Google Showcase, newsletters, and more. I use platforms such as Figma to create social media templates for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I schedule and monitor performance for channels including Reddit, Threads, and LinkedIn.

I plan, present and edit videos for the Young Reporter's social media channels, including TikTok and Instagram. My job is to help increase uptake of the scheme by keeping up to date with trends and turning complex information into engaging content. It is also my role to communicate with parents and deliver skill sessions to the students to ensure they are legally sound.

I teach students how to build on skills to help report breaking news efficiently whilst keeping media law in mind. I also show them how to source their own news stories, how to create a headline with SEO practice, and ways to engage with readers through creating multimedia content.

It is my role to bring engaging stories with quick turnarounds to pitch meetings every day, whilst also producing human interest exclusives. I am well-versed in crisis management, with my day-to-day responsibilities covering breaking news, and overseeing the running of live blogs. I can also be found working between the discovery, features and travel desk. To ensure my stories accumulate the highest number of page views possible, I collaborate with the picture desk and video team to see how we can best repackage articles. Most recently, I represented the company by conducting interviews at the Pride of Britain Awards. Previously, I presented bulletins for our news show called The Know.

During my time at The Sun, it was my role to pitch topical news stories that would perform well online. I ensured articles were written quickly and with accuracy. I also freelanced with the showbiz desk at The Daily Star. I produced coverage for the re-launch of the Gladiators, wrote exclusives for I’m a Celebrity, covered breaking news on Phillip Schofield and more.

I moved over as a news reporter at the Daily Star to help Reach launch its first social-led youth brand. Video pieces ranged from on-scene reporting for the Brixton Crush in 2022 to interviewing RCN members during strikes. I sourced exclusive interviews with royal experts, a police chief on US laws, the most swiped man on Tinder, and more. It was my role to help build the brand's authority online. I also wrote entertainment features to build Curiously's collaboration with OK! Magazine. As a senior journalist, it was my role to edit the work of junior content creators.

I delivered a wide range of human interest, hard-hitting news stories, and features by understanding what appealed to our digital audience. It was my role to break news, bring exciting stories to pitch meetings, and help the team generate innovative ideas for the rest of the week.

Whilst working with News Shopper, I was offered the responsibility to cover two more papers: Your Local Guardian and Wimbledon Times. I covered everything from breaking news to reviews of local establishments. I stepped into a more senior role when covering my editor on holidays and weekend shifts. It was also my role to create multimedia content such as video interviews and film Facebook live streams. To help appeal to younger readers, I produced and launched Newsquest's first ever news podcast, which was put across six titles in south London.

I co-presented, produced scripts to high standard and edited the podcast.

I also represented the company for a project with Solutions Journalist Network and Bournemouth University. The training allowed me to further develop my research skills by focusing on how communities, businesses, and authorities responded to Covid-19.

I interviewed musicians, rising artists and models about their career journeys and upcoming albums. This role allowed me to cover a number of topics through exploring mental health in males including homelessness, drug addiction, diversity in plus-size modelling and more. Before this role, I covered the social channels for The Book of Man events.

GB News invited me to discuss what was on the front pages of national newspapers for their Great British Breakfast show. During my appearances, I discussed trending topics such as the royals and the Olympics, the call to class long-term Covid-19 as a disability by the TUC and more. I also spoke about major incidents declared at several UK hospitals and the strain I have witnessed as a regional reporter in South London.

I launched a pandemic dating show on Instagram Live, where I matched masked singletons during lockdown. For this to run successfully, I managed the content while working my full-time news reporting job. I controlled the socials daily, created an online presence on different platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify, and managed the influx of applicants who had heard about the show..

Due to the show reaching popularity, I was able to launch a spin off which featured international contestants who tuned in from across Europe, India and America.

I enjoyed getting to know people from a variety of cultures and bringing a smile to people's faces every Friday night.

Whilst studying at university, I secured a one-day placement at ITV, working on the Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, and This Morning set. It was my role to welcome and collect guests from reception, ensure the sets were in perfect condition, and serve food and beverages to celebrities.

I took part in the Young Reporter scheme with Newsquest when I was sixteen and produced an article each month to a deadline for eight months. I won two awards for the best breaking news headline and best photograph. After the scheme, I started a two-week placement with Newsquest at the Wandsworth Guardian and Richmond and Twickenham Times, where my work was published online and in print.