Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Meeting recap for 3/5: Our State's Jeffrey Turner

Jeff Turner is an assistant editor from Our State, a Greensboro-based magazine focused on all things North Carolinian. The weekly-turned-monthly celebrated its 80th anniversary last June. 

From Mount Olive, N.C., a small town known for its pickles, Turner studied English at Wake Forest University before getting involved in journalism and writing features and profiles for the Old Gold & Black, Wake Forest’s student paper. 

After graduation, he had an internship with The Business Journal and later with Our State. 

“I’d always been familiar with the magazine because my parents read it,” he says. The internship quickly led to his current job. 

What’s a typical day like? 
Fun, Turner says. The day starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends around 5:30 p.m. There are few late nights. His days sometimes include going to photo shoots or restaurants. 

“Once a month a magazine comes and you see your name in there and it makes it all worth it.”

Our State’s content and audience
“Regional mags are different from national mags -- your focus is a lot narrower. People who love North Carolina is the focus of our magazine, which is actually a pretty broad audience,” he says.

They start each month with more than 200 blank pages. 

“We really have a lot of free range with everything else, which is a luxury that a lot of magazines don't have,” Turner says. “It empowers us to create great content.” 

For a long time, Our State's audience has been older people -- think 60+. But the trend is getting younger, which poses a challenge -- how to take a legacy publication and make it relevant to people now.

“We’re one of the few print magazines to brag that we’ve never seen a circulation dip in recent years. Last month we were up 3,000 subscribers.” 

Controversy and writing
“Our State doesn’t cover almost anything controversial, mainly because we want the magazine to have a positive reflection of North Carolina,” he says. 

“We really focus on stories that are compelling and interesting, and they need to be literary and include a lot of the same literary devices that you could find in fiction.”

Our State’s online presence
In addition to being active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Turner says, “We have some original web content that piggybacks on a print story, and we have some things that are wholly independent.” 

This includes the Music in the Lobby series, which is similar to NPR’s desk concerts -- they have North Carolina musicians such as Mipso Trio and Mandolin Orange come in to produce a series. 

“Everyone feels like they need to be prepared for digital, but I don’t think anyone knows how to be prepared,” Turner says. “You need the same skills there that you need to make a magazine -- like how to generate a good idea that will get people to respond. If you run a story and get a lot of emails or letters about it, then you’ve done a good job. 

Do you hire out to freelancers or do you have staff writers? 
Our State has an established group of freelancers, but editors now have more editorial control over the magazine, as opposed to simply having a freelancer turn things in.

As a sophomore, what should I do in my spare time?
Have published writing, whether it be in the local newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel or a blog.

“Published clips help show your writing ability, and writing makes you a better editor,” he says.

“Read magazines in your spare time. You can incorporate it into a cover letter and pitch it. We get resumes and cover letters and pitches, but for the people we like, we bring them in. You’d be surprised how many candidates we get who don’t really read magazines,” Turner says. He recommends finding a magazine that’s won national, city or regional awards, and study those and find ones that interest you, as well as ones that don’t interest you at all.

Where do you see Our State in five or 10 years? 
Turner says they want to make the magazine relevant to a younger audience. “The bread and butter for us would be to get our audience to people in their 30s and 40s, and making them love it and feel ownership of it the way our older readers do.”

“Magazines aren’t trendsetters. We just follow trends. We cover beer in North Carolina now because there have been so many breweries that have come up. It’s sort of changed the attitude about craft beer, which has a better connotation than, say, Bud Light,” Turner says. The same goes for wine, and the younger-audience-trend will likely continue. 

“We also try and recruit some of the best writers in North Carolina. That’s where I see us going -- getting better writers, photographers, etcetera,” he says. “We like to win awards, too.”

Our State internships
While they typically look for juniors or seniors, Turner says the interns are truly a functioning part of our staff -- no fetching coffee, unless it’s your own. 

Internships are unpaid, but times are very flexible. Interns can come in as often as they like, although it’s most beneficial to come twice a week in half days, for variety. Mondays are great because you’d be privy to editorial and company-wide meetings, for example. 

