Résumé
Editor, Writer
Six decades in journalism, from small-town police reporter to Internet-based news syndicator. Leadership positions at the world’s most popular magazine. Editor to bestselling authors. Ghostwriter to public figures.
Core Skills
Generating article and book ideas; writing, ghostwriting, and helping others author articles, books, speeches, memoirs, proposals, white papers, presentations, and other documents—especially those covering science, technology, or medicine for lay readers. Editing manuscripts, photography, page design, and teaching.
Experience
Editorial Consultant2016–present
Terry Dunkle, Inc., Blairsville, Georgia · Freelance editor, writer
Now “retired,” I still take interesting projects. One recently earned a Publishers Weekly “best book of the year.”
Founder, CEO, Content and R&D Director1988–2016
DietPower, Inc., Danbury, Connecticut · Software and media company
Developed and marketed DietPower® Personal Eating Coach—artificially intelligent software that delivers real-time advice based on a user’s eating and exercise habits.
- Recruited world-class scientific advisory board.
- Won PC World’s “Top Download of the Year.”
- Published 5000 ads, articles, quizzes, interactives (“What’s Your Target Heart Zone?” etc.).
- Created Gus, a personified, online/mobile/wearable coach who reacts facially and verbally to a user’s choices, based on thousands of facts about the user’s nutrition and fitness history and goals.
Founder, Executive Producer, Editor-in-Chief1996–1999
HealthDay, Westport, Connecticut · Online medical-news syndicate
Conceived, designed, and directed the Web’s largest health-news service, today seen by millions.
- Authored landmark U.S. Patent No. 6,288,717 for micro-personalized “News About You.”
- Devised patented online and social apps, including vision exam and “Your Famous Twin.”
- Won two silver medals in World Wide Web Health Awards.
Issue Editor and Department Head1984–1996
Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York · World’s largest magazine: 100 million readers in 18 languages
Regularly chose and edited entire contents of U.S. edition (circulation 18 million). Headed 23-member Articles & Editing department. Created original articles with bestselling writers.
- Produced many pieces that Reader’s Digest nominated for National Magazine Awards.
- “America’s New Merchants of Death” exposed cigarette marketing to Third World children.
- “Home Eye Test” won American Public Health Association’s “Paper of the Year” award.
- “Drilling for Gold” revealed widespread malpractice in American dentistry.
- “A Question of Duty” chronicled a Chinese doctor’s refusal to perform a state-sanctioned infanticide.
- Wrote cover headlines that lifted newsstand sales 30-percent above historical average.
Features Editor1983–1984
Technology Illustrated, Boston, Massachusetts · National consumer magazine (circulation 300,000)
- Refocused magazine to mass audience, differentiating it from sister publication for engineers.
- Increased variety and impact by cutting words, not facts. Instituted Fog Index for quantifying readability.
Contributing Editor1979–1986
Science 80, Washington, D.C. · Consumer sibling (circulation 600,000) of the journal Science
Authored articles, conceived story ideas, coached scientists writing about their work.
- Five bylined articles helped to win two National Magazine Awards for General Excellence.
- Wrote “The Big Glass,” judged best article ever published in Discover (Science 80’s successor).
Adjunct Professor of English1979–1983
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania · Land-grant university; 50,000+ students
Taught technical, business, and magazine writing to 53 different majors. Conducted linguistics research.
Other Work Experience
Consulting editor, Psychology Today. Staff reporter/photographer/editor at five small-town newspapers in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Electrical draftsman at Piper Aircraft. PR director for Penn State’s performing-arts series. Photo printmaker. Hospital orderly. Door-to-door salesman. Fast-food cook and clerk. Factory and farm worker. USAF spy-satellite technician (Top Secret/Crypto clearance).
Education
- Management certificate, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1992
- B.A., English literature and writing, Pennsylvania State University, 1974
- Flight training, Piper Aircraft Corporation, 1968
- Physics major, Cornell University, 1966–67
- National Science Foundation scholar, Brown University, 1965
- Self-taught optical design and fabrication, 1964–66
- Voice, piano, and violin training, 1956–63
Additional Honors
- Winner, Vannevar Bush Fellowship in Science Journalism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983
- Winner, Iowa Writers’ Workshop fellowship, University of Iowa, 1974
- Valedictorian, Class of 1974, Pennsylvania State University
- Valedictorian, Class of 1966, Jersey Shore (Pa.) Area High School
- Top scorer in school district, annual High School Mathematics Examination, 1966
- Winner, Lycoming County (Pa.) Spelling Bee, 1963, 1964
Special Interests
Astronomy, horticulture, a-cappella singing, languages (German, French, Greek, Latin), charity work
“If you mean to profit, learn to please.” —Charles Churchill (Gotham, 1764)