Marie Kilg
I’m a freelance journalist, currently mainly working for Deutsche Welle’s DW Lab as technical coordinator for innovation projects and as teacher, speaker, writer and consultant about all things AI.
My experience includes product management for Amazon Alexa, creating and consulting automation projects for all sorts of companies and media institutions, and launching the first ever non-human columnist in a German print newspaper.
Here’s a list of some more things I’m passionate about or interested in: intersectional feminism, trans rights, worker’s rights, time travel, kung fu, cabbage, sci fi, books, dogs, hip hop, swimming pools, eggs, potatoes, butter, whisky, rum, Zelda BOTW, TOTK, LGBTQ+, XR, lemons, sleep
Resume
Work experience
Journalism/Innovation Trainer and Speaker
2017 – present
LMU Munich, University of Bamberg, German School of Journalism (DJS), University
of Applied Sciences Munich, Sueddeutsche Zeitung Publishing, Zurich
University of the Arts, Mediaschool Bayern, ifp Institute Munich, Netzwerk Recherche, Zündfunk Netzkongress, Media Innovation Camp Munich
Read more here: Teacher & Speaker
Deutsche Welle, Berlin, Germany
2022 – present
Project Coordinator DW Lab
I’m the technical lead at DW Lab. We monitor and advise on innovative technologies, conceptualizing and executing pilot projects and collaborating with internal and external partners to support DW’s digital transformation.
Amazon Alexa, Munich and Seattle
2017 – 2021
I joined Amazon as an editor and subsequently worked in a few different roles in both Munich and Seattle.
As Content Program Manager, I was responsible for Alexa’s German personality and the overall content strategy in Germany and Austria.
In Seattle, I managed international improvements for Alexa Music in 14+ locales.
By 2020, I was Senior Product Manager responsible for the launch roadmap for all innovations in German-speaking Alexa, including Echo devices and software features.
I also helped launch Alexa in France and Brazil.
Reporter and Editor, print/radio/online
2014 – 2017
Munich and Berlin
Bavarian Public Broadcasting (Bayerischer Rundfunk), taz.die tageszeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, M94.5 and others
I authored and edited articles and radio programs in media – , science -, economics -, and investigative feature departments, and served as engagement manager for the podcast and Youtube series “Die Frage”.
I also conceptualized new formats and led innovative online projects, i.a. the experimental twitter bot @JudithBotler, nominated for the German Alternative Media Award
Education
Media Entrepreneurship Program
2017
Design Thinking fellowship at digital media incubation hub “Medialab Bayern”
German School of Journalism (Deutsche Journalistenschule)
2015 – 2017
15 month program for print, online, tv and radio journalism. Managing editor for final radio feature and final online project
University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
2011 – 2015
Bachelor’s Degree, American Studies and Communication Studies
University of Costa Rica
2013
Exchange Semester, Journalism Studies & History
National Taiwan University
2012
Summer University, Mandarin and History & Culture of Taiwan
Skills, Qualifications, Awards
Product Management
Operational efficiency, Automation, International cooperation, Design Thinking, Quality Assurance, Software Launch Management, Device Launch Management, Consensus Building, Coaching and Mentoring
Journalism
Content Strategy, Digital Storytelling, Data Analysis, Public Speaking, University Teaching, Social Media, Community Management, Audio Editing, Radio Scripting, Mobile Reporting, Writing & Editing (print/radio/online)
Tech
Generative Media, Machine Learning Application in Journalism, Generative AI, Voice Assistant Technology, Natural Language Understanding, Automatic Speech Recognition, Chatbots, Twitter Bots, R, VBA, Microsoft Office, Atlassian Jira, Confluence, SIM Simple Issue Manager
Languages
German, English, French, Spanish
Honors & awards
German Social Award 2018 (Deutscher Sozialpreis) – Category Online: “The Question: What’s it like to be trans*?”, YouTube Series
17 Best Stories of 2017 – Sueddeutsche Zeitung: “Injured, burned, lost”, data-driven investigation about injuries in the German national soccer league
Alternative Media Award 2017 (Alternativer Medienpreis)- Shortlist: @JudithBotler, a feminist twitter bot