<p>Kim Castro, a celebrated 2008 graduate of the<a href="http://sps.nyu.edu/mspub"> </a>NYU MS in Publishing was named the first female editor and chief content officer at<a href="https://www.usnews.com/" target="_blank"> <i>U.S. News &amp; World Report</i></a> in 2019. She has day-to-day oversight of all U.S. News' editorial content, working with editors and teams to produce the highest-quality journalism.</p> <p>Previously, Kim was a managing editor at Standard &amp; Poor's Corp., where she managed content creation and production of numerous equity research products. A native of Pittsburgh, she received a bachelor's degree from George Washington University. We reached out to Kim to hear her viewpoints on everything from her career to tips for the incoming class at NYU SPS.</p>

<p>According to Castro, every piece of consumer content is informed by data. Long gone are the days of coming up with story ideas, throwing them against the wall, and seeing what sticks. </p> <p>&quot;If users are searching for specific topics, it's because those topics are important to them,&quot; she said. &quot;So, we work with our business intelligence and SEO teams to analyze the data to surface topics that have a large amount of search volume and, most importantly, we produce content that's aligned with our mission of helping people.&quot; Castro then shared how it's common to repurpose that content for other media, like newsletters, a video, or a podcast episode—extracting maximum value from their&nbsp; time and resources.</p> <p>&quot;Furthermore, an editor has to think holistically about their content,&quot; she continued. &quot;We have to be aware of evolving user habits, technology trends, and larger marketing shifts. With the rise of voice searches via smart speakers, augmented reality, chatbots, and live video, there's a lot of opportunity to be innovative and reach new audiences.&quot;</p>

<p>We asked Castro what brought her to SPS. &quot;I was ready for a change in my career,&quot; she recalled. &quot;The media part of the company I worked for was known for their subscription-based services that were tied to print. With the advent of the iPhone and the rise of social media, I was excited to explore the digital space.&quot;</p> <p>Castro remembers sitting in a Multi-Platform Publishing class when her professor Gail Horwood, (now chief marketing officer at Kellogg, North America) whipped out an iPhone—only just revealed to the world that year in 2007. She said, “Very soon, you'll be reading the news on this tiny device.” That honestly rocked my world! The program changed my career path to focus on the importance of digital media.&quot;</p> <p>Not long after, Castro landed an internship at CNBC, which is where she fell in love with business journalism. &quot;Business and the economy are exciting, dynamic and at the heart of every story, and those stories impact people's daily lives,&quot; she explained.</p>

<p>Castro's capstone project was called The Outlook 2027: Planning for Future Happiness. &quot;In my efforts to make it sound trendy, I called it O27,&quot; she chuckled. &quot;The concept was to create a free, ad-supported consumer-focused website for new investors (18- to 34-year-olds) that provided advice on how to position for 2012 and beyond. I didn't really think about what would happen after 2027!&quot;</p> <p>Castro also credits courses she took at SPS in financial analysis, publishing law, and marketing as formative in her holistic understanding of&nbsp; the media industry. In fact, she believes they have helped her beyond her day-to-day work as an editor.</p>

<p>To conclude the interview, we asked Castro what piece of advice she'd give to Publishing students of today. Her response was succinct, &quot;I know this has been said many times before, but learn to code!&quot; &quot;Reporters and editors should have a basic understanding of how programming works. Coding will improve your visibility and increase your opportunities at your media organization.&quot;</p> <p>Earning an <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-publishing-digital-and-print-media.html" target="_self">MS in Publishing</a> at NYU SPS can open doors that you may have never imagined were possible. See where you can start the next chapter of your career with a degree from the Center for Publishing, Writing, and Media.</p>