Melanie Weir
Writer, Editor, Content Creator, Storyteller
Writer
A sampling of my best-performing articles over my six years of professional writing.
Editor
Here I go into detail about my editorial experiences, and highlight some of my biggest wins.
Critic
A comprehensive list of every critical film and television review I have published to date.
Content Creator
A sampling of the type of work I did as a company YouTuber, including an award-winning miniseries and a podcast.
The enstarz Story
Wanna hear something WILD?
Writer
A sampling of some of my top stories from my six years in professional writing. I was the top performing writer on every team I was part of from 2019 to 2022.
Entertainment News
Huge Blow To LGBTQ+ Community: Disney Removes Howard Ashman Documentary From Disney+
Kate McKinnon Says ‘Barbie’ Movie Proves That Gender Roles Are Dumb
All Signs Point to SAG-AFTRA Striking With WGA
Elliot Page of 'The Umbrella Academy' Talks About His Transition And The Importance Of Approaching Trans Discussions With Empathy
Interviews
'Kings of Napa' Showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois Tells Us How One Vacation Turned Into A Script That Caught Oprah's Eye
Hayley Law and Ben Rosenfield of 'Mark, Mary, and Some Other People' Talk Side Hustles, Vulnerability, and...Buzz Lightyear?
BUSINESS INSIDER:
Real Teachers tell us 10 things most people didn't realize they have to buy with their own money
Entertainment Features
Op-Ed: The Studios Aren’t Ready For Social Media Activists in This Strike
Where Is Jiminy? How Guillermo Del Toro Saved A Cricket From A Pestiferious Pinocchio
Surprising Parallels Between 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'Into The Woods:' Children Will Listen, Just Not The Way You Wish They Would
Lists
Happy Pride! These Are the Gayest Things in Disney History
8 (other)Times Fox News Freaked Out About Literally Nothing
Just Here To Remind You That Yes, These 8 Stars Were All In 'Twilight' At Some Point
Disney: What Would Princess Ariel's Pokémon Team Be if She Were a Trainer?
Pop Culture/Lifestyle
Pop Culture News
Is McDonald’s Going To Kill Grimace? Because That’s What It Looks Like
Elon Musk Broke Twitter On Purpose This Time
Parks and Recreation Gave Us Galentine's Day...Now Some Call For 'Malentine's Day'
Lifestyle Features
Why Do We Keep Talking about Celebrities' 'Secret Pregnancies' As Though They're Obligated to Share That With Us?
As We Close Out Pride Month 2022, Here Are Some Things Bisexuals Wish More People Knew
INSIDER:
8 slang words from the last decade that we can't stand
BUSINESS INSIDER: 7 things you might not realize teachers have to do after the school day ends
Editor
As an editor I prefer to think of myself less as "the boss" and more as "the overseer." I like to give my writers room to breathe and be creative with their ideas.Many people can correct grammar and spelling errors - I believe I stand apart because I can help a writer's voice shine clearly through their words.
Skills:
Team Management
CMS Troubleshooting
SEO
Social Media Management
Creative & Engaging Formatting
Out-of-the-box thinking
Superior grammar and syntax
Finger on the pulse of trending topics, especially in alternative spaces
Accomplishments:
Grew Enstarz viewership by nearly double in two months as editor
Revived virtually unutilized Facebook and Twitter accounts, gaining repeat viewership from both
Created successful organic social campaigns with recurrent "Trending Topics Explained" headlines geared specifically towards Twitter.
Led a charge to attract a younger and more savvy audience to Enstarz.com, pivoting away from scandal-fueled celebrity gossip and towards legitimate entertainment news and thoughtful pop culture commentary.
Provided long feature pieces on major events in film, tv, and culture ahead of time to mitigate team workload on busy premiere days.
As Weekend News Editor at TheThings.com, I was responsible for onboarding and training brand new writers, often on their first job.
I am currently working as a part-time editor for the podcasts at The Goodness Exchange, which includes creation of static assets and double-checking of video assets, as well as regular edits and SEO formatting for the associated articles.
For an example of how I format long-form stories to keep them interetsing - or of how I can take advantage of the tools of a given CMS - please take a look at The Enstarz Story, which also gives more detail on the absolutely bananas environment I had to navigate at my last office.
