AJ+

My Role: Writer, Producer, Director, Researcher, and Voice Actor.

Skills Utilized: Research, comedy, creative writing, technical writing, editing, producing, collaborating, journalism, detail orientation, content management systems, project management, innovating, directing, voice acting, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro

Problem: My task was to create an informative and humorous video that makes fun of the many conspiracy theories swirling around progressive billionaire George Soros. The information regarding this topic does not immediately feel funny or fun, but that information was necessary to paint a full and accurate picture. Information with this combination of qualities can present a challenge to the goal of creating great entertainment.

Action: I guided the writing of the script to be a parody of an exposé in order to provide a baseline layer of satirical entertainment throughout the video. On top of that layer, I added even more jokes and thoroughly researched information that conveys how silly it would be to believe such conspiracies about George Soros. Finally, I indicated early and often that this was a parody, so that the audience could quickly understand that satirical layer of the humor.

Results: George Soros reached out to to express his great enjoyment of the video. For the season that included this episode, Newsbroke was shortlisted for a national Primetime Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Short Form Variety Series” category and won a Society of Professional Journalists Award for “Outstanding Commentary Analysis.” This video was viewed and shared by many millions of people across AJ+’s platforms. My team, others at AJ+, and many fans were impressed by the video’s effective tone, smart yet silly humor, rigorous research, and exceptional production quality.