DOUG ELFMAN
702-336-2625
dougelfman@thegamedork.com

EXPERIENCE

TV Critic, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2005-present, 368,000 daily circulation. (As such, I’m occasionally interviewed as a TV expert on “Good Morning America”.) I review TV shows and interview celebrities, including Hayden Panettiere, Zac Efron, Pam Anderson, Larry David, Rosie O’Donnell, James Gandolfini, Whoopi Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Helen Mirren, Tina Fey, Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams, Dan Rather, Seth MacFarlane, Matt Groening, John Madden, Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Trump, Neil Simon.

NATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMNIST, 2003-present, combined 1 million-plus circ. Weekly video game reviews run in more than 20 daily newspapers, including New Orleans, Boston, Portland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Hawaii, the Hamptons.

Music Critic, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2000-2005, 200,000 daily circ. Awarded AASFE Best A&E Critic in 2001, 2003; Best Specialty-Feature Writer, 2003. Interviewed Prince, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Liz Phair, Sean Combs, John Entwistle (his final interview).

Associate Editor, A&E writer, Creative Loafing, Atlanta, 1999-2000, 165,000 distribution. Edited suburban columnists. Wrote concert reviews, features.

Entertainment Writer, Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, 1996-1999, 100,000 circ. Reviewed concerts, CDs. Interviewed Ozzy Osbourne, Fiona Apple, Chris Rock.

Features Editor, Staff Writer, (Panama City, Fla.) News Herald, 1994-1996, 40,000 circ. Oversaw news and feature staffs to compile page 1A in-depth packages. As a reporter, exposed deadly lifeguard system in Bay County; covered Clinton campaign stop, hurricanes and OJ Simpson’s first post-acquittal golf outing.

Staff Writer, (Maryville, Tenn.) Daily Times and (Knoxville) Weekend Journal, 1991-1994, 20,000 circ. Interviewed Al Gore. Exposed illegal lottery courier, which was then prosecuted. Investigated area’s two-decade rise in juvenile crime and abuse. Wrote as many as 15 bylines a week on cops and courts beats. Covered custody battle over frozen embryos.

Staff Writer, The (Monroe, La.) News-Star, 1990-1991, 38,000 circ.
Covered David Duke campaign; trials of three mayors; bankruptcy of catfish farms.

The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune, May-September 1990, 265,000 circ. Intern. Wrote often for 1A. Covered cockroach season; features on bird sanctuaries, tomato farmers.

The New York Times, 1989-1990. Informed Campus Life desk of LSU news.

Managing Editor, Editorial Writer, (LSU) Daily Reveille, 1989-1990, 20,000 distribution.

Intern, Knight-Ridder, 1988 Republican National Convention.

AWARDS

1st Place, A&E Criticism, American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, 2003
1st Place, A&E Criticism, American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, 2001
1st Place, Specialty Feature Writing, AASFE, 2003
1st Place, Editorial Writing, U.S. Southwestern Journalism Congress, 1991.
2nd Place, Investigative Reporting, East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalism, 1993.
2nd Place, Editorial Writing, SPJ-Southwestern Regional, 1989.
3rd Place, Editorial Writing, Southwestern Journalism Congress, 1990.

IN OTHER MEDIA

“Good Morning America” on-set interview, Aug. 26, 2007
“Good Morning America” interview, Nov. 29, 2007
USA Today Weekend panelist on TV, Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, 2006
USA Today Weekend interview on Patrick Dempsey, April 30, 2006
Broadcasting & Cable magazine, semi-annual critic list, 2005-present
Bi-weekly guest interview, “The Michael Koolidge Show,” 2006-present
Regular interview guest, national “Charles Adler Show,” Winnipeg, Manitoba
Radio co-host, weekly public affairs radio show, WKGC-FM, Panama City, 1994-1996

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

BA, Journalism News-Editorial, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, 1990
Violin scholarship, University of Georgia in Athens, 1984-1986
Mentor for high school journalists, R-Jeneration program, 2000-2005
Occasional Journalism classroom speaker, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 2003-2005
Moderator, roundtable on African-American relations in Panama City, Fla., 1996
Outstanding Service, Salvation Army of Panama City, 1995
Chairman of Protocol, SPJ-LSU, 1989-1990