Great First Weekend!

This past weekend was a great start to the school year for CAFME!

At Sunday’s FallFest, we hope you were able to stop by our booth near Hooker Fields. Luckily, we had a great turnout despite the scary lightning and thunder. Carson, Nicole and Ana worked the first shift, while Sierra, Alyssa and I worked the second shift. We answered questions for any interested and curious students, and we passed out CAFME buttons (we hope you got one!) and flyers. Alyssa brought delicious homemade lemon cupcakes for us, and two people even stopped by to ask if they could have some! As usual, even if you’re working FallFest, you’re never bored: we were located right across from the dance clubs, so needless to say, we were kept entertained!

The J-school’s annual convocation was on Monday, and CAFME was also there to meet interested students. We again had a terrific turnout. We shared a table with the UNC-CH branch of Her Campus, an online college women’s magazine. Many other campus publications and media organizations were also there:
The Daily Tar Heel
Blue & White
Carolina Scientific
The Hill
The Well-Being
The Pursuit (formerly Virtuous Woman but is now targeted toward women and men)
Uncharted
Rival Magazine
Carolina PRSSA
The Carolina Association of Black Journalists

Overall, it was a successful weekend, and we hope you had a chance to talk to us at FallFest, convocation or both! Don’t forget that our first meeting is next Wednesday, August 31, from 8 to 9 p.m. We’ll be having a pizza party and magazine fair, so be sure to stop by!

Meet us at Fall Fest and the JSchool Convocation!

As the school year starts up, we’re back in action and so excited to meet all of you. Cafme will have tables at Fall Fest on August 21 and the journalism school’s convocation on August 22.

What is Cafme? We’re UNC’s only magazine club and the official campus chapter of Ed2010, an organization headed by magazine editors to help up-and-comers break into the industry. We’re devoted to networking — with both professionals, alumni and your fellow members. As a member of Cafme, you’ll learn not only about the industry in the Triangle area but about it in New York City and beyond from alumni themselves. And when we’re not hearing from speakers — editors in the industry — we’re all about getting you ready for that next internship through social media, resume and internship application workshops. So do you see yourself as the next magazine editor? We help each other get there together.
Want more information or to ask us questions one-on-one? We look forward to helping with them and getting to see you. So come visit us this weekend! You’ve got two chances:

Fall Fest: Fall Fest is UNC’s annual welcome back party, hosted by the Carolina Union, that will go from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the 21st on South Road. UNC clubs each have tables, and Cafme will be running its own throughout the event. P.S. You might want to stop by there earlier rather than later. Our Silly Bands weant fast last year, and who knows how fast this year’s freebies will go?

J-School Convocation: Each year, the journalism school welcomes back students by hosting its convocation, an event where students both in and out of the school will be able to meet faculty and get information about all things journalism at UNC. Student organizations will each have tables and Cafme will be among them in the Carroll Hall auditorium. So if you missed us at Fall Fest or just want to say hi, we’ll have information available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the duration of the ceremony.

Neither date work? Feel free to email us your questions now at carolinamagazines@yahoo.com or leave a comment on this blog. We’ll get back to you ASAP! And mark your calendar: our first meeting is Wednesday, August 31 in Carroll 33!

Have an internship? Blog about it.

With summer in full swing, our Intern Diaries blog is up and running. With UNC students working across the country — from the Research Triangle to Boston — our blog will feature their stories of life at regional and national publications.

Check out the blog here or contact Alyssa Bailey or Rachel Bennet to join in and blog about your internship. They can be reached at auhlyssuh@gmail.com or mrbennet@email.unc.edu, respectively.

We believe at CAFME some of the best teachers are students and alums themselves, and the purpose behind our intern diaries blog is to build a community and give a behind-the-scenes look at the industry. So read about their journeys, write about your own and comment along the way.

Questions about the blog? Alyssa and Rachel are happy to answer them by email or leave a comment here! Happy summer!

End of the Year Recap

Hello CAFME-ers!

We can't believe it, but it's time for CAFME to wrap up the year! We want to thank everyone for a wonderful time! We've done so much and gotten great ideas and energy from you. We love seeing the support and encouragement go around as we all try to launch our magazine careers. Please let us know what you're doing this summer. For all you graduating seniors, tell us what your plans are and keep in touch!


