As the new R&R editor-in-chief, I am honored and humbled to follow the legacy Michelle Blevins leaves behind—of building a respected, sought-after resource for the industry based on trust, relationships, and valuable content. What most excites me about this role is serving all of you as you fulfill on the noble purpose of helping others when they need it most.

While I am new to this industry, my experience with multimedia storytelling stretches back to my high school days. A teacher pushed me to take a job with the local cable station, which aired a lighthearted, weekly program on the happenings of my hometown on that channel no one watches. 

Slowly but surely, I came to realize I wanted to be a journalist, not a math teacher. So I pursued a degree in journalism at my dream school, Northwestern University, with a focus on broadcast. And halfway through, I realized I wasn’t into the broadcast lifestyle. So I asked to have my mandatory internship switched to the writing path.

That’s when I was placed with Candy Industry, a B2B publication that covers—you guessed it—the candy industry. Of course, all the internships with popular consumer news publications had been swept up by the students who were on the writing track well before I switched over. I was devastated. I didn’t know what “B2B” was and, as far as I was concerned, covering candy couldn’t be taken seriously—not compared with news reporting or in-depth investigative journalism, which I’d briefly considered.

Long story short, that internship ended up being a thrill. Not only did I come to understand what B2B is; I came to enjoy it and find my journalism niche (all the while enjoying delightful candy samples). Since then I’ve been honing my craft, empowering businesses and professionals to better serve their customers through useful content. 

Candy Industry happens to be a BNP Media brand like R&R. So after college graduation, I returned to BNP and worked on the editorial staff of The Driller (drilling industry publication) and Point of Beginning (surveying and mapping publication). Both industries were brand new to me and I enjoyed becoming a student of each. 

Then I ventured away from BNP for a few years, first taking an internal communications role with staffing industry leader Kelly Services and then working for Gongos Inc., a consultative agency, as a content writer on the marketing team. In both roles, my focus remained using multimedia communications to help professionals—whether internal colleagues or external clients/prospects—grow in ways that elevated the experiences of their customers. 

I’m eager to become a student and purveyor of knowledge to this self-sacrificing community of hardworking professionals. I look very forward to getting to know you, your questions, and your challenges, and to providing you with actionable insights that help you thrive.

Please reach out to me any time for an informal meet and greet, to ask questions you’d like me to find answers to, with story ideas, or anything else: kingv@bnpmedia.com. 

Join me in this journey at randrmagonline.com. 

Take care and talk soon,

VALERIE KING

R&R Editor