To Whom It May Concern,

It is with pleasure and without any reservation that I provide this letter of recommendation for Joey DiGuglielmo. Mr. DiGuglielmo served as my supervisor in the Arts and Entertainment department at the Washington Blade, an LGBT weekly newspaper in Washington D.C., from 2013 to 2019. We were the only two full-time A&E employees, which allowed him to spearhead the department with a tenacity that would be an asset to any workplace.

Mr. DiGuglielmo’s duties included leading a team of freelance writers and a summer internship program while also mapping out upcoming coverage for months in advance. Despite the numerous tasks on his plate, Mr. DiGuglielmo never let details slip through the cracks and made sure every assignment’s final draft was top-tier.

He is a meticulous editor with an eye for improving a writer’s work ranging from catching grammatical errors to suggesting the best lede to hook a reader. Mr. DiGuglielmo is also a creative problem-solver who can brainstorm a list of celebrity interview questions as quickly as he can pinpoint a fresh story angle that hasn’t been written a thousand times.

Mr. DiGuglielmo is a patient, informative, and caring supervisor, who has mentored numerous interns, including myself, before they moved on in their journalism careers. He has a knack for explaining ideas in a way that everyone can understand and bringing out the individual talents of each person. I have never seen an intern depart the program who wasn’t a better journalist than when they first started.

He is also an exceptional writer in his own right. Whether it be putting a new spin on a perfunctory calendar listing or crafting a retrospective on a musician’s career, Mr. DiGuglielmo goes above and beyond simply getting the job done. Additionally, he has an outstanding track record of anticipating issues before they happen. He was always steps ahead of any potential disaster at the Washington Blade — whether it be an unresponsive source or a technical malfunction —and was ready to implement one of his many backup plans.

Mr. DiGuglielmo has demonstrated his capabilities at every opportunity and I am confident he will continue to do so in his future endeavors. His skills are a rare find that will be a valuable and pleasurable asset to your staff. I take great pride in giving him my highest recommendation.

For any more specific inquires, please feel free to contact me.
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Sincerely,
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Mariah Cooper
[email protected]
301-346-0428