Samantha Abernethy

Writer, Editor, Content Strategist, Social Media Expert

United States

Portfolio
Sprout Social
10/17/2017
Organic Social Isn't Dead, It's Just Called Engagement

How many times have you heard a colleague, client or marketing talking head say it: "Organic social is dead." Sure, social media channels are crowded and it can be increasingly difficult to break through the static and get your customers' attention, even if you've acclimated to the platforms' ever-changing algorithms. As your brand's reach shrinks, you might find yourself agreeing with the pundits that there's not much of a point to organic social.

Freelance Work

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
06/17/2016
Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall

I wrote web content for Hyatt's resort in Jamaica, Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, based on the Ziva brand guide. As one of Hyatt’s few all-inclusive properties, I was tasked with finding a way to clarify the offerings with copy that is brief (mobile-friendly) and packed with SEO keywords, but still descriptive and fun.

Veterans Coming Home Project
04/26/2016
A veteran, his family, and 13 years of healing - Veterans Coming Home - Medium

Veterans Coming Home is a documentary series project designed to tell stories that challenge stereotypes of how civilians and veterans view one another. I worked on the project, writing content to supplement and promote the videos created by the documentary team, including social media posts and emails, as well as blog posts and Medium stories. I put together this photo essay based on the photographer's interview notes to accompany the documentary team's video story: "A veteran, his family,...

Storify
09/19/2015
Farm Aid 30 Instagram Takeover (with images) · SamAbernethy

I handled Farm Aid's 4-day takeover of Modern Farmer magazine's Instagram account in September 2015, taking photos, conducting interviews, and posting over 80 times to the account. I had full editorial control, editing and posting photos and videos from my phone as they happened.

Farm Aid
07/13/2015
Join Us on the #Road2FarmAid (2015)

I created content for this microsite, along with a strategy for the promotional campaign leading up to Farm Aid's concert in Chicago in September 2015.

Time Out Chicago
The 5 best gluten-free pizzas in Chicago

When you follow a gluten-free diet, for health reasons or trend reasons, you're going to miss pizza. It's one of the hardest foods to replicate, since gluten is the protein in wheat that gives dough its elasticity. Creating a quality gluten-free crust requires some chemistry and some magic, along with the usual culinary prowess.

Organizing for Action, BarackObama.com (August 2013 - December 2014)

Organizing for Action
Blog

I wrote and edited content for BarackObama.com, and I developed a strategy and managed the editorial calendar for the blog.

Organizing for Action
BarackObama.com

I collaborated with OFA's web development and design team for large-scale digital projects, including the redesign of BarackObama.com in the fall of 2014.

Organizing for Action
02/14/2014
Project: This is why health care reform matters

At OFA, I managed creation of feature articles like these for the "This Is Why" project documenting the stories of those who benefited from the Affordable Care Act.

Chicagoist (April 2011-August 2013)

Chicagoist
10/15/2012
Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill Still Easy To Swallow

Isn't it ironic? I have no idea because that song forever muddled our nation's understanding of the word. Alanis Morissette performed a set to please fans past and present Saturday at the Riviera Theatre, successfully combining tunes from her recent release havoc and bright lights with those fan favorites from the pivotal 1995 album Jagged Little Pill into one seamless show.

Chicagoist
05/21/2013
Video: 9-Year-Old Boy Schools Rahm Emanuel On Closings

Meet Asean Johnson. He is nine years old, and he is a third-grader at Marcus Garvey Elementary. He was downtown on Monday at the rally to protest the city's plan to close dozens of Chicago's public schools, where he delivered this powerful speech.

Chicagoist
03/12/2013
Baby Girl Dies After Being Shot 5 Times

The 6-month-old baby who was shot five times Monday in a gang-related shooting targeting her father died Tuesday morning. Jonylah Watkins was shot in the lungs, liver, bowel, leg and shoulder. Her father Johnathan Watkins, 28, was standing on a curb changing Jonylah as she lay across the passenger seat of the minivan in the Woodlawn neighborhood.

