Kaila Jones has been a visual journalist for TCPalm since June 2022. She is based in Indian River County, but sometimes travels the Treasure Coast depending on the news of the day.
Born in Jacksonville, she moved to Gainesville after high school and graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communication. During college she interned for The Gainesville Sun and the University of Florida’s Athletic Association.
She’s covered a variety of topics, including the College World Series in Omaha and the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers.
Q: Why did you choose to be a visual journalist?
A: In 2015, I attended a photojournalism study abroad in Berlin, Germany, where I realized I wanted to concentrate on being a photojournalist and help tell stories that needed to be told.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a visual journalist?
A: Every day is different. One day you might find me off the coast documenting recovery efforts of the 1715 Fleet and the next I’ll be documenting conservationists saving critical habitat for Florida’s threatened scrub jay. I like that every day is unpredictable.
Q: What is your most memorable topic?
A: So far, it’s jumping on an agricultural helicopter to document coastal erosion up and down the Treasure Coast after Hurricane Nicole. As someone who has been afraid of heights most of my life, hanging a camera out of an open-door helicopter to document coastal erosion on our coast outweighed my fear of heights because these changes are important to capture.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I like to look for new trails to explore, visit state parks and spend time with my three dogs, Parker, Delilah and Chip.
Visual Journalist Kaila Jones can be reached at kaila.jones@tcpalm.com
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Meet the staff: TCPalm Visual Journalist Kaila Jones