A look back on what we did:
September 1: We hosted quite a few campus publications who told us what they're about and what positions they're recruiting for.
September 15: Lara Casey from Southern Weddings came to speak to us.
September 22: We hosted The Sun Magazine.
September 29: This year's treasurer, Katie Steen filled us in on her summer Vogue internship.
October 6: We hosted Natural Awakenings Magazine.
October 11: About 25 CAFME members attended Lara Casey's Making Things Happen workshop.
October 13: We hosted The Independent Weekly.
October 27: We hosted Our State Magazine.
November 3: We hosted Chapel Hill Magazine.
November 17: Jay Eubank from Career Services gave us advice on resumes and cover letters.
December 1: We celebrated the end of the semester with a party at McCalisters .
January 12: Writer, Jason Zengerle came to speak to us about his career.
January 19: We hosted U the Magazine.
February 2: CAFME co-founder, Cassandra Zink had a Skype chat with us.
February 11: We took our annual trip to Pace Communications.
February 16: We Skyped with UNC alum, Kelly Thore.
February 23: We hosted QSR Magazine.
March 16: CAFME co-founder, LaToya Evans had a Skype chat with us.
March 20-22: CAFME members took a trip to NYC with Ed2010!
March 23: UNC alum, Lucy Zhang Skyped with us.
March 30: We had an Intern Panel.
April 8: CAFME members toured Chamblee Graphics to learn about magazine printing.
April 13: We celebrated a wonderful year with an Intern Party.

We did a lot this year! Thanks to our members with perfect attendance: Natasha Smith (fall), Alyssa Bailey (spring), Amanda MacLaren (spring), Ariana Rodriguez-Gitler (spring), and Carson Blackwelder (spring).

Another special thanks to this year's officers who contributed so much! 
Sierra Piland, President
MaryAnn Barone, Vice President
Nicole Yang, Secretary
Katie Steen, Treasurer
Lolo Bajomo, Special Projects Coordinator.

And congratulations to our new officers who will be leading in the fall:
Sierra Piland and Nicole Yang, Co-Presidents
Alyssa Bailey, Vice President
Rachel Bennett, Secretary
Ana Rocha, Treasurer
Carson Blackwelder, Special Projects Coordinator

Good luck to our graduating seniors!!
Alexandra Brawley
Amanda MacLaren
Brittany Melvin
Dan Byrnes
Dana Bongiovanni
Hannah Taylor
Jacqueline Scott
Jessica Maggart
Katie Jokipii
Kelsie Allen
Kelsie Murdock
Mary Avant
MaryAnn Barone
Melissa Cahoon
Mina Liu
Natasha Duarte
Paige Heskamp
Sarah Rankin
Sheldon Gardner
We enjoyed getting to know all of you this year! Again, let us know what your summer plans are and keep in touch!

-CAFME Exec

CAFME in NYC: Who's Who

Get to know the CAFME members who traveled to New York City to meet up with Ed2010!

Alexandra Brawley is a senior photojournalism major and creative writing minor at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the photo editor of Kaleidoscope, UNC-CH’s popular fashion magazine, and is the owner of Location Designs, LLC, a company that provides on-site photography to be produced as artwork for commercial sites. This past summer she interned in the photo department at Brides magazine, which was an absolutely amazing experience! Alexandra has also been a staff photographer at The Daily Tar Heel, and has interned in the photo departments at Wrightsville Beach Magazine and Lumina News, local publications in her hometown. Growing up at the beach, she loves all things outdoors that are near or on the water.  After graduation this May, Alexandra is moving to NYC where she is determined to land an awesome position at a fashion, lifestyle or travel magazine!

My name is Alison Ives and I am a sophomore journalism major from Charlotte, North Carolina.  I’m specializing in reporting and am also pursuing a minor in creative writing.  I write for a Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill joint publication called Rival and a men’s fashion and culture magazine called Anatomy.  My ambitious but decidedly attainable career goals place me in New York City once I graduate in 2013.  I hope to write for a fashion, entertainment or lifestyle magazine full-time and publish poetry at my leisure.  Although my journalism foundation is in writing, I also have experience in photography and graphic design.  I am a proud member of the UNC dance group, Blank Canvas, and the UNC magazine organization, Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors.

Alyssa Bailey is a sophomore French and journalism double major at UNC-CH. She is concentrating in Editing and Graphic Design for her journalism sequence. Hailing from Ellicott City, Md., a suburb between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Alyssa has interned at three area publications, two of them national: Girls’ Life magazine, USA WEEKEND magazine and Washington Post Express. She currently writes for Girls’ Life magazine as an online contributing writer and has written for Washington Post Express as a contributor. On campus, she is a designer for The Daily Tar Heel newspaper and Kaleidoscope magazine. Before coming to UNC-CH, Alyssa spent her freshman year at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she worked on the copy and design desks of their newspaper, The Diamondback and as style editor of the school’s student life magazine, Unwind! This summer, Alyssa hopes to intern at a major magazine in New York City or Washington, D.C. When she’s not working, Alyssa loves jogging, baking cupcakes for friends and channeling Glee’s Emma Pillsbury’s fashion.