Content Creator
I've been an integral part of creating:
A successful new podcast
A series of entertainment news-based shorts
A series of reaction videos
A multi-award-winning web series
...and more!
Most importantly, though: Everything but the podcast was done within the short span of two months, with a staff of four people, including myself, who up until that point were only journalists - and it rocketed our YouTube follow count from 327 to 938.Does that sound like a story you want to hear? If so, check this out:
But if you'd rather skip that riveting tale, here's what I can do:
Long-Form Content
Short-Form Content
Fun Graphics
Podcasts/Video Edits
Other Advantages of Hiring Me:
I come with fans! Made You Watch (...a podcast) has a small but loyal following, and they frequently engage with other things I make.
I'm an active member of several internet communities, who are passionate about deep cuts, interesting takes, and specific knowledge - from fandoms to LGBTQ+ spaces and more.
I grew up on Tumblr - like Deep Tumblr, I-Know-All-The-Ancient-Lore Tumblr. I joined right after the Mishapocalypse and lived through Dashcon. Translation: I have a lot of handy niche internet knowledge.
I'm also very adept at using other social media platforms - as Editor at Enstarz, I revived both our Facebook and Twitter accounts and used them to nearly double our viewership.
For more about that, click here! :D
I come with a sizable network! If you're looking to fill out a team of talented media professionals, look no further. I've got still-active ex-workplace groupchats full of them, and we work excellently together.
I've got interview skills! As a professional journalist, I've been told my questions are both insightful and fun.
People I've Interviewed:
Janine Sherman Barrois
Hayley Law
Ben Rosenfield
Makena Taylor
I learn new platforms and skills super fast. We had to at Enstarz - the turnaround time from being journalists to making a web series was less than one month. If Elon Musk actually kills Twitter or TikTok goes the way of Vine, I can adapt.
And last but not least...
I'm that fun kind of quirky you just can't buy!
(except you totally can, right now)
Whether you need a face on your channel that your fans can connect to, an interesting script, or some engaging graphics to tie it all together, I've got the finishing touch you're looking for.
The Enstarz Story
From September 28, 2021 to October 31, 2022, I worked for a web company called Enstarz. This place was John Mulaney Joke levels of weird. This is an overview of what happened there, and an explanation of how I had three (?) titles in one year.
September-October, 2021: New editor LJ hires Carly Polistina, Adam Mock, and myself to write Entertainment News for Enstarz.com.
October-November 2021: Things go well for a while, we get a few celebrity interviews for YouTube. LJ promotes me to Assistant Editor, which frequently leaves me in charge while he edits video.
December 2021: Since site traffic is up, Jessica Chen is hired to help with video. She mostly writes news with the rest of us. We are all confused by this.
January 2022: Our distribution app changes formats, effectively crashing our site numbers (and more importantly, making the board PANIC)
February 2022: The board (who we have never met) ask us to diversify into reviews and commentary, so Adam Mock and I start Made You Watch (...a podcast):
Made You Watch (...a podcast): in which we (a 20-something who majored Theatre and a 40-something who worked in construction) take turns exchanging movie recommendations.
March 2022: Traffic is slowly climbing. Carly and I get advance copies of Bridgerton and do a watch-along video series. most of it never makes it onto YouTube. Jess is still only being used as a writer.
April 2022: Traffic stagnates. We suddenly move to a smaller office.
April 26, 2022: LJ is unexpectedly fired. I am abruptly promoted to Lead Editor. I recieve no training and very few instructions from our Managing Director. I have still never met the board.
May - June 2022: Site traffic begins to grow again. Views on the site nearly doubled from April to June - in spite of the fact that we lost all our contacts when LJ left, and had only four writers and no budget.
July 5, 2022: Jess is asked to stop writing and focus entirely on the Enstarz YouTube channel.
July 20, 2022: The board who we have still never met suddenly announce that we are no longer going to be writing news. We are to focus entirely on video. We have a month to get the YouTube follow count to 5K. or else...
There are a few problems with this:
We were hired as journalists.
Our follower count is currently at 327
There are four of us.
Confused and upset, we gathered to talk about what, if anything, we could do. While we were huddled around mourning our jobs, we realized a few things:
Jess has written an award-winning TV pilot and just got a Masters' in TV and Film.
Carly is a stand-up comedian.
I have written and directed several plays.
Adam has a film degree.
We can all act.
