Hire Me
402-445-4666 • leo32158@cox.net
leoadambiga.wordpress.com
Leo Adam Biga – Author-journalist-blogger
Telling the stories of people, their passions, and their magnificent obsessions
articles • web content • newsletters • press releases • white papers • biographies • company histories • historical narratives • books • scripts
available on project assignment, commission, contract, or retainer basis
“I’ve long admired Leo’s journalism and prose portraiture for its honesty, thoughtfulness, and accuracy.”Alexander Payne
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/leoadambiga • http://www.google.com/profiles/leoadambiga
Writer Leo Adam Biga has won awards from:
Omaha Press Club • Nebraska Press Association • American Jewish Press Association
“Leo portrays his subjects with both precision and generosity, practicing a literary journalism that is enlightening, honest, and immensely readable. His writing is eloquent and provocative, and quite often moving,” Timothy Schaffert
Stories about people, their passions, and their magnificent obsessions
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This blog is obviously a showcase of my work. I sincerely hope the content here adds to your reading pleasure.
As a cultural journalist, my writing brand is: ”I write stories about people, their passions, and their magnificent obsessions.”
What may not be so obvious is that I am posting samples of my writing on the site in the hope that you or someone like you will consider hiring me to fulfill some writing need that you or a client or a colleague or a friend may have. So, whomever you are – publisher, editor, marketing/PR director, business owner – if you are looking for top-notch writing help with articles, company or family histories, biographies, historical narratives, scripts, and other writing products, then I offer my gallery of work as proof that I can deliver the goods.
As the About Leo Adam Biga page says, when you hire me you are hiring a full-time, professional writer, not a dilettante or a wannabe. I am a writer through and through.
My publication writing is for newspapers and magazines, most of them based in Omaha, although I have written for out state and state-wide publications as well as for a few national publications.
Many of Omaha’s leading publications, corporations, and organizations hire me to execute writing projects:
Creighton University
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Valmont Industries (through David Day & Associates)
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Nebraska Jewish Historical Society
Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Company
Opera Omaha
My rates are competitive. Depending on the assignment or commission, I charge a per project or per hour fee.
If you haven’t already, visit the About Me page. Find more useful information at my LinkedIn page-
www.linkedin.com/in/leoadambiga
and Facebook page-
http://www.facebook.com/LeoAdamBiga
You can contact me at:
402-445-4666
leo32158@cox.net
The following resume provides a fair overview of my writing career:
LEO ADAM BIGA’S RESUME
Leo Adam Biga • 10629 Cuming St., Omaha, NE 68114 (402) 445-4666 • leo32158@cox.net
Goals:
• I look to apply my superior writing expertise to publications, organizations, institutions that value the written word and strive to be market leaders and community anchors.
Capabilities:
• I bring to the keyboard extensive experience as a working journalist, with more than a thousand published articles, on a wide array of subject matter, to my credit. If I am best known for anything it is for the cultural writing/reporting I do. I have written for both general interest and niche magazines/newspapers based in Omaha and in surrounding markets. I have also had work published in some national publications. I exemplify the strong work ethic for which Midwesterners are famous. The breadth and volume of my work, plus the longstanding relationships I have enjoyed with clients, speak to my being highly reliable and adaptable.
• In addition to straight journalism, I also write public relations/marketing copy. Whatever the assignment, no matter its subject or length or intended audience, I take a serious, considered approach.
Freelance Portfolio – Selected Newspapers/Magazines:
Contributor to:
Metro Magazine, 2008-present
Omaha Fashion Magazine (2010)
The Reader, senior contributing writer, 1996-present
Jewish Press, 1998-present
New Horizons, 1994-present
El Perico, 2006-present
Omaha Magazine, 2006-present
Encounter Magazine, 2006-present
B2B, 2007-present
Omaha World-Herald, special sections, 2008-present
UNO Magazine (formerly UNO Alum Magazine), 2006-present
Past contributor to:
Omaha City Weekly, 2006-2009
Norfolk Daily News, 2007-2008
Grand Island Independent, 2007-2008
Nebraska Life Magazine, 2006-2008
Omaha Star, 2005-2007
The Black Scholar, 2007
Medium, 2003
The Daily Record, 2003
Omaha Weekly, 2000-2002
Nebraska Sports America, 1999-2001
Inet Library, Inventive Communications, 1999-2000
American Visions, 1996
Kidz!, 1996
Woodmen, 1991-1995
Home & Away, 1993
Midlands Business Journal, 1989-1990
Metro Update/Metro Monthly, 1989-1990
Newsletters:
Happenings, College of Education, UNO , 1992-2001
Child’s View, Voices for Children in Nebraska, 1995
Inflight, Inflight Productions, 1990-1991
Connections, Catholic Health Corporation, 1990-1991
Bravo, Opera Omaha, 1990
Public Relations/Marketing:
Qwest advertorial campaign copy, Omaha World-Herald, 2010
Various Omaha World-Herald special sections stories, 2008-2009
University of Nebraska Medical Center, press releases/newsletter copy, 2006
Children’s Hospital, magazine stories, 2004
Valmont Industries, via David Day & Associates, OneValmont magazine articles, 2004
