Mark Choy

As a recent graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, I believe that journalism should give a voice to those who are not in power. Additionally, journalism should be used to help educate the greater population on issues that they do not have time to research. I am passionate about telling these compelling stories as a videographer and editor as a journalist. I thoroughly enjoy the process of creating interesting shots, interviewing different characters, and finally putting them together into a final product. Video editing has made me develop a keen eye for detail, excellent communication skills, and a strong understanding of storytelling techniques. As a journalist for Just the News, I have gained strong writing skills, an ability to work under tight deadlines, and a commitment to accuracy. Some of the other skills I have mastered are Adobe Premiere, Audition, HTML, and some experience in UX/UI.

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to work at Just the News. My primary responsibilities while working at Just the News was working to manage video content, writing stories, and edit videos for the website. These responsibilities allowed me to build upon my technical skills, communicate with my co-workers, and think on the spot. After working at Just the News, my time management skills greatly improved, and I could work effectively while being independent. I would use little editing tricks to help me understand the analytics better, such as trying new strategies to help get more engagement. I would try different tags, headlines, and thumbnails for videos to see if they would gather more views. I found that virtually most aspects of video click rates are through the video's thumbnail and title. When I used these tactics, I found the videos were getting clicked on more often with more engagement. Building relationships with my fellow co-workers is another essential skill for working efficiently as trust is needed during busy hours. Another important aspect of this job was relationships with other people. The personal interaction with each customer created opportunities to form a more friendly and comfortable environment when engaging with each other.

I have a BA from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland in Multiplatform Journalism. There I learn about news writing, interviewing, and working under tight deadlines while delivering high-quality work. I also furthered my understanding of video editing and filming for a newsroom.