We have exactly one month until we are almost certainly fired.
This is such an insane situation...it's almost like you could write a show about it.
SO WE WROTE A SHOW ABOUT IT.
Please Help is a web series made up of eight five-minute episodes, about the very situation that we were in. We wrote, shot, edited, and published the first seven episodes within the span of a month.
watch it all here!
Won Best Mockumentary, 2022 Fall Georgia Comedy Film Festival
Best Web Series & Independent Spirit Awards, 2023 Hollywood New Directors Film Festival
Got channel follow count from 327 to 650+ in one month
Organic social media growth only - no ad campaigns
There were four of us
We had no budget
August 20, 2022: The "deadline" for the 5K follow count comes and goes. We hear nothing from the board, but decide to move forward with the channel anyway.
September 2022: Eventually, we do hear from the board that our jobs are safe. With Jess now in charge, and the rest of us assuming the title "talent," we start putting out a few regular shows that are easy enough to produce with only remote editors in the Philippines and whatever we can cobble together with free video software ourselves
September 19: We are finally told that the board was "impressed with our progress" and that our jobs are safe for the time being.
September 26, 2022: We ask for updated contracts that reflect our new positions, and also that they hire us more help.
September 30, 2022: Jess posts a special interview with J-Pop group Travis Japan that gets over 10,000 views in the first 24 hours, establishing what was supposed to be an ongoing media relationship with the group.
This video currently has nearly 50,000 views, and it took our follow count from around 700 to a steady 928 over the course of one weekend.
October 3, 2022: Jess gets a job offer and decides to leave - taking the Travis Japan contacts with her.
October 11, 2022: We are told that the updated contracts are coming and they are looking into hiring help.
October 13, 2022: Adam and I called into a meeting and are suddenly fired due to lack of funds. Carly is moved to writing for another website.
So Why Include This Whole Story In Your Portfolio?
Thank you for asking! There are a few reasons.
I truly don't know how else to accurately describe this position, it changed so often.
This is a crazy story, frankly, and people should hear about it.
And most importantly, I think it demonstrates a few things about me!
"Wow, look at all those very comepelling reasons to hire Melanie Weir! I'd sure do it!"
I'm the Fastest Learner In The West
I pefrorm stupendously in a crisis
If you're coming here from the Editorial section especially: Look at all this formatting and multimedia-rich storytelling! Visual interest! Jokes For The Youth! It's all here!
People genuinely and consistently enjoy my content
I'm a huge team player and a great leader
I can switch hats faster than an actor in a one-man play
***If I could do all this with 2-3 coworkers and hardly any support, imagine what I could do working for you! ***
Critic
One of my favorite parts of writing Entertainment News is getting to act as a critic for new shows and movies - getting to be part of an ongoing cultural conversation. Here is a list of the reviews I've done in the past.
Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’ Review: Welcome to That World, Halle Bailey
Surprising Parallels Between 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'Into The Woods:' Children Will Listen, Just Not The Way You Wish They Would
'Elvis' Is A Moving And Comprehensive Biopic - But I Don't Think I Need To See It Twice
Buzz Is A Baby Boomer In 'Lightyear,' And It's Actually So Cathartic To Watch Him Learn To Accept Imperfection
Daddy Made You Your Favorite: A Review Of Bo Burnham's 'Inside Outtakes' (What? He DID Make Us Some Content)
Sam Raimi Wrapped Up The Multiverse Like A Gift To Marvel In 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'
This Season of 'Bridgerton' Stresses The Power Of Motherhood Even More Than The First - By Letting Mothers Fail
This Show On YouTube Is About To Be The Next Office - Check Out PBC, The Accountant Mockumentary
The 'Witcher' Season 2 Will See Geralt Learn To Forgive His Past Through Fatherhood - In The Middle Of A War
Here's What It Was Like To Watch Bo Burnham 'Inside' An Actual Theater
Here's Why Netflix's 'Space Force' With Steve Carell Is Out Of This World
Parks And Rec Reunion Told Us How Tom's Business Failed - and Tested Video Chat Format
Pixar's 'Onward' Is Good If You Love Pixar... But It's Great If You Love DnD
Lil Dicky's Show Dave is Smarter Than You Expect & Just As Funny
This Is How Frozen 2 Should Have Ended
The Cats Movie Actually Improved On The Musical In Several Ways