Spreading her wings: West Henderson graduate named managing editor of Our State magazine
Dean Hensley
Hendersonville Times-News
West Henderson High 2011 graduate Katie King said she's loved to write stories since she was a little girl, and she always knew writing would be involved in her professional career.
King, a 2015 North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate, also thrives in leadership roles, having served as editor-in-chief at Wingspan, West's school newspaper. Now, just like in high school, she has earned another leadership role, only this time it's at the professional level. Our State, a monthly magazine based in Greensboro since 1933, recently announced that King has been promoted to managing editor.
King has been working for Our State since 2016 when she started as an editorial assistant before becoming assistant editor and then associate editor. She said she had been working with the executive editor, Todd Dulaney, over the past year to prepare for the role of managing editor.
West Henderson High and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate Katie King, shown here on a hike near Hendersonville, has been named managing editor at Our State magazine.
"It was very exciting to see it made official after spending that time learning the ropes. It’s an amazing feeling to be trusted to help shepherd our editors through the production process and to continue to improve how we all work together as a team," King told the Times-News on May 10.
"I just feel so grateful to work with such a talented group of people. I didn’t even realize that I wanted to go down the road of managing editor when I first started at Our State, but after working with Todd over this past year and implementing some new plans and strategies for our team, it makes so much sense that this is where my career path has led. I love a good to-do list and organizing and reorganizing in my personal life, so it seems like a natural fit for me."
At Chapel Hill, King had a major in journalism and a concentration in editing and graphic design and a second major in global studies with concentrations in Latin America and politics and social movements. After graduating from UNC, she worked as a graphic designer at Pace Communications in Greensboro for nine months before being hired at Our State.
West Henderson High and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate Katie King kayaks in Edenton during a media tour for Our State magazine.
"I knew that my heart was still in journalism. I had toured the Our State office in college as a member of the Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors and knew that it was the type of publication I would love to work for, so when an entry-level position opened up in 2015, I went for it," King said.
Her first role was editorial assistant, which she did for about two and a half years, she said.
"I gradually added more editing to my plate. I was then promoted to assistant editor, where I worked with freelancers on assignments for the sections in the front of the magazine, planned much of the content for those sections and managed our internship program," King said. "After doing that for about two years or so, I decided I wanted to explore the process side of production. One thing that I love about working at Our State is that our management team is always willing to let employees try new things.
Looking back, King said her experience working on Wingspan at West was invaluable and has led her to where she is today in a management role in the journalism industry.
"Our journalism adviser, Brenda Gorsuch, or Mrs. G, as she’s fondly referred to by her students, is one of the most influential people in my life and career. She’s retired now, but she and her newspaper and yearbook staff have won many state and national awards over the years. She inspired me to become a more well-rounded journalist, and I learned so much from her about writing, editing, design and the publishing process," King said.
She went to a number of regional and national journalism conventions with Gorsuch and other students during her time at West and won several writing awards, including two Gold Keys from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. In her senior year, King was the runner-up for the North Carolina High School Journalist of the Year, and the newspaper was nominated for a national Pacemaker award.
"I owe so much to Mrs. G for her guidance and support. Then and now, I’ve always wanted to make her proud because she’s such a role model for me," King said. "She really allowed the newspaper staff to make the paper our own, and I learned so much from the editors who came before me. There was a real sense of camaraderie and pride in what we were doing. It was a lot of hard work, with a lot of afternoons staying after school to get things done, but we also had so much fun in the Back Room, which was the little computer lab behind the main classroom. That’s where some of my best friendships really developed."
King said it never gets old seeing her name in print, and she's hoping to for many years to come.
"I’m so lucky to work for a company like Our State for so many reasons. There’s an amazing work culture; my team is so supportive and fun to work with; I get to travel the state, and we put out a product every month that just keeps getting better and better. I plan on being here for the foreseeable future and hope to keep improving how we function as a team and to keep learning something new every month about the beautiful state I call home," she said.
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Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at