To apply, email editorial@ourstate.com with the subject line “Internship.” Include a resume and cover letter. Turner particularly appreciates when applicants pitch a story or two. 

“That gives a little bit of insight into how you think and your creativity, and how well you understand the brand,” he says.

They’ll consider internships in the digital department, as well.

The deadline for summer 2014 internship is March 28.

Do you offer design internships? 
No -- just editorial. This is in part because only three people design the entire magazine. 

Turner says an editorial intern could still learn about design. 

“The words are so married to art in magazines that the two really rely on each other. You can’t have one without the other,” he says.

On turning an internship into a job
“If this magazine is on your coffee table right there, you're more likely to pick it up than if you have to go to a web site. If there’s not that physical presence, you're not reminded of it. I think it’s the same with interns,” Turner says. “If you’re there and doing a good job, then if there’s a need, you’ll be remembered. Making an impression is important, and continuing to check in.” Some interns freelance for Our State after leaving. 

He also suggests interacting with editors as much as possible.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Meeting recap for 10/30: Skype with Carisha Swanson

As a market editor at Hearst Design Group, Carisha Swanson shops for different products -- anything related to homes and interior design -- for House Beautiful, Veranda and Elle Decor. She helps Crate and Barrel market their goods on the side, and is also a freelance writer. 

Lifestyle editors fall in line with market editors, by the way. Carisha works in various markets and gets to see new merchandise before everyone else, doing a job that requires good taste. Alongside her team, she attends “furniture runway shows” in cities such as High Point, N.C., Las Vegas, Paris and Bologna, Italy. She’s currently working on the March 2014 magazine issues.

On how she scored her Hearst job:
In a word: LinkedIn. Carisha contacted everyone where she thought she might like to work. She said there’s lots of movement in the industry in terms of staffing. And after being with Hearst for a year, the company allows you to switch to a different magazine, so you can work where you want. 

On her job:
Represent brand to its fullest and answers to publishing
Lots of appointments -- half her time is spent outside the office, including checking out previews of next season’s items
Attends pitch meetings
Work with digital teams to create content for columns
Works on a large team -- 10 on the market team
Interiors and market editors scout out homes and apartments

On working at a city or regional magazine:
Fun, but a lot of work
Faster job advancement
Understaffed so you’ll work a lot and gain a lot of experience
Opportunity to pitch more stories, which are more likely to get accepted
Easier to build your portfolio; more flexibility and creativity
Not necessarily based in New York
Working in the city is a new experience -- buzz of seeing celebrities, lots of free stuff

Her advice:
Be humble and volunteer for everything
Be in it because you love it
The first year is tough -- take your vacations or you’ll get burnt out
In an interview, asking if travel is involved will give you a strong sense of the company culture

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Meeting Recap for Oct. 2: Skype with Danielle Sanchez

Danielle Sanchez worked at Vanity Fair and is a Florida State University graduate. After working there for a year, she left to start her own magazine for her parents’ new up-and-coming boutique jewelry business.

She majored in “editing, writing and media” in college, which she said infused both her fashion and writing interests.

Danielle was the content editor for Clutch, FSU’s on-campus fashion magazine. After graduation she was an apparel intern for 6 weeks, then was hired as jewelry coordinator at Vanity Fair, where she stayed for a year.

Danielle’s day-to-day:
“I was a jewelry coordinator -- the assistant to the assistant to the accessories editor.”

“They would decide on a theme and come to me and say, ‘We’ll do a Marilyn Monroe shoot with Kate Upton. This is what we’re looking for. Can you contact X and X and X and see if they have anything that would work?’ They send it over, and I set it out for the editors. I put the yes’s out for them to design with, and put the no’s in the safe.” Then she packs everything up -- carefully.

“I make sure things are not broken and leave not broken. There’s a lot of liability in our department because we borrow absolutely everything. Making sure everything is in mint condition is really important.”

“We have inspiration photos, and someone would say, ‘I need this hat -- exactly.’ If no one had it, we’d have to make it. We base our samples off the photos. When I get the photos, I’d have enough inspiration images to gauge whether it’s the right for the shoot. Ultimately it’s the accessories editor’s decision for the shoots., and she decides what goes to the fashion director.”

