I've always enjoyed writing, but for the longest time I never thought about it as a career. I spent several years working retail and factory jobs, before I decided that was not what I wanted out of life. So, I decided to go back to school. I decided to go into journalism because I enjoy telling people's stories. The ability to combine my love of photography with my writing was also a plus. I also loved the fast-paced days that had me investigating something new and interesting every day. An additional part of the fun for me is in learning about and researching things I knew nothing about before. I believe very strongly in journalistic integrity. I always strive to get both sides of the story, especially with a hot-button issue. I have covered a little bit of everything: Cops and courts, commissions, people and sports. My first experience reporting for a real newspaper was with the Three Rivers Commercial-News in Three Rivers MI.
My first full time journalism job was for the Cody Enterprise (Cody, Wyoming). I have also been published in Mineral County Independent News (Hawthorne, Nevada), The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock, Texas). In addition to the news writing experience, I have also done some specialty writing. I have been published several times in FTF Geocacher Magazine, a magazine that specializes in the hobby of geocaching. I have had multiple stories and photographs published in this magazine. I've also done some specialty pieces on outdoor retail for Outdoor Magazine based out of Santa Clara, California.
Currently, I'm an independent contractor working mainly with the South County News out of Vicksburg and Schoolcraft, Michigan. With them, I've covered education, government, high school sports and human interest pieces.
Aside from outdoor writing, I probably enjoy sports reporting more than anything else. I have experience covering high school level football (11 & 6 man), volleyball, wrestling, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, bowling, soccer, track and field, cross country, baseball, softball and golf. I also covered a North American 3 Hockey League team for a while. The NA3HL is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league.
I'm also a Senior Writer for the Austin, Texas-based Wide Open Media Group where I write hunting/fishing/outdoor related content for Wide Open Spaces. I have written thousands of pieces for them.
See the below PDF files for story samples. The first file is general writing from my time with the Three Rivers Commercial-News. The second is more sports-oriented things I wrote in Wyoming. The third is a mix of sports and general assignment writing.
My first full time journalism job was for the Cody Enterprise (Cody, Wyoming). I have also been published in Mineral County Independent News (Hawthorne, Nevada), The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock, Texas). In addition to the news writing experience, I have also done some specialty writing. I have been published several times in FTF Geocacher Magazine, a magazine that specializes in the hobby of geocaching. I have had multiple stories and photographs published in this magazine. I've also done some specialty pieces on outdoor retail for Outdoor Magazine based out of Santa Clara, California.
Currently, I'm an independent contractor working mainly with the South County News out of Vicksburg and Schoolcraft, Michigan. With them, I've covered education, government, high school sports and human interest pieces.
Aside from outdoor writing, I probably enjoy sports reporting more than anything else. I have experience covering high school level football (11 & 6 man), volleyball, wrestling, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, bowling, soccer, track and field, cross country, baseball, softball and golf. I also covered a North American 3 Hockey League team for a while. The NA3HL is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league.
I'm also a Senior Writer for the Austin, Texas-based Wide Open Media Group where I write hunting/fishing/outdoor related content for Wide Open Spaces. I have written thousands of pieces for them.
See the below PDF files for story samples. The first file is general writing from my time with the Three Rivers Commercial-News. The second is more sports-oriented things I wrote in Wyoming. The third is a mix of sports and general assignment writing.
| travissmolastoryphotosamples.pdf |
| spotswritingtravissmola.pdf |
| storysamplestravissmola.pdf |
I've also included a gallery below of some of the direct journalism-related photos I have taken. Some of these were stand alone during my internship. Some I wrote stories for. Some of these were for freelance stories I've done.
FTF Geocacher Magazine
I've been involved in the hobby of geocaching for around nine years now. About four years ago a magazine popped up covering the hobby. Since then I've submitted content 3-4 times a year. I've had numerous articles and photos published in the magazine. These are often personal, first-hand accounts of experiences while out geocaching. This magazine has a bit of unique writing style where people are referred to by their usernames on the geoaching website instead of their real names the majority of the time. In addition, these stories have a bit of geocaching jargon in them since the people reading this are geocachers. (A few of these are credited under my geocaching username of Tsmola.)
Geocaching Book project
In January of 2015, I started work on a yet-untitled book about geocaching. It will be mostly a collection of personal stories from the field from ten years of experience in the hobby. While it is primarily about geocaching, it will also include short stories and pieces of local history about places I've visited. The best way I can describe it is a outdoor adventure/travel memoir hybrid.
Geocaching Youtube Channel
In January of 2019, I started a weekly geocaching YouTube channel to showcase my adventures in the GPS-themed hobby and to grow my video/photography skills.
