I am a reporter, editor, and social media strategist based in New York City. Here are some of the hats that I wear:
As a reporter, I have built a fluency in decoding international affairs, the geopolitics of climate change, and foreign policy for general-interest audiences. I founded and write Frame's weekly flagship newsletter, The Detour, which is sent to 26,000+ readers worldwide and has an average open rate of 20-25%.
As an editor, the first thing I usually ask writers I work with is, "what are you dying to write?" From there, I take an affirming, creative, and collaborative approach to bringing out the best work in each contributor. As the Managing Editor at Frame, I led the newsroom's editorial mission by surfacing underreported feature stories from around the world via cutting-edge news product innovations and a data-driven editorial strategy to effectively reach Gen-Z and young Millennial readers. In under three months, I expanded Frame's contributor pool threefold, pulling from experienced journalist based in every continent minus (of course) Antarctica. Also in under three months, I built Frame's editorial calendar to a six-month runway of weekly medium- and longform stories.
As an award-winning social media strategist for news publications and brands, bespoke multimedia storytelling, data-driven audience growth & engagement, and innovative social listening has been the backbone of my work. I've used this to spearhead the comprehensive re-launch of the independent news start-up Frame and also build Foreign Policy's social storytelling infrastructure from the ground up. My leadership in this space is what led Foreign Policy's editor in chief to nominate me for the Associate of Magazine Editors' NEXT Award for journalists under 30 — and it's what led the Baltimore-Washington News Guild to award me the Front Page Award for visual storytelling I executed on Instagram Stories (which is the first time the Guild ever did so for a social media editor.)
I'm a creative and enterprising Swiss Army Knife with skills in both bespoke multimedia content creation and editorial pipeline oversight. (ie I know Figma and Canva just as much as I know CapCut, Google Analytics, SEO, ChartBeat, journalistic ethics, and AP Style.)
As a public speaker, podcast guest, and guest lecturer, I'm can help your listeners, audiences, or students better understand social media strategy for newsrooms, emerging storytelling formats in the social media world and new-media landscape, the tension between geopolitics and climate change (especially amid climate disasters like wildfires), how to use emerging storytelling forms to make engaging explanatory journalism, and how to capture/convert new & young audiences as a legacy brand.
As a public speaker, podcast guest, and guest lecturer, I'm can help your listeners, audiences, or students better understand social media strategy for newsrooms, emerging storytelling formats in the social media world and new-media landscape, the tension between geopolitics and climate change (especially amid climate disasters like wildfires), how to use emerging storytelling forms to make engaging explanatory journalism, and how to capture/convert new & young audiences as a legacy brand.
As a self-proclaimed "professional curious person" who is constantly adding new tools to her Swiss Army knife, I hold a Master's degree in Journalism & Digital Storytelling from American University, am the recipient of the Gridiron Club and Foundation Grant, am a professional videographer and photographer honing documentary styles and portraiture, and am even a background actor for film and TV from time to time. (I am in New York City, after all!)
Prior to FP, I was a digital producer at American University and a contract videographer at the World Bank. In these capacities, I oversaw all aspects of social media growth & strategy, editorial execution, and bespoke multimedia content for AU's multiple alternative study and professional development programs while concurrently writing, producing, and editing compelling video content highlighting the World Bank's financial management sector.
Let's Get In Touch
For partnerships and inquiries, connect with me at kellyruthkimball@gmail.com