Kymberlee Norsworthy joins the American Journalism Project to lead marketing and communications
An important story to be told as local news rebuilds
Today we’re excited to announce our new head of marketing and communications, who will help to lead the American Journalism Project’s work in building the movement for local civic journalism.
Kymberlee Norsworthy is a multitalented communications strategist who has represented nonprofit organizations and Grammy Award-winning recording artists, with a sprinkling of tech and small businesses in between. Her passion is storytelling, and she has a sweet spot for how to do it strategically. While pursuing her master’s degree in journalism at Temple University, Kymberlee worked with local businesses and artists to help them create PR strategies that would set them apart from competitors. One of the artist ensembles that she worked with was The Roots. Kymberlee helped build a foundation for them to chart a unique lane for themselves as a hip-hop group that would widen the perspective and possibilities of the genre. Her work with The Roots led her to the music industry, where she worked with numerous award-winning artists, including another trendsetting hip-hop group: the Black Eyed Peas. As a music publicist, Kymberlee cemented herself as a strategic and creative thinker and a tireless advocate for her artists. Whenever the opportunity to work with mission-driven initiatives and organizations came up, Kymberlee poured herself into those projects as well and ultimately decided that she wanted to commit her time, energy and focus to doing work with a societal uplift component.
As the new VP of Marketing and Communication at the American Journalism Project, Kymberlee is excited about creating avenues to infuse positivity into the narrative about the future of journalism and supporting the work of different kinds of rock stars: the grantees and partners that are informing and empowering communities around the country through their local civic news platforms.
We asked Kymberlee to introduce herself and share what inspired her to join us:
Why join the American Journalism Project now?
Newspapers, and local newspapers in particular, have been a part of my life since I was a little girl. I grew up reading my local newspaper every day. It fostered my love for writing and appreciation for good journalism. It also instilled in me the importance of staying informed and connected to my community. I actually had plans of being a journalist before I was co-opted (as one of my undergraduate professors calls it) by public relations!
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with social-cause initiatives and organizations such as Rock the Vote where I could combine music with mission, and I discovered that I have a genuine passion for doing mission-driven work. My long-term goal was to join an organization where I could apply my energies to a movement that improves the fabric of our society. When I learned about the position at AJP, my heart literally skipped a beat. The crisis in local news is being met head-on by the work done at the American Journalism Project. I find it unconscionable that among all of the news and information available to us in general, news and information specifically about what is happening on a local level is scarce to nonexistent. The effect of this phenomenon on civic engagement is alarming. Healthy communities are informed communities, and I am honored to join the AJP team to make this message more widely known than the one that hopelessly proclaims “local news is dead.”
What are you excited to bring to this role?
Ultimately, marketing and communications is problem-solving. That is what I’ve done throughout my career. Solving the problem of how artists can best connect with their audiences. Solving the problem of how organizations can communicate their mission and their value in a way that resonates with the media and with core audiences. Solving the problem of how to communicate a value proposition in a way that energizes support. Although there are many micro-elements to communications work, in the macro, solving the big problem, is where I have thrived. I am excited to take a deep dive into the American Journalism Project, figure out how to connect audiences around this important mission, and then help build the marketing and communications infrastructure that matches the weight and vitality of the AJP mission.
You joined us for “Leaders of Local News,” a virtual event in September with several American Journalism Project grantees. As someone coming into this work, what stands out to you hearing from these local leaders?
I loved hearing how our grantees are serving the diverse needs of their communities; it reinforced why nonprofit newsrooms are a necessity in local communities — not a luxury. I was in awe of the commitment and deep passion of the grantees who participated. Each panelist represented a local community with specific and unique needs that each news organization is intentionally meeting. I appreciated how Tasneem Raja spoke about The Oaklandside readers needing information about community resources and wanting to see stories about what makes their city great. This insight prompted them to make arts reporting an integral part of that newsroom. Ken Ward Jr. of Mountain State Spotlight discussed the trust barrier that many news outlets have to overcome and how nonprofit news outlets are at an advantage to overcome this barrier and connect with their communities faster than traditional outlets. Wendi Thomas talked about an investigative journalism series published by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism that uncovered aggressive debt collection policies of a Memphis hospital. The piece resulted in the hospital canceling the debts of more than 6,500 patients. Medical debt is an overwhelming burden in America, particularly for the un- or underinsured. As a nonprofit civic newsroom, MLK50 had the foresight and the freedom to pursue this story and it had a life-changing outcome for more than 6,500 people in that community. This example illustrates the profound importance of these news organizations. The event made me proud to have joined AJP and eager to promote the work that we do.
What are five things your colleagues would know about you if we weren’t working in a virtual environment?
- Coffee (Yes, black please)
- Cat Mom (Hey, Corduroy!)
- Hold the Meat (Pescatarian)
- Pretty Good Baker (Lemon Bars = LIFE!)
- 5’ 4” (I say this because of a funny thing that happened to me once. I had a weekly meeting with a junior staff person from another department at one time. I was mentoring her through a challenge she was dealing with. The meeting was always in my office. I passed her in the hallway one time and she walked right past me, then in a few minutes called me, mortified. “Did I just walk past you?,” she asked. I told her yes. Then she apologized saying, “All this time I thought you were tall!” I cracked up, and I said, “Well, up until now, I did too — thanks for bursting my bubble!”
So, since we are only seeing each other on Zoom, do know that I am petite in stature, but I am indeed tall in vision!)
Follow Kymberlee on Twitter at @KymberleeNorswo.
Jason Alcorn is VP of Knowledge and Learning at the American Journalism Project, the first venture philanthropy focused on local news, and is very excited to hand off the reins of AJP’s marketing and communications to Kymberlee.