Danielle also copy edited market director Michael Carl’s weekly blog column, Carl’s Crush. “I didn’t go to Vanity Fair to work for jewelry. I went because I wanted to edit … Before he’d turn it into copy, I’d see it. ... Then he’d see it, and his assistant would edit it again.”

What makes a good intern?
“You have to be willing to do things and give it your all. Apparel interns have to do a lot of running around. It’s very The Devil Wears Prada. It takes a lot of courage and belief in yourself -- you have to know what you're getting into. There's a lot of physical work. It’s tough, but if we don’t have a photo shoot, we’re really just sitting around the office organizing things, which is very tedious. An intern has to do all that physical labor and know they won’t be sitting at a desk all day.”

On hiring:
Vanity Fair likes to hire a lot of people they already know.  “We up a lot of ads at Ed2010, but never really took anyone from there.”

VF’s fashion department consists of 14 people. “We’re all wearing a lot of hats because we are a very small team. We like to hire fun people we can trust with our items. That’s why we typically go through people we already know.”

Are interns paid? What about your salary as you climb the ladder?
“I can tell you that the people above me are not making what they deserve. … In editorial and especially in fashion, we’re not making a lot. We’re working with the Manolos, but we don’t wear them.”

What about PR?
“I learned a lot from my job, contacting designers’ PR departments. I’m talking to a PR jewelry coordinator, someone at my level, 4th tier, bottom line work.”

Working in fashion closet versus working in editorial:
“The fashion closet is under the umbrella of editorial. I spend all my time working inside a literal closet.

It’s transactional versus transformational. Editorial definitely has the more creative job. They’re the ones who look at inspiration photos. And if the accessories assistant needs help finding a product, that’s when they come to me and I’ll help them. Otherwise it’s just very hands-on, very ‘I am not going to lose this earring.’”

We are the middleman: the complete management of the shoes, jewelry, clothes, everything. There's a lot of product in it and it can really get messy. It’s very high-stress, and we’re just very hands-on, whereas editorial is more creative. They communicate more with designers, and we focus more on the actual handling of materials.”

What should we do now?
“Get involved. Keep writing. Put it on your resume. When you put it on your resume or email people, keep it short. Our closet manager doesn’t have the time to read three paragraphs of why you love Vanity Fair so much. We like to see a strong resume. Definitely know their name. If it says “To Whom It May Concern,” it’s an automatic delete. ‘Hi Danielle, I’m interested in this internship. These are my credentials. Three quick points, then have a good day.’

“Keep all your contacts. If you talk to anyone, ever, always be cordial because you never know what they can do for you in the future.”

“It’s not always the resume that shines through -- it’s your persona and work ethic.”

On her new Floridian local mag venture:
My parents own a jewelry store, so Vanity Fair knew I’d be comfortable handling high-price jewelry. She had been working there for a year when her dad offered her a job as CMO of his new jewelry store in Tampa, Flo.

“Starting a local magazine is going to be really good for me. It’s really exciting.” Danielle wants to gear it towards fashion and jewelry at first, directly out of her father’s fine jewelry store, which produces unique pieces. “After a few months of circulation, I’ll probably only release the magazine quarterly," she said.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Meeting Recap for Sept. 11: Skype with Megan Angelo

Last week we Skyped with Megan Angelo, a Glamour entertainment contributor (she also occasionally writes for The New York Times). She writes four blog posts a day from her home in Pennsylvania -- she started almost two years ago, and so far she’s written about 1650 posts. Whew. She also helps the Glamour team figure out what entertainment content to include in the print magazine and contributes about 1,000 words per issue.

The Villanova grad and English major applied to the Conde Nast internship program, thinking she’d never get in because she didn’t have any connections. When she was selected for an internship, she was so surprised that she politely asked why she was hired. The answer: there were few applicants who were co-editors-in-chief of the school paper, and that was pretty cool. 

Six weeks after she graduated, she became the editorial assistant at Conde Nast’s “Portfolio.” She worked there for two years, and when it folded, Megan turned to freelancing out of necessity -- a.k.a., she shifted towards entertainment journalism. She helped launch the entertainment section for “Business Insider” and became its entertainment editor. 

