Journalist
Queensland, Australia
- Current
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- Editor at Southbird Magazine
- Journalist at Matthew da Silva
- Past
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- Technical Writer at University of Sydney
- CMS Project Manager at University of Sydney
- Technical Writer at University of Sydney
- Communications Specialist at Yamatake Corporation
- Desktop Publisher/Editor at Yamatake Corporation
- Documentation Specialist at Honeywell
- Education
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- Sydney Writers' Centre
- University of Sydney
- University of Sydney
- Recommended
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2 people have recommended Matthew - Connections
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50
connections
- Industry
- Writing and Editing
- Websites
Matthew da Silva’s Summary
Matthew dreams of supporting himself by writing high-quality, fascinating feature stories that are ethically written. He writes on a range of topics of global interest. He currently publishes with Anthill magazine.
Matthew also has extensive experience in document production from desktop publishing, publication design and layout, to writing and editing. He worked full-time as a technical writer from 2003 to 2009 and is now looking to complement earnings from freelance journalism by taking short-term contracts for technical writing.
Matthew da Silva’s Specialties:
Feature stories in investigative mode, including longer-format, in-depth features.
Technical writing for software, including content management systems, student administration systems, and automation and control systems.
Matthew da Silva’s Experience
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Editor
Southbird Magazine
(Media Production industry)
November 2009 — Present (2 months)
Southbird targets an educated, wealthy demographic providing satisfying, informative editorial that helps young people get to know Australia better, placing the prime focus on their all-important education.
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Journalist
Matthew da Silva
(Writing and Editing industry)
April 2009 — Present (9 months)
Developing ideas and working them into stories to fit a specific publication, sometimes in cooperation with the publication's editor.
Activities
* Research and analysis of source material.
* Organise and undertake interviews with prospects.
* Original photography and also photograph selection.
* Write original stories to an appropriate length.
* Develop leads and maintain a wide range of stakeholder relationships.
* Make transcripts and manage records. -
Technical Writer
University of Sydney
(Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)
January 2008 — March 2009 (1 year 3 months)
Reporting to the enterprise application training team manager, responsible for producing four user manuals in a small team environment and setting up the team's website. Critical to success is managing numerous stakeholder relationships.
Achievements
* Developed and edited two content management system software user manuals.
* Wrote and produced two content management system user manuals.
* Developed strong working relationships by delivering quality and understanding management requirements.
* Project was highly commended by the CIO and solution services director.
* Delivered manuals on time and met all timeframes. -
CMS Project Manager
University of Sydney
(Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)
October 2008 — December 2008 (3 months)
Reporting to the marketing and student recruitment director, responsible for gathering user requirements, fixing urgent issues and preparing an IT development roadmap. Meet specific deadlines in a limited period of time.
Achievements
* In a two month period structured and wrote a one year IT development roadmap report based on 125 system issues including system enhancements, changes and fixes.
* Designed an Excel tracking tool to classify issues based on severity and type.
* Managed urgent issues to resolution by negotiating with operational stakeholders, IT and senior management.
* Managed over 50 relationships and made changes to the system without causing undue anxiety. -
Technical Writer
University of Sydney
(Education Management industry)
June 2003 — December 2007 (4 years 7 months)
Reporting to the change manager and subsequently the communications and training manager, responsible for coordinating publication of technical guides for in-house developed student administration system (FlexSIS). Role also includes production of internal communications vehicles, websites and release notes.
Achievements
* Made student administration system software user manuals in the university intranet in a high throughput environment
* Produced mid-sized HTML and CSS website for student administration system
* Coordinated release notes production and publication
* Maintained medium sized intranet website
* Edited, wrote technical stories for, and produced a weekly newsletter
* Researched and wrote technical stories for monthly publication
* Completed part-time Master of Media Practice (Merit) at the University of Sydney. -
Communications Specialist
Yamatake Corporation
(Public Company; Semiconductors industry)
July 1998 — August 2001 (3 years 2 months)
Reporting to the business planning manager, responsible for delivering marketing communications brochures and developing websites. Also includes market research and business planning.
Achievements
* Generated sales interest among potential customers.
* Educated sales team across Europe and Asia by producing marketing brochures and newsletters.
* Increased awareness of market opportunities globally by researching control valve manufacturers and built a market research intranet website.
* Assisted in trade show marketing overseas by translating product information from Japanese into English. -
Desktop Publisher/Editor
Yamatake Corporation
(Public Company; Semiconductors industry)
September 1992 — June 1998 (5 years 10 months)
Reporting to the international communications team manager and then to the international business group manager, responsible for producing a large range of publications using desktop publishing software. Role also includes original research and writing of application reports for publication, designing and writing brochures, and rewriting user manuals and news stories.
Achievements
* Produced corporate internal publications including corporate guides, newsletters, and magazines.
* Produced corporate external publications including annual reports, corporate videos, news releases, marketing brochures, stories for trade publications, and user guides.
* Researched and wrote feature articles.
* Rewrote translations of user manuals and news stories. -
Documentation Specialist
Honeywell
(Public Company; HON; Aviation & Aerospace industry)
February 1989 — August 1992 (3 years 7 months)
Reporting to the manager of the software centre, responsible for producing a large number of user manuals using desktop publishing software. The role also includes maintaining stocks of user manuals and organising printing and distribution.
Achievements
* Produced over 70 concurrent user manuals using desktop publishing software.
* Coordinated printing of user manuals and distribution.
Matthew da Silva’s Education
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Sydney Writers' Centre
Feature Writing 2009 — 2009
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University of Sydney
Master of Media Practice , Journalism , 2006 — 2007
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University of Sydney
BA , Italian , 1981 — 1984
Additional Information
Matthew da Silva’s Websites:
Matthew da Silva’s Interests:
Literature, feature stories, profiles, blogging
Matthew da Silva’s Groups:
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University of Sydney -
Journalist and Journalism
Matthew da Silva’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
