Digital Producing

Growing up in a world full of technology, I always knew many people relied on it. When I interned at 98.1 KHAK, I realized how impactful my social media could be. With one blog, I blew their stats out of the water. More than 88,000 viewed my blog about Tim McGraw working out at the Great Jones County Fair. My reach in one post was more than the company got on an average month total. It was at that time that I realized how much of an impact social media really had on the technological world. Since then, I've decided to make it a part of my career.

The summer after my junior year in college, I worked at Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace) as a Media Relations Intern. Aside from creating video content for internal use, I was also able to create Facebook and Twitter posts for their company. I was able to see the results of my creativity once again. A flight displays start-to-finish video I made had over 2,800 views, with a retention average of 64% of the video on YouTube. On Facebook, the video was the most viewed video published on their page in 2016, with 24,000 views and counting. The video reached over 59,000 people and was the second most shared piece of content by the company with 454 shares. Another video I created for the 47th anniversary of the moon landing was shared 294 times on Facebook, with over 15,000 views. The video also received almost 1,800 reactions on Facebook.

In the fall of 2016, I was able to intern at Quincy Media's news channel 7, KWWL, as an interactive intern. While there I monitored the scores of football games on Saturday, making posts as the game progressed to keep fans updated. I also wrote and webbed stories for the station. During Election Night 2016, I served on the staff with various tasks. I updated the results of all local races and also webbed any stories from the Associated Press as they came in. I sent push alerts for scores, web stories, and election results during my internship. On-air talent often asked me to assist them with their stories as well during my time there.

While working for Cedar Valley Today, Wartburg's on-campus news station, I was given many opportunities. I was offered a job as a digital media producer and did more than the staff ever imagined. Striving to gain more followers on their social media platforms, I managed to increase their Facebook followers by over four times the amount within the first six months. As a digital media producer, I cut the shows after they aired and posted them to their Twitter and Facebook platforms, as well as their Good Barber App. I also worked with Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro often, making graphics for the show at times as well. My many different traits have helped me work well in an ever-growing and changing news business.

From June 2017 until January 2019, I worked at KCRG-TV9, a Gray Television news station. As a Digital News Producer, I wrote stories for our website and edited other content written by anchors and reporters at the station. Through SocialNewsDesk, I created the social media posts for our Facebook and Twitter platforms. I also created push notifications for our app to aware our followers and viewers of breaking news.

From May 2016- May 2019, I volunteered with an international organization whose core mission is to empower people to live a meaningful legacy. By volunteering, I was able to give my social media talents to a non-profit organization. I posted on their Facebook groups and page, Twitter and Instagram pages under their accounts.

In January 2019, my digital-producing career came full circle. I began a job working for Townsquare Media Twin Falls. I was a Digital Managing Editor (DME) for 95.7 KEZJ, 96.5 KOOL, 1310 KLIX, and 98.3 KSNQ. As the DME, I managed six contributors for our websites. I not only copy-edited their work but also created graphics, took photos, scheduled app alerts, updated the four station websites, edited videos, scheduled social media posts, and wrote some of my own stories for the websites and social media.

While working at Texas A&M University in 2020-2022, I wrote, edited, designed, and assisted in the production of informational and promotional materials, presentations, and special events. While helping grow their presence online, I managed and posted on their social media and served as a communications consultant to the four offices under ours. I also headed the Faculty Affairs website design project, guided the office through a rebranding from the Office of the Dean of Faculties to Faculty Affairs, and managed the office’s websites.

In 2022 after working as a communications specialist at Texas A&M University, I pivoted to a role as a digital content producer with Performance Health. In this role, I create data-driven content optimized for use by all digital teams. Identify and execute needs on hosted and branded websites, social media, emails, articles, Amazon, and other platforms. Other duties include creating content for landing pages utilizing SEO, leading guest article efforts, creating article guidelines for staff, and managing temporary content hires for a 618-page Veterans Affairs Catalog.