Media Movers: Mother Jones’ Jamilah King

Some people leave a publication and never look back. Jamilah King actually went back.

She recently returned to Mother Jones as editorial director, coming from BuzzFeed, where she was managing editor and deputy inequality editor. At BuzzFeed,  she integrated various business and editorial operations, spearheaded a direct sales program that generated significant revenue and edited a team of reporters based in London, Delhi, Mexico City and New York City, work that shows her chops go well beyond writing.

When announcing her return, the quote from Mother Jones stopped me in my tracks because it was so impactful: “A recognized newsroom leader, she has a great ability to identify the underreported stories of our day and help reporters do the kind of careful excavation to bring them to light. In addition, her experience working in a variety of media dovetails with our multi-platform strategy.” Keep an eye on Jamilah: She’s changing the world.

I chatted with Jamilah about her new role,  her awesome advice to mentees (which cemented that I am #teamjamilah for life) and meeting a serial killer:

Dawn: Welcome back to Mother Jones! What made you decide to return?

Jamilah: I loved the body of work I got to build at Mother Jones the first time around, like the profiles I got to write about Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams, not to mention hosting the Mother Jones Podcast, and the chance to work with a lot of the same people is ultimately what enticed me to come back. We’re in a really transitional moment in media, and it feels good to go through that with an institution that’s dealt with nearly 50 years of media’s ups and downs. 

Dawn: Tell me about this new role. What will you be doing?

Jamilah: As an editorial director, about 60 percent of my time will be spent writing and editing. I’ll work on special projects – hopefully some election-related, issue-specific ones. Maybe a podcast here and there. I’m also really excited to help build partnerships and create a stronger ecosystem of independent investigative media. There’s a great deal of energy and opportunity for smaller publications to band together and reach new audiences that are too often overlooked by investigative journalism.

Dawn: You will have a “special focus on LGBTQ issues, racial justice and wealth inequality.” These are important topics. What do you think the mainstream media needs to understand to cover them better?

Jamilah: All of these issues are interconnected. My job as a reporter is to find compelling ways to show that to audiences. Hopefully, I can do that in ways that change how people think or shift power, even if it’s just an inch. There’s a lot of competition for audiences – from streaming to gaming, you name it – and I’m really excited to compete for that attention with meaningful storytelling that’s rooted in truth and justice.

Dawn: Where do you see Mother Jones in one year and five years?

Jamilah: In a year, I see Mother Jones leaning even more heavily into issue-specific special packages and projects, like our awesome package on private equity from 2022. In five years, I think our digital operation will have grown and evolved; our print magazine will have found even more subscribers and we will have innovated some on the revenue side to make sure that our work is sustainable for another 50 years.

Dawn: How do you prefer to work with PR people?

Jamilah: Just email me. Please spell my name correctly :)

Dawn: Talk to us about your time at BuzzFeed. What did you learn there that will help you in this role?

Jamilah: BuzzFeed News was a wild ride with a lot of really amazing people. I learned how to lean into being nimble. I also managed people and teams in a way that I hadn’t before, and I learned how important it is to communicate clearly about expectations, always close the loop and, probably most importantly, give critical feedback that’s humane and actionable.

Dawn: You’ve also done a lot of work with podcasts and other ways of telling stories. How does that help you today?

Jamilah: My friend Josie Duffy Rice likes to say that she’s “dogmatic on content, agnostic on form.” I feel the same way. Reporting has always been a collaborative experience for me, and that becomes even more true every year I’m still in this field. 

Dawn: You spent time as a college professor. What did you learn about the future of journalism from your students?

Jamilah: Teaching is hard, and God bless anyone who does it. My students taught me that there’s still a huge need for iterative, careful coaching and teaching in every newsroom, and that it’s important to make the time to do it. That teaching goes both ways. While there are some time-tested ways of building relationships with sources, for instance, the ways we tell stories are constantly evolving, along with how we gather and disseminate information. Stay curious, ask questions and don’t assume that you are always going to be your audience.

Dawn: Speaking of learning, what is the best advice you’ve received from mentors?

Jamilah: “Don’t be precious about your byline.” An editor once told me this in the context of explaining how important it is to get reps in. When I started out, I was consumed with telling Big Important Stories, but I’d often get bogged down by the process. That quote helps me remember that journalism is a process. It’s one step at a time, tools not just talent. In order to get to the big stuff, you have to be comfortable doing the little things. I’ve written a lot of stories that I’m proud of, but I’ve also written a lot of stories that I have no recollection of writing. 

Dawn: What advice do you give to mentees?

Jamilah: Send in the draft. Every time you miss a deadline, there’s a copy editor or graphic designer who can’t tuck their kid in at night. It sounds harsh, but it’s true. You’re one cog in a fast-moving machine. Even if it doesn’t make any sense, send in the draft. Even if it’s just your existential ramblings, send in the draft. An editor’s literal job is to help you finish the draft. They can’t do their job until you do yours.

Dawn: What is the best story you’ve ever told?

Jamilah: I once tweeted about (maybe!) meeting a serial killer, and it was picked up by one of my hometown news outlets. That was cool.

Dawn: What is the story you’d love to tell?

Jamilah: The story of the neighborhood I grew up in. 

Dawn: What do you do for fun?

Jamilah: I force myself to endure hours of repetitive and solitary movement, and I sometimes call this running. 

Dawn Wotapka is a former Wall Street Journal reporter who loves to read and write. She is a communicator who lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is a also a slow runner and an avid Peloton user. To submit tips for her Media Movers column,  connect with Dawn on LinkedIn.