This week, we had Tanner Stransky, a staff writer for Entertainment Weekly, Skype with us about his job and how he got there. It was a great meeting, and Tanner was a fun, enthusiastic and informative guest. Read below to see what he had to say!
Introduction
Tanner went to Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for his journalism degree. There, he worked for a magazine called Drake Magazine and interned at a company called Integrated Marketing through Meredith, a magazine publishing house. While at Integrated Marketing, Tanner worked for such magazines as Dodge and Currents.
The summer after his junior year, Tanner was chosen to be an intern for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). Through ASME, he interned at the now-defunct Teen People in the entertainment department. As an intern, his duties included transcribing and updating contact lists. Tanner said that the ASME internship program is especially great because it has a huge alumni network, and the people within this network really help each other out.
During his undergrad, Tanner did apply to be an EW intern, but he was rejected (he still has his rejection letter, he says.) He applied again after college, but he was again turned down. Luckily, he made a good connection with the intern director, and he credits this connection with getting him the job he has now.
After college, he moved to New York City and wrote and edited stories for a Meredith magazine called On DirectTV Magazine. He was then offered a position at the New York Post, where he worked part-time for the Weddings and Dating department while working part-time for On DirectTV.
During this time, he still kept in contact with the intern director at EW. Tanner said that every two to three months, he would always find a reason to email her and say hi (to say he loved an issue, to send a clip, etc.). He eventually heard of an editorial assistant opening, and he interviewed for it and got the position. His job was in the DVD department, and he wrote reviews and news stories.
After nine months, an editorial assistant position opened in the TV department. Tanner interviewed for this position and got the job, so he left the DVD department and began working for the TV department. For this job, he had to write a lot of TV features and recaps. He worked as an editorial assistant in the TV department for two years, and in 2009, he was promoted to a correspondent. In 2011, he was again promoted to a staff writer. Now, Tanner writes primarily articles about TV, but he also writes about music and theater.
Q: What is your day-to-day job?
A: Tanner says his day-to-day job is mostly writing, which covers a lot of different content. He writes blog posts and for the magazine, even though he says more than half of what he writes is for the web. He says his job is a lot about writing for and representing the brand of EW.
His assigned beats at EW are currently TV, music and theater. For the TV beat, he covers “Housewives” (Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives, The Good Wife, etc.), Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and he’s also covered Happy Endings, Raising Hope and The Middle.
Tanner says he never quite knows where his day will take him while at EW.
Q: What kinds of publications should we be writing for?
A: Tanner says that working for campus publications is essential in getting ahead. In college, he worked for Drake Magazine and was eventually made a section editor. Whatever you do, he says to write somewhere and write for something. Once you have worked for campus publications, you will need to try to get internship experience. Tanner says that if you are serious about moving to NYC after college, you should try to get an internship in NYC because some internship directors will want to see that you have been able to make it in the city. But Tanner says that there are also good magazines across the country. Of about 30 magazine majors in his Drake graduating class, five are in NYC, a handful are in Chicago, and a lot work for local publications. Tanner says that while big magazines are fun, they aren’t the only options out there for journalism majors.
Q: Is my newspaper internship experience beneficial if I want to apply to EW?
A: Yes, this experience is very helpful. Even though you didn’t work for a magazine, you still got reporting and article pitching experience. At EW, everything that is written has some type of news peg, too, so your experience will not hinder you at all. Writing is writing is writing is writing, Tanner says.
Q: Did you have a blog?
A: No, Tanner didn’t have a blog. Tanner says that the internet wasn’t the internet before he worked at EW, but he thinks he had a LiveJournal while in college. Tanner says starting a blog is great, though. You should blog about whatever you have an interest in, and make sure to become friends with other bloggers to get your blog more noticed. Being proactive goes a long way, in his opinion.
Q: What types of classes should someone take if they want to work in the magazine industry?
A: Tanner says that he took such classes as News Writing, Magazine Writing, Feature Writing and News Writing while at Drake [UNC also offers classes like these.] Tanner says that Drake had an intensive magazine program, and he was in a class that allowed him to be a part of putting together a magazine. In this class, he got to write captions, edit, write and make decisions that an editor has to commonly make. This class taught him many things, among them being that you have to think visually as an editor. If you come up with a story idea that doesn’t lend itself to visuals, then it won’t work.
Q: When does EW start to look for summer interns?
A: The deadline to apply for 2012 summer interns is Feb. 15, but he says that they will take applications at any time. There are three internship sessions a year (summer, fall and spring,) and they pay $10 an hour. Tanner says that the fall and spring internships are easier to get. There is also an intern in L.A.
Q: Do you have any networking tips?
A: Always try to make an impression, Tanner says. In college, he had resumes and business cards that he would give to people. He also recommends asking for their contact information. Follow up with them by emailing and setting up informational meetings/interviews. Tanner says that networking and making contacts is so important because many jobs aren’t even posted – you just have to find out about them through other people.
Tanner kept in touch with the internship director at EW after he was rejected, and he says that he owes his job to her. Every two to three months, he found a reason to email her, and it allowed them to keep in touch. He says to not make emails long, but just say hi as a way of staying on someone’s radar.
Q: What interviewing tips do you have for someone who wants to apply to EW?
A: Tanner says that an interview at EW is for them to see if you fit in with the staff and are an EW person. Through your resume and clips, they already know you have the skills; an interview is just for them to get to know you better. They prefer an in-person interview, but if that absolutely can’t happen, they will arrange a Skype interview with someone. He says there is no key to doing well in an interview. Just be yourself, don’t name drop, and don’t be full of yourself. EW looks for interns who will take any task and complete it with a smile.
Thanks so much, Tanner, for coming to speak to us! If you would like to contact Tanner, please contact Carson for information. We’ll see you next week!
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