St. Patrick Catholic Church, press releases, 2003
Preston Love Sr., press releases, 2001
Clarkson Hospital, Discover Magazine stories, (1990s)
Omaha Public Power District, special edition OPPD Flash Magazine, articles, 1996
Family Service of Omaha press releases, 1996
Nebraska Methodist Health System, Inc., Healthplex Magazine articles,1989-1995
Web Publishing Company, Denver, Co., press releases, 1995
American Red Cross, Materials Task Force brochure copy, 1993
UNO College of Education, College of Excellence video script, 1993
Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Surprises campaign copy, 1991
With Graphix Group for City of Omaha, City of Excellence campaign copy, 1990
Books:
Completed
Memoirs of a Nervous Man, unpublished original nonfiction novel, 1990
Open Wide, a biography of Mark Manhart, commissioned by Mark Manhart, 2010
History of the Douglas Theatre Company, with Legacy Preservation, 2010
Contributed to Memories of the Jewish Midwest, Mom and Pop Grocery Stores, for the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, 2011
Contributed to Drawn to Fashion, Illustrating Three Decades of Style by Mary Mitchell, 2012
Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film – A Reporter’s Perspective 1998-2012 (a compilation of my stories about the filmmaker), 2012
Proposed
The Making of Alexander Payne’s Nebraska
You Are Not Alone, The Ray Kyles Story
Biography of David Johnson
Theater Life of Jo Ann McDowell
Omaha’s Black Sports Legends
Nebraskans in Film
Plays:
Shallow Feeders, an in-progress original play, 2008
Scripts:
The Brandeis Story, documentary, with Oberon Entertainment, for Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, 2008
Pacesetter corporate video with Inflight Productions, 1990s
Crazy Quilt, an unproduced original feature-length screenplay, 1995
Niche Services:
Inside Stories, a professional writing service producing biographies and histories of families, companies, or organizations
Freelance Writing Academy Seminars, informal presentations geared for aspiring and emerging writers
More Major Works (Non-fiction):
My 13-part, 50,000-word series Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness focused on Omaha’s African-American sports legends. A local cultural center and I are eying it as the foundation for an exhibit, a documentary, and/or a book. Recently, I have written major historical pieces related to: Boys Town; the Omaha civil rights group, the DePorres Club; the work of Shirley Goldstein in the Free Soviet Jewery movement; the Omaha Stockyards; the Great Plains Black History Museum; the 1960s race film A Time for Burning; and the African-American Empowerment Network.
In 2009 I accompanied a group of Omahans to the Obama inauguration in the nation’s capital and wrote a cover story on this embedded experience.
Alexander Payne has occupied a special place in my work as a reporter. Conducting dozens of interviews with the writer-director, making an extended visit to one of his sets, talking to his collaborators, and charting his artistic development have given me rare access into his creative process. My coverage of the two-time Oscar-winner has also produced a body of work about him unmatched anywhere. With Payne coming off the huge success of The Descendants and his new film Nebraska about to start production, I thought the time right to compile all the articles I have written about him over the last 15 years into a book. Interest in Payne is at an all-time high.
Available beginning September 21, Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film A Reporter’s Perspective 1998-2012 is the first comprehensive treatment of the artist in any medium. The fact that Nebraska’s best-known contribution to cinema is the subject of a book by a fellow Nebraskan is appropriate given that four of Payne’s six feature films have Nebraska settings and that he feels so deeply about this place. His home is my home is your home.
The book, retailing at $19.95, is published by Concierge Marketing and my own Inside Stories. You can soon preview a portion on this blog site, where you will also find a link to order or purchase the book.
It is my sincere desire that you add the book to your personal library and recommend it to friends, family, associates, et cetera.
Another longstanding reporting niche I have is documenting the stories of Holocaust survivors and rescuers. I’ve told these stories for a number of Omaha publications, particularly the Jewish Press. I continue seeking out and telling these stories and the remarkable individuals behind them.
Notables:
My list of notable interview/profile subjects is a long one, and includes many locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally prominent figures from various fields. Among these luminaries are Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer winners, recipients of honorary degrees, humanitarian and lifetime achievement awards, hall of fame inductees, Fortune 500 CEOs, noted entrepreneurs, artists, authors, media professionals, educators, scientists.
Related Experience:
Albers Communications Group, Media Liaison, 2006, crafted and pitched press materials for Albers’ client Home Instead Senior Care
iSqFt (Construction Software Technologies), 2004-2005, did construction reporting for online-based firm
UNO Athletic Department, Sports Information Assistant, 1988-1989, wrote press releases, newsletters, et cetera
Joslyn Art Museum, PR Specialist, 1984-1988, wrote press releases, PSAs, newsletters, brochures. Handled media liaison duties. Produced commercials. Organized special events, including a Western film festival and a revival of Douglas Fairbanks Sr.’s The Mark of Zorro with live organ accompaniment.
