Gmail Calendar Documents Reader Web more »
Help | Sign in

Rebecca I. Allen

Send a message

I report, write and edit for newspapers, magazines, online and custom publications.
Glendale, Ariz.

Hi! This is me in January. www.rebeccaiallen.com
Claire, a 7-year-old mixed breed sits atop Essie, a 6-year-old Norwegian fjord packhorse as her master, Bernice Ende chats with passer-by, a common occurance for Ende, a longrider, during her trek across the country on horseback. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com to read the award-winning profile of Ende. Owen K. Martin photo, West Valley View
“This story is why I pay my 50 cents for a newspaper, instead of getting the abridged version on television,” wrote Mark Grossi, environment and natural resources reporter for The Fresno Bee and former Knight Science Journalism Fellow with MIT. “It details the ethical line that a councilman's top aide clearly crossed to benefit a developer while attempting to avoid widespread scrutiny. Allen wisely and fairly told both sides of the story. But she had the goods on this dirty deal, and no one could explain away the conflict of interest. The whole town should be talking about this. If I lived there, I would eagerly await Allen's next installment. Here's a reporter I would want on my metro staff.” Grossi, who won the Meade Prize for coverage of air pollution and an Investigative Reporters and Editors award for environmental coverage, judged the article first place in Arizona Press Club's politics/government reporting, midsize newspapers & magazines, category. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com to read a legible .PDF.
pg. 2 of article that won Arizona Newspapers Association Outstanding Writing Award. The judges, the University of Arizona journalism faculty, wrote "In the words of one faculty member: 'It's a 'can't put the paper down' kind of story. It's in your face journalism that makes a difference." Visit http://www.rebeccaiallen.com for legible .PDF version.
Cheyanne "Sissy" Chantry, 6, of Tonopah had an inoperable brain tumor and, according to her doctors, less than three months to live. When the story appeared about her in the West Valley View she did not know she is dying. Read about Sissy, her family and brave mom, Melanie, at www.rebeccaiallen.com. View photo by Ray Thomas
I'm the Phoenix stringer for People Magazine, keep my email and phone number handy - I'd love a call if you spot celebs in Arizona! www.rebeccaiallen.com
“This article's take-no-prisoners approach leaves the reader a little stunned at times, but you've got to applaud the reporter for relentlessly challenging the district's stonewalling. The reporter's ability to get school employees to go on the record criticizing their superiors is impressive,” wrote an Arizona Press Club judge, Doug Erickson, a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, who has been honored by the National Education Writing Association. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com for legible .PDF version.
  • About me

A lawyer once asked me what I did for a living.
“I’m a journalist,” I said.
“So, people like you about as much as they like me,” he said.
I chuckled, “That about sums it up.”

 I've worked as a freelancer for much of my seven+ years as a journo. While I've also held staff jobs at newspapers, I enjoy contracting to write for different publications. I'm the Phoenix stringer for People Magazine and I report, write and edit for magazines, newspapers, online and custom publications.

I believe in the church of journalism, the craft of writing and I love to play with words, and so -with apologies to Ron Shelton- my homage to Bull Durham:

 "Well, I believe in the story, the lede, the em dash, the active not the passive, the hanging deadline, $1-a-word markets, hard news, that the novels of Stephen King are brilliant, underrated prose. I believe Roy Peter Clark’s tools are gold. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing shuttering newspapers and the use of over instead of more than. I believe in the sweet quotes, black and white photography, getting paid on acceptance rather than on publication and I believe in the sparse use of adverbs, killing clichés and editors who respond in less than three days." ~ Rebecca I. Allen

Copyright Rebecca I. Allen © 2008/2009. All rights reserved.

Companies I've worked for
People Magazine; Arizona Highways Magazine; Fodor's travel publications; East Valley Tribune; Arizona Republic; Arizona Business Gazette; North Valley Magazine; West Valley View; YourKids Monthly; ASU Magazine; ASU Vision; In&Out of Anthem; Knowledge@W.P. Carey; Glendale Star; Peoria Times; North Scottsdale Independent; Northeast Phoenix Independent; North Central News; SanTan Sun News
Schools I've attended
BA in English from Arizona State University, 2002; Winnacunnet High School, Hampton, NH; Lathrop High School, Fairbanks, AK
New! Create your own public profile. Learn more
Rebecca I. Allen Taken Feb. 2008, West Valley View photo by Ray Thomas
2 Bob Rovan.jpg
When Glendale's own Jordin Sparks returned for her AI hometown visit - one of Glendale's own covered it for People. Read a legible .PDF at www.rebeccaiallen.com.
Judge Doug Erickson, a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, who has been honored by the National Education Writing Association, wrote, "A succinct, well-organized news story bolstered by good research, historical context and a range of community voices." It placed second out of 23 entries in the Education Reporting, midsize newspapers and magazines, category. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com for legible .PDF.
An afternoon in Carefree with acclaimed symphony conductor Robert Moody revealed he may never had made it to Carnegie Hall if not for a childhood crush. The award-winning profile of appeared in North Valley Magazine. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com for a full-size .PDF for the article.
A scary and near-horrific accident in a school parking lot left a community shaken. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com to read a legible .PDF of the article that appeared in In&Out of Anthem magazine.
Reporting for this award-winning article included spending a day at Peoria City Hall combing through meeting minutes to compile a decade's worth of councilmember attendance records. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com to read about one councilman - running for reelection-who missed more meetings than the rest of the seven-member council combined.
pg. 3 of article on problems at Sandra Day O'Connor High School that won a couple of awards. Visit http://www.rebeccaiallen.com for legible .PDF version.
Read more of my work at www.rebeccaiallen.com
This award-winning article about a developer trademarking a community name appeared in the magazine In&Out of Anthem. Visit www.rebeccaiallen.com to read what happened when business owners in Anthem used the community label in their company names.