Kimberly Fleming

MEDIA SCHOLARS PORTFOLIO

ABOUT ME

I am a sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park studying journalism at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. I began working in the field six years ago, gaining reporting experience, both written and broadcast, through my high school paper. I held the positions of several section editors and website managing editor, and I was also producing 30-minute newscasts by the end of my senior year.

At Maryland, I fell in love with shooting and editing video. I became a multimedia reporter for a small student-run paper my first semester of college, gaining reporting experience while learning more about the campus with every interview I conducted. I am now the publication's social media editor, and I am a multimedia desk reporter for UMD's primary student paper, The Diamondback.

Aside from journalism, I compete in the equestrian sport mounted games internationally on Team USA. The experiences I've had have me to further my communication and networking skills, and I have applied them to my reporting process.

On track to complete my BA in journalism with a public policy concentration in May 2022, I am pursuing a career in online multimedia journalism.

This site focuses on what I've learned from my Media, Self, and Society Scholars program practicum, the culmination of my time in College Park Scholars.

MY PRACTICUM

For my practicum, I was a multimedia desk reporter for The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's largest student paper.

As a reporter, I was responsible for attending weekly staff meetings, pitching stories to my editor, and producing my stories in a quick and clean manner.

Once I finished filming and editing a video, I sent it to my editor for initial review. Typically, I had a few edits to make before my editor would forward the video to the managing desk, who then had further edits for me. Finally, the video goes to the editor in chief, who reviews it one last time before publication.

WORK SAMPLE

Please find my first video published for The Diamondback below.

Throughout the process of producing this video and others, I've learned about the importance of the review process. Not only has my job at The Diamondback pushed me to learn new skills in terms of editing video, but it has also helped me understand why many sets of eyes see the unfinished product before it is published.

While I thought my first draft of this cultural dance video was the best it could be, each editor asked me to make edits that ultimately made it better. I had to learn not to become emotionally attached to my initial idea for the video because there were many flaws with it. Although the process took longer than I anticipated, after six rounds of revisions, I'm extremely happy with the finished product.

It's been nice having a team of reporters and editors to support my ideas and help me along the way. In my previous reporting positions, I never had the luxury of working with a team, but now I have gained the experience to take forward to my career. Journalism is a field in which teamwork is imperative, and I am happy to continue to be a part of my wonderful desk at The Diamondback.