Community Service:
New Cinema Cooperative, Board Member/Publicist, 1987-1991, programmed and promoted select alternative film program that showcased a program of about two dozen American independent and foreign features each year
UNO Student Programming Organization, Film Consultant/Publicist, 1979-1987, programmed and promoted a large weekly film program that exhibited anywhere from 60 to 100-plus features a year, running the gamut from classic world cinema to contemporary American independent and foreign films, including scores of festivals and thematic series
Education:
B.S., Journalism, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1982
Recent Awards:
3rd Place, Feature Series, Nebraska Press Association, 2008
1st Place, Best Magazine Feature, Omaha Press Club Excellence in Journalism Competition, 2007
2nd Place, Best Magazine Feature, Omaha Press Club Excellence in Journalism Competition, 2006
2nd Place Tie, Excellence in Personality Profiles, American Jewish Press Association, 2004
3rd Place, Single Feature Story, Nebraska Press Association, 2003
1st Place, Single Feature Story, Nebraska Press Association, 2002
Additionally, my work has appeared in several award-winning special editions of various publications.
Blog/Website:
You are already there, of course. This site is far from a comprehensive gallery of my work. It admittedly favors my long-form journalism, even though the vast majority of what I write these days is quite short. More of my short-form work will be posted by year’s end. I will also be including examples of my advertorial writing and excerpts from a documentary film script and a biography that I wrote.
Testimonials:
“I’ve long admired Leo Biga’s journalism and prose portraiture for its honesty, thoughtfulness, and accuracy. On a personal note, throughout many years of being interviewed, I find Mr. Biga’s articles about me to be the most complete and perceptive of any journalist’s anywhere. They ring true to me — even in critique — in a way that reveals the depth of his talent in observation, understanding, and expression.” Alexander Payne, filmmaker (Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, Sideways, The Descendants)
“Leo Adam Biga portrays his subjects with both precision and generosity, practicing a literary journalism that is enlightening, honest, and immensely readable. His writing is eloquent and provocative, and quite often moving.” Timothy Schaffert, novelist (Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters)
“Leo Adam Biga is an astute, conscientious journalist whose interviews and articles have been widely admired for their accuracy, generosity, depth, and perceptiveness. I would position him among the finest of our national reporters on the arts and culture.” Ron Hansen, novelist (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
“Leo Biga personifies one of H.L. Mencken’s more memorable observations: ‘There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers.’ Biga consistently teaches and delights, not with showy vocabulary or flashy syntax, but by placing his prodigious talents in the service of his subject and his readers.” Richard Dooling, author (White Man’s Grave and Brain Storm)
“Leo is one of the best prepared and most thorough writers I’ve ever worked with. With painstaking detail he builds well-crafted, well-researched stories that are a pleasure to read. Leo is truly one of the finest wordsmiths around.” John Heaston, Publisher, The Reader, 2312 M St., Omaha, NE 68105
“Leo is a talented writer who handles each assignment with passion, style, and a commitment to quality.” Jeff Reinhardt, Editor, New Horizons, 4223 Center St., Omaha, NE 68105
“Leo is one of those inquisitive writers who knows just what probing questions to ask in order to get a fascinating story. He provides the Jewish Press with a behind-the-scenes look at people doing extraordinary things in their lives.” Carol Katzman, Former Editor, Jewish Press, 333 So. 132nd St., Omaha, NE 68154
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Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film
Hello–
Did you know that this month Fortune in an advertising section talks about Boys Town’s wonderful accomplishments without mentioning that Warren Buffett purged its sins with a Pulitzer prize? Now some news that might be a lead for you.
A neighbor in the retirement community of Friendship Village Tempe (AZ) huddled with her husband and Warren Buffet in the basement when they were putting together the campaign that won the Pulitzer. It had to be secret for obvious reasons. Her name is Pat Sabine, the name of her second husband now deceased as is her first husband.
Pat and I both worked on the Topeka Daily Capital, though not concurrently. She and her husband moved to Omaha two years before I joined the Capital as a cub reporter after getting a B.J. from the MU School of Journalism…but of course we both worked with the same news room gang and have exchanged stories about them which might or might not be printable.
I’m now 86 and Pat might be a year or older…still very sharp but fragile.
The story angle that I see is about Warren Buffett’s first major philanthropy, although it wasn’t so at the time: He forced the Boys Town management to clean up their act and start doing good works away beyond teaching boys vocational skills but not preparing them for college; all the while pilling up more millions with direct-mail pleas of poverty.
Incidentally, Pat’s first husband died of a heart attack while he was completing an outstanding textbook on how to do investigative reporting. Pat finished the book. She loaned me a copy after we discovered each other at Friendship Village (which is a fun story in itself). Let me know if I can do anything to help if you do a story about Buffett’s first major philanthropic gift, as it turned out.
Clyde Hostetter
chostett@cox.net
480-756-4319
If you haven’t already found it, the same blog site that contains my Hire Me section also includes an article I had published earlier this year that essentially tells the story you’re pitching. My story is titled, Sun Reflection, Revisiting the Omaha Sun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Expose of Boys Town. Thanks for the lead though about another player in that scenario that I did not know about before.