Andy Shain’s Biography
A boss once described me as the "Swiss Army knife" of the newsroom for editing, writing, blogging and appearing on TV. I have written for every section of the paper, except editorial (not that you would want to read my opinions anyway).
I have spent the bulk of my career editing and writing for business sections, finding a nice niche for my fondness of numbers outside of my love of sports. I like to create or reinvent sections. I remade The State's Sunday business section and Columbia Business Journal monthly magazine -- making both more accessible to wider audience. I did the same in Charlotte with a Monday tab and tech page. I also created a daily business news e-mail newsletter.
In 2010, I started covering South Carolina Gamecocks sports. I was basketball beat writer, oversaw coverage of athletics department finances and helped with football and baseball.
I liked stretching my skills in helping produce the GoGamecocks.com website . I also liked that I had an outlet for my photo and video shooting bug. To me, the explosion of online news is what newspapers were like when they had multiple daily editions.
After running The State's online coverage of the 2012 S.C. presidential primary -- including writing a blog and appearing on national TV, I was reassigned to covering politics and higher education. I covered the Democratic National Convention. (I was probably the only reporter in Charlotte who also covered a women's NCAA basketball tournament game that same year.)
Collaboration excites me. I still have an old sketch from a graphic artist in Myrtle Beach with the proposed cover design for a section about the closing of an air base that we conceived. I like seeing ideas come to life from the shared expertise in the room.
I hope next to use the Swiss Army knife skills in a web-heavy position where I can bridge my news judgment and love of technology with my need for immediate gratification.