ABOUT ME
Kim Nowacki
I recently earned my M.A. from the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism in Los Angeles.
At Annenberg I delved deep into the future of news through the nuts-and-bolts of online content production, as well as academic research on news entrepreneurship and how it can tie in with hyperlocal reporting. I was lucky to meet, talk and listen to some of the country’s best thinkers and doers when it comes to online journalism.
My work has appeared in Willamette Week (Portland, Ore.), The Seattle Times (Seattle, Wash.), the Weekend Argus (Cape Town, South Africa) and Southern California Public Radio (Los Angeles, Calif.), among others. My full resume is here.
I often like to talk endlessly about “the future of journalism” and my goal in returning to school was to learn all I can about cultivating news websites that engage with readers and in converting print newsrooms into places that think Web first …
OK, I admittedly wrote the above paragraph years ago. It may have been in my grad school application essay. At the time I believed in those statements passionately. These days I don’t know how I feel about newspapers. They have always been my first love but can they be “saved,” should they?
I’m about to find out when I begin what has to be the ultimate dream summer internship — working for the New York Times. (For now I take back all those mean things I said about legacy media.)
What I do know is that I will always believe in journalism, and I think this a hell of an exciting time to be a journalist. It’s pee-your-pants scary, too. I know that. But mostly I’m excited to be here at a time of innovation and experimentation.
Before going back to school, I was the lead arts reporter at the Yakima Herald-Republic, a mid-size daily paper owned by the Seattle Times, where I was a vocal proponent for giving the newspaper a stronger presence on the Web and spearheaded the use of social media in the newsroom.
Last summer I made my first trip outside the US when I spent two months in Cape Town, South Africa. I did old-school general assignment newspaper reporting there for the Weekend Argus, experienced the ultimate crash course in soccer during the World Cup — Bafana! Bafana! — and celebrated my birthday by cage diving with great white sharks.
It’s the second wildest thing I’ve ever done after the time I thought it would be a good idea to ride in a homemade rollercoaster at Burning Man.
I’m also partial to music, movies, politics, throwing darts, a stiff drink and a great story to tell the morning after.
