Greetings! Thanks for stopping by my blog and online portfolio.

Based in Springfield, Ill., I am an award-winning journalist with more than 12 years of experience reporting and writing for newspapers and online news sites. I have covered crime, breaking news, courts, local government, state politics, human-interest stories and more.

I’ve also live-blogged a variety of news events, from President Barack Obama’s 2008 inauguration in Washington, D.C., to Black Friday shopping and the state fair in Illinois’ capital city. I know how to use social media to promote my work and that of colleagues. And I can shoot and edit video and take photographs to accompany my work.

I worked at The State Journal-Register and its online site, SJ-R.com, from 2001 until early 2012. I then worked for an online political news site covering state government at the Illinois Capitol. I currently am a freelance reporter for The State Journal-Register and the Lincoln Courier, as well as a freelance copywriter for two businesses. In addition, I do online marketing for a small-business owner in Springfield.

In addition, I have worked at the Southeast Missourian in Cape Girardeau, Mo.; at the Daily Egyptian, the student newspaper at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; and as a technical report editor at American Resources Group; an archaeological firm in Carbondale.

A little more about me: I am married with two sons, Matthew and Henry. I enjoy local history, crossword puzzles, music, reading, cooking and being involved at my sons’ school. I grew up in Pinckneyville in southern Illinois, about 30 miles north of Carbondale. If you ever drive from Springfield to Carbondale, you’ll know it as the town with the courthouse in the middle of Illinois 127.

I am always interested in new professional opportunities, including journalism, marketing, public relations and freelance writing. You can reach me at jayette@jayette.com or twitter.com/jayette. You can view recommendations about my work at linkedin.com.

Feel free to browse my portfolio, which includes a variety of my favorite, best and most-memorable stories, as well as examples of video and blogging I’ve done. Just click on the “archive” tab above.