Ashleigh M. Joplin

Ashleigh Joplin is an accomplished multimedia storyteller, bringing a wealth of experience to her work as a freelancer and small business owner in the DMV area. From her tenure as a newsroom manager at Baltimore Witness, overseeing comprehensive coverage of sensitive topics like homicides and non-fatal shootings, to her role as a video journalist at The Washington Post, she was part of a specialized team focusing on live political coverage and breaking news events. She has continuously showcased her prowess in crafting compelling narratives. Her dedication to visual storytelling has earned her recognition from esteemed organizations such as the Society for Features Journalism, the White House News Photographers Association, the Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the National Association of Black Journalists. Notably, her feature on model and restaurateur Barbara Smith sparked a national conversation about caregiving, highlighting Joplin's ability to forge meaningful connections through her empathetic storytelling. 

 

In 2023, Joplin established her ​production company, Magnolia Ash Productions, LLC. That same year she also launched her online retail business, The Little Ash Attic, LLC. 

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Joplin began her career in 2014 as a general assignment editor for The Post and has covered stories as diverse as celebrity trials, natural disasters, and Capitol Hill. Before The Post, Joplin studied Broadcast Journalism and Spanish at Northwestern University. In 2012, she became one of the first students to complete their residency for the Medill School of Journalism in El Salvador as a general assignment video reporter for La La Prensa Gráfica, the country's largest newspaper and online publication. 

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In graduate school, she spent her residency as an editor for Agence France-Presse in Uruguay. That year, she was also awarded a White Correspondents’ Association award for reporting diversity.

 

Ashleigh was born in St. Louis, Mo., but grew up in New Orleans, La.. After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, she joined a writing club where we collected stories for a memory bank. She did not realize it then, but the storm was just the beginning of her journalistic career.