After two years, her friend, a photo editor at Glamour, got in touch with her -- they were looking for writers since they were about to relaunch their site. After a big edit test, among other things, she was hired! She worked her way up from two blog posts a day to print.

Megan said she works on both the print and online schedule because of the nature of her job. She’s at her desk at home from 8 a.m. to around 6:30 p.m., and spends most of the day writing those four posts. Then she works on print.

On working at Glamour: “Working at Glamour is so satisfying to know I’m working at a place that any woman, regardless of how much money they make or where they live, can pick up the magazine. I love the universality of it. Everyone’s really nice.”

Megan’s advice: 
“Do whatever you have to do to get clips,” Megan said, “because that’s really all anybody cares about at the end of the day. There's no better time in college to write about whatever you want. … That’s huge when it comes to getting an internship, pitching an assignment, etc.” 

On networking: Before she worked for Glamour, Megan used to read magazines’ mastheads and cold-email people with coveted jobs. “I looked at EAs who were only a few years older and emailed them, ‘I think it’s amazing you have this job. I would love to hear about how you got here.’ … In that first email, there’s no reason to say you're looking for a job. It’s obvious.”

“You do have to have connections in the industry to make it, but you don’t have to be born with them. Be genuine and ask about them. I always remember them and I remember great interns who are sweet, get it and contribute meaningfully.”

“Be genuine with everyone. That’s all there is to networking.”

On living in New York: “If humanly possible, don’t get an apartment before you get a job. If it’s at all possible to live with someone for free, live with someone.”

“Get someone’s New York address and put it on your resume. They filter them. Just say New York so they know you’re available.”

Megan said she wouldn’t recommend working from home when you’re first starting up. “If your dream is to be an editor and to climb up the ladder, you probably won’t work from home.If you wanna go more the writing route, things get more murky because writers come from everywhere.” A “staff writer” or “contributor” is often working from home.

On being obsessed with Conde Nast: “I wish I hadn’t obsessed so much about getting certain internships.”

On blogging: “The kind of personal blogs that will impress an employer are time-consuming. They want to see you post twice a week. They want something sophisticated and consistent. The other route is writing for a campus publication, getting clips, etc.”

“People do like to see that you’re an expert in something or that you’re interested in something.”

On breaking into music journalism: “That’s a fantastic place to break in because you can review things constantly, get into niche areas of music, etc. It’s such a big thing to say, ‘You're not covering this and it’s really important and I know all about this. That’s why you need me.’”

On breaking into fashion: “It’s almost better to have a very well-curated Instagram or Tumblr. That goes a long way -- Glamour’s Instagram is huge for them. … Think about the visual and let your style come through.”

On freelancing: “There are so many places that young people can write, which is great, but make connections first if you can and get your reputation established in the industry. Most jobs, even if they’re grueling, it’s still possible to launch a freelance career on the site, even if it’s a blog post a month at a local bank or magazine that you love.”

“The good thing about freelancing is that you get to pick what you actually want to write about.”

Consider writing for start-ups, not just big-name publications.

And finally: “If you're the person who’s already thinking about this, then you're already ahead of the game. Relax, enjoy college, because working isn’t as fun as college. Trust your voice and show it off. No one is saying to you, ‘The deadline is tomorrow.’ Write what you want.”

“Everything really is a stepping stone.”

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Meeting Recap for April 10: Skype with Judi Pena

Last week we skyped with Judi Pena, the assistant to the editor-in-chief at Every Day with Rachael Ray.
Judi studied at the University of South Carolina where she was a English and Biology major. When it came time to write her honors thesis, she decided to flaunt her love for food and wrote a chocolate cookbook. When it came time to graduate, Judi was still unsure of what she wanted to do, so she took a year off (which he highly recommends) and managed a restaurant. After that year, she decided to go to culinary school.
After culinary school, Judi did a 6-month, full-time internship at Rachael Ray. It was supposed to only last for three months, but the intern who would be replacing her changed her mind, allowing Judi to stay on for another three months.
After her internship, Judi worked as a bartender for a month before being asked to come back to Rachael Ray as the assistant to the executive and managing editors. When Lauren Purcell (a UNC alumna) came on board as the editor-in-chief of Rachael Ray, she asked Judi to be her assistant,
As assistant to the editor-in-chief, Judi answers the phone, and organized Lauren's schedule and travel plans. She also has the opportunity to see a lot of the behind the scenes things that go on at the magazine. Judi is also involved in doing a lot of research for the magazine and is in charge of all the social media.
Judi's advice:

  • Always reach out to people and keep in touch
  • Keep trying just as hard once you "get in the door"
  • Take charge of what's assigned to you
  • Ask for feedback
  • When applying for a food magazine, have something in your back pocket like a blog, or food photography
  • BE able to talk about recipes and food confidently

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Cafme takes NYC

On Wednesday, March 20, 15 of us jetted off to New York City! We stayed in the awesome App State Lofts, right by Madison Square Park. We had some free time to explore the city Wednesday before meeting back up for a Southern dinner at Brother Jimmy's.
We were up bright and early the next day to start our magazine tours. First up was People Magazine in the Time Inc. building. We were lucky enough to sit in on their staff meeting and then chatted with Editorial Manager Andy Abrahams and Deputy Managing Editor Peter Castro. We also visited their iPad simulator room and got a demo of the People Magazine app.
That afternoon we headed to Glamour to meet up with Andrea Bartz, senior editor, who gave us some great advice about everything magazine and NYC-related.
 The next day was filled with more tours as we chatted with the Men's Health Social Media Editor Chris Rackliffe about the role of social media in the magazine world and what he does on a day-to-day basis. Associate editor Clint Carter joined us later to talk about the editorial aspect of Men's Health.
Our last stop was at Every Day with Rachael Ray, where executive editor and UNC alumna, Dana Bowen, talked to us along with Senior Food Editor Nina Elder and Editorial Assistant Morgan Gibson. After getting a ton of great advice from those three lovely ladies, we went downstairs to see their test kitchen. We got a chance to learn more about how food magazines work and even try some yummy cookies!

That night most of us headed back to Chapel Hill, but I already can't wait for next year's trip!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Meeting Recap for Feb. 27: Skype with Sarah Bruning--Associate Features Editor


Last week we skyped with the lovely Sarah Bruning. She had lots of industry wisdom to share with us--read on for a recap!

Sarah began college on the pre-med track, but her sophomore year she started a magazine with a few of her friends and realized that was what she loved. She worked on layouts and edited the 32-page USC edition of the magazine. Through her work with this campus magazine, Sarah was introduced to Teen Magazine, which has since folded but was based in California. She interned and freelanced for them through her last years at USC. After graduation, Sarah went back to Teen as a temporary editorial assistant to help out on their prom issue.
Sarah was determined to move to New York, though, and eventually got a job offer on a Friday to start a job in New York the following Monday (because her resumé listed a New York address!) Sarah made it work, however and worked at the small travel publication for three and a half years before moving to Time Out New York, which is where she is now. Sarah says starting out at a small publication helped her advance her career because she was thrust into leadership roles more quickly than she would have been at another publication--after just a year and a half Sarah was named the managing editor!
Sarah has been at Time Out for three years now. As the associate features editor, Sarah works with freelancers and interns and makes sure that all the fact checking changes get entered. She also blogs twice a week and writes SEO copy for her features, working with SEO managers and the web masters.

Sarah's Tips:

  • Keep your eyes and ears open, always be listening and taking things in
  • Know the publication you're applying for inside and out
  • Show an active interest in journalism on campus, get internships or at a minimum start a blog
  • Write the hiring managers names whenever possible (not "To Whom it May Concern")
  • Attention to detail is very important
  • Show enthusiasm--be engaged in conversation, and be excited to be there (but not too excited)
  • Make your cover letter the body
  • Being versatile helps--develop a portfolio that would speak to national magazines
  • Networking is one of the most important things you can do: keep in touch, build a relationship, don't be shy, introduce yourself and talk about your interests