Chicagoist
01/30/2013
Death Of South Side Teen Enters Washington Gun Debate

The shooting death of a teen girl near her high school in Kenwood yesterday became part of the gun debate in Washington today when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told her story during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on guns. "We are awash in guns," Durbin said of Chicago.

Chicagoist
06/11/2013
Interview: 30 Rock's Scott Adsit Moves Ahead

Scott Adsit, perhaps best known for his role as Pete Hornberger, isn't slowing down in his post- 30 Rock career. Adsit is a character actor, stage actor and improv comic. He is also a Chicago native, a graduate of Columbia College and a former main-stage player at Second City.

Center Square Journal (2010-2011)

Centersquarejournal
05/03/2011
Mayor Daley Says Farewell at Welles Park

Mayor Richard M. Daley brought his farewell tour to the 47th ward on Friday. While he has made individual stops in most wards, he consolidated this event to bid adieu to the 32nd, 33rd and 47th ward. The event doubled as a farewell for outgoing 47th Ward Ald.

Centersquarejournal
04/27/2011
Spyners Bartender Battles Ovarian Cancer

Ralphj Hannie has been a friendly face at Spyners Pub for years, even during her battle with ovarian cancer in the last three years. But now doctors say she has exhausted all conventional treatment options and say Ralphj has one year left to live. But she's not going to take that sitting down.

Associated Press (Legislative Relief Staffer January-May 2010)

Associated Press
03/11/2010
Wyo joins roadless forests debate

DENVER -- Lawyers for the state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association argued before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday that a 2001 federal rule banning construction of new roads on National Forest land violates the law.

Journalgazette
2 teens injured in middle school shooting

LITTLETON, Colo. - Teachers tackled and subdued a man armed with a high-powered rifle just after he shot two teenage students Tuesday at a suburban Denver middle school that's just miles from Columbine High School, the site of one of the nation's deadliest school shootings, authorities said.

Vaildaily
Denver Water, Vail Resorts and partners work on Hayman restoration | VailDaily.com

DECKERS - Eight years after Colorado's worst wildfire devastated a vast swath of the Rocky Mountain foothills, erosion from the burn area continues to affect a key watershed for metropolitan Denver's biggest water provider. Over time, nature would eventually heal itself. But Denver Water can't wait. The 2002 Hayman Fire, started by a U.S.

Associated Press
3/24/2010
Udall says Republicans blocking committee hearings

Udall had planned to hold a hearing Tuesday on his bill, the National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2009, designed to manage the bark beetle epidemic killing western pine trees. The hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources was canceled.

Associated Press
CO company's high-tech windows can tint themselves

A Denver-based technology company has developed a "smart" window that can transform itself to maximize energy efficiency. RavenBrick LLC's Raven Window Filter responds to sunlight and temperature to change the tint of the window and allow more or less light into a building.

Pinedale Roundup (2009-2010)

Pinedaleroundup
Bridger-Teton won't receive USDA pine beetle funds

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently designated $40 million to manage pine beetle damage in the Rocky Mountain region. While geographically considered part of the Rocky Mountain region, the U.S. Forest Service defines Sublette County differently. Only land to the east of the Bridger-Teton National Forest border is in this region.

Pinedale Roundup
09/24/2009
Pinedale Mayor Reviews Congressional Testimony

The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources invited Pinedale Mayor Stephen Smith to testify at a hearing on the socioeconomic effects of rapid energy development on a small town.

Pinedale Roundup
11/06/2009
Riding in cars with cops

I spent an evening riding along with a county sheriff's officer in Pinedale, Wyo.

Pinedaleroundup
Full house for area pine beetle expert

The mountain pine beetle, although always a part of our forests' ecosystems, has ravaged the trees in recent years, creating patches of red or gray trees on our mountainsides.

Medill Wire Service, Northwestern University (2008-2009)

Medill Reports
03/15/2009
Deadly 2008 in Chicago: What happened?

My reporting partner Bill Healy and I put together this story package on violence and the Chicago residents working to prevent it.