March 23 Recap: Skype with Lucy Zhang

 About Lucy:

·         Assistant Marketing Manager at People Magazine and People Style Watch, Time, Inc.

·         Interned at Rolling Stone, US Weekly, Men’s Journal

·         A Conde Nast intern at brides.com

·         Then went to Time, Inc. and worked at Sports Illustrated and Time magazine

·         Works on the business side of the magazine—marketing

Questions:

If I want to work with a magazine and work on multimedia marketing, how do I find internships?

Look under publishing internships on magazine websites, they will place you under a business sector. Or contact an HR representative and ask how you can get an internship that is specific to your interests.

As a freshman, how do you get an internship with little experience?

I applied through UNC to my first college internship. I was really lucky that this internship was posted and that I got it. Network with anyone you can think of, ask around.

What was your major in the J-School?

I was a business major and I majored in marketing. I was an advertising minor in the J-School.

I’m a PR major but have a lot of interest in writing for magazines. Any advice about explaining my path when I apply to magazines?

Say you have social media experience and that you want to apply it to another position. Play up your knowledge. Conde and Hearst are such big companies that it’s not hard to jump around if you start off in marketing and want to move to editorial. Magazines aren’t what they were a year ago. It’s important to be knowledgeable that it’s not just the print edition anymore. We talk a lot about tablets and how we can change. There are so many different places you can enter now. Take that into account and be aware of how things are changing. 

March 16 Recap: Skype with LaToya Evans

About LaToya:

·         Graduated from UNC in 2008

·         Always enjoyed writing, was inspired by Andre Talley of Vogue to work in magazines.

·         Got an internship at a magazine that closed before her internship started and was put at Cosmopolitan instead.

·         Met the editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, Kate White who took her from the fashion closet to the features desk

·         Never took a journalism class before her Cosmopolitan internship but was gutsy and proactive

·         Started a freelance career after her freshman year, became a freelance writer for Glamour

·         Went on the JAFA trip as a sophomore

·         Got an internship at Vogue after meeting them on the JAFA trip

·         Also interned at CosmoGirl the same summer

·         ASME intern at Real Simple in 2007

·         Interned at Vanity Fair after talking to the editor for a year

·         Now does PR at IBM

Tips:

·         Be proactive but be smart about it. LaToya cold-emailed editors for magazines that she was interested in and had informational interviews every week. But be aware. You think these are great opportunities, but be smart about it and use tact and think about it in the sense that magazines are competitors.

·         Be humble and be a team player. Even if you want to benefit yourself, be conscious of how you come off. You want to work toward the success of the publication.

·         Make as many friends and contacts as you can. You’ll go further with this than with bylines and resume builders.

·         Freelance in college—even if it’s local, even if you don’t get paid a lot.

Questions:

How did the transition go from magazines to IBM?

I really started considering my options as a real adult and considering bills. I started applying for PR jobs…I just simply changed my mind from magazines. IBM was a better offer. It gave me the chance to do something I hadn’t done. My dad said to me, “what is the point of doing something forever if you’ve already mastered it?”

Out of your internships, what was your most memorable experience, good or bad?

Vogue would be my most memorable because it really was the opportunity and the internship of a lifetime. To have that amazing experience and see a world that you’ve never seen before is something you never forget. Even today, I think, “Wow I worked at Vogue.” Cosmopolitan was the biggest learning experience because it was the first.

What is your advice to us as far as diversifying our skills but not spreading ourselves too thin?

Don’t get all of your experience in one area. You don’t know yet what you’ll do later. I never had experience in PR. Use the local agencies and publications, do those internships in the different areas you’re not sure about. Do them during the year or do virtual internships so you can dedicate your summers to what you’re really interested in. Be more focused. Don’t just go for the resume fillers. If you’re in an organization that takes up a lot of time but doesn’t have a lot of benefits, drop it. The most meaningful things and the things that benefit you (like freelancing) are what should take up your time.

How do you talk to and network with people or alums?

Mentoring is a mutual relationship. Each party has to benefit each other. Ask questions, ask for contact information. But don’t be just about getting the business card, have a conversation with them. Relationships require maintenance.