Jesse Millard was named digital editor of AZ Big Media, and will be in charge of posting stories to the web, all of the social media accounts and will act as a contributing writer.

Millard graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication last December.

Be sure to forward any story ideas, or tips to his email jesse.millard@azbigmedia.com.

Here’s a Q&A with the new digital editor:

Why did you decide to pursue a career in journalism? 

In high school there was a per-requisite class that taught the basics of journalism before you could write for the school newspaper. Everyday in class my teacher, Todd Wolff, who was also the newspaper’s adviser, had us discuss current events everyday. I became obsessed with the news, reading as much as I could, and by the time I enrolled in newspaper the next semester my junior year I knew I wanted to be a journalist for the rest of my life.

What kinds of experiences do you bring to your position as digital editor at AZ Big Media?

When I was a student at the Cronkite School I worked all over the place at internships. For my first two years I was a production crew member at the local PBS affiliate. I worked primarily on the show “Horizon,” and got to meet a lot of interesting people from around the state when I’d do their makeup before they went on set (and I heard my fair share of “aren’t I pretty enough?” jokes from the men). During that time I interned here at AZ Big Media for a semester, and after PBS I went on to work on the Breaking News desk at the Arizona Republic. It was a lot of work, and fun covering crime, court stories and all other sorts of things. I did nothing but work in College, and I got to edit at State Press Magazine for a semester as well as intern at the AZ Tech Beat, Reynolds Center and Phoenix Business Journal.

Do you have a favorite topic that you like to cover?                                                                    

My favorite topic has got to be technology and new innovations. It’s always a lot of fun learning about new technologies and ways to overcome issues through technology. Everyone is so energetic in that field, and there is always something new in tech. Also, it seems that everyone is searching for the next best thing, so it’s fun to see what becomes a success when you’ve heard about it when it was just announced or in the process of being tested.

How does your youth and experience help in your role as digital editor at AZ Big Media?    

In school we were always around computers, and the Internet was pretty much the go to place for research by the time I got in high school, so the Internet and social media feel very native to me. Thinking of witty or interesting Tweets used to be a hobby of mine, so I hope to hone that skill to attract the audience and hopefully get them more engaged. I’ve always added a little bit of personality into my writing, and I think that will shine through for each of my stories and our Tweets, Facebook and other social media postings.

What impact do you hope to have on azbigmedia.com?                                                                  

I hope to really engage the readers, and keep them coming back to our social media platforms for live coverage. Not only that, but I want to try new things and make azbigmedia.com more of a community as well as the go to place for local news in the commercial real estate and business world.