Editing/Proof-Reading/Research

Mark McNAUGHT 17 Star Road Caversham RG4 5BG United Kingdom Home: +44 (0)118 961 6001 Mobile: +44 (0)775 975 1209 E-mail: [email protected]

Graduate linguist with considerable journalistic and language-industry experience. Key skills include translation; writing to a wide variety of briefs; editing and proof-reading; research; multi-lingual translation (localisation) project management using both in-house and freelance translators.

KEY SKILLS

Translation

Working from from Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish into English in both journalistic and commercial environments. Also checking and proof-reading translations from English into the Scandinavian languages and Spanish.

Writing

For BBC Online, BBC World Service Radio, BBC World Service Monitoring official customers (UK government), commercial customers, management reports. Comprehensive range of subjects, including domestic and international politics, business, media reports, human-interest stories, sport.

Editing/proof-reading/research

Proof-reading texts for house style, consistency, accuracy, potential libel, subbing down/summarising text, writing headlines and introductions, finding sources and documents for translation and accurate sources for translated terms, compiling glossaries.

Project management

Commissioning, sub-editing and compiling summaries of newspaper editorials from across Europe as lead compiler of the BBC’s European press review (daily round-up of newspaper comment, nominated for BBC World Service Team of the Year award). Commissioning and coordinating translators and editors, both in- house and freelance, for a wide variety of commercial translation projects as a translation project manager, including costing, deadline management. Time management

Short, medium and long-term deadline management. As a BBC journalist, these included very short-deadline work and prioritisation of my own work, juggling coverage of the three Scandinavian countries and also Finland and Iceland (from secondary sources), compiling the European press review to a strict 0200 deadline, drawing together my own copy and that submitted by both in-house colleagues and independent contractors. Longer-term time management involving production plans, training plans, ensuring sufficient language coverage to produce viable product.

Dealing with clients

Client-facing role as sole Scandinavian news monitor, dealing with BBC World Service and the wider corporation, representing the BBC in dealings with UK military attaches to Denmark, Norway and Sweden, representing organisation at diplomatic functions (Swedish Embassy, Wilton Park conference). Meeting editors and senior journalists on Danish and Swedish newspapers to negotiate usage rights. Extensive dealings with clients in translation-management role. These included both translation and localisation companies and companies producing source text for translation.

Training

Trained seven European press review compilers, producing training plan, identifying suitable trainees, familiarising them with production, “hands-on” training through to approval as compilers.

Career History

Freelance translator/proof-reader/editor 2011 – present

 Agency translations from Danish, Swedish and Norwegian into English on wide variety of subjects, including journalism, business, legal texts, medical texts, shipping, contracts, medical. This includes translating a medical book from Danish to English (“Blind Spots” by Henrik Isager – ISBN 978-1-4918-7582-7). Also copywriting.

BBC World Service Monitoring International media monitoring Chief Sub-Editor (later Monitoring Senior Journalist) 2002 – 2011 Sub-editor 2001 – 2002

 Scandinavian monitor – selecting, transcribing and “writing up” news and information from Swedish, Danish and Norwegian TV, radio and internet sites for the BBC and official and commercial customers.  Lead compiler, European press review – selecting and “writing up” newspaper comment from Scandinavian, Finnish and Spanish newspapers, liasing with other contributors, compiling the review, organising and implementing training, production planning.

 Senior Monitoring Journalist, Global and Thematic team (now Media Hub) – producing a wide variety of themed digests and bulletins from global sources, running a news desk, producing media round-ups and packages of press quotes.

ComText (UK) Translation and localisation Deputy office manager 1998 – 2000 Translation manager 1994 – 1998  Translation – producing and researching translations from Scandinavian languages and Spanish into English.  Translation management – commissioning, managing, editing and producing multi-lingual translation projects.

Fife Free Press Group Local newspaper company Reporter 1984 – 1989  Extensive in-depth coverage of local area, from “bread and butter” diary work to national exclusives.

Summary of further-education qualifications

Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Level 2 Certificate (Intermediate) in Spanish – Grade 9 (top mark) in listening, reading and writing, Thames Valley University, Reading, 2010.

Second class (first division) Honours Degree (with distinction in oral language) in Scandinavian Studies with Spanish, University of Edinburgh, 1994.

National Council for the Training of Journalists' Proficiency Certificate, 1986.