Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news highlighting women’s roles, contributions, and achievements in the evolving media business. This latest installment covers Cory Haik’s role as the Washington Post’s executive director of new products, the 40-year career of “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross, a survey showing a 51% pay gap between men and women in associate-level editorial jobs, “Girls” creator Lena Dunham’s partnerships with Hearst and BuzzFeed, and more.
- Hurricane force At the Washington Post, Cory Haik combines her love of technology and deep journalism roots in her role as executive director of new products, expanding the newspaper’s reach to meet the demands of evolving audiences. Known as “Hurricane Cory” for her reputation as an “agent of change” early in her career, Haik (pictured) has been a key player in the Post’s digital success: comScore puts the newspaper in the fastest-growing news/information category, with a 40% year-over-year increase to 59.1 million multiplatform uniques in September. “She’s a creative force in our newsroom,” says executive editor Martin Baron in a Digiday report. “She has her eye on what’s happening in our field, she’s always interested in what’s new and going on, and she recognizes that people today are getting news in unconventional ways.” Among other projects, Haik is currently working on new distribution outlets, including Apple News, Facebook Instant Articles, and Snapchat, and a new suite of mobile apps called Rainbow.
- Master conversationalist The New York Times Magazine recently turned the tables on Terry Gross, making the “national interviewer” the interviewee to mark her 40-year anniversary as the host of NPR’s ‘‘Fresh Air’’ show. Having conducted more than 13,000 interviews over the course of her career, Gross is “like the poet laureate—someone whose job it is to ask the questions, with a degree of art and honor,” the Times says. In her intimate exchanges with celebrities, writers, artists, politicians, and others, the host delves into “racial prejudice, faith, family, illness, morality, betrayal, and gratitude,” sparing few subjects, it notes. With a look back at Gross’ early years on the air and behind the scenes of her show and life today, the article provides a window into the art of the interview and the woman who’s played a leading role in shaping that over the past several decades.
- A ways to go No surprise Folio’s latest editorial salary survey found that the gender gap persists. What is surprising, though, is just how wide that gap can be: At the associate level, for example, the survey found that females earn as much as 51% less than their male counterparts. Meanwhile, it found male managing editors make 24% more than females in the same role, and when it comes to higher-level positions like editor in chief, men make 19% more than women.
- Media alliances Lena Dunham, creator of the popular HBO series “Girls,” recently announced she’s partnering with Hearst to monetize her newish long-read newsletter Lenny Letter in an effort to make it self-sustaining and get exposure across properties like Elle, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and Marie Claire. Syndication will enable Dunham to hire a dedicated staff and “retain editorial control,” Poynter reports, adding that the writer and actress also recently partnered with BuzzFeed on a new podcast called “Woman of the Hour.”
- A female lens News site Refinery29, now 10 years old, is generally seen as serving millennial women, but in a Nieman Lab article, VP of editorial strategy Neha Gandhi says, “We’re not here to be CNN for women.” Rather, the site is expanding its coverage, Gandhi says, noting that its 25 million monthly unique visitors are looking to stay informed on a broad range of topics. However, she says, “We’re providing a female lens. We are acutely aware of who our audience is, how this woman is thinking about content, and it’s a big driving factor in how we tell certain stories to her.” The article adds that this focus on female perspective is reflected in Refinery29’s staff: Though two of the site’s co-founders are men, almost the entire editorial staff and 40% of product and engineering staff are women. “There’s something really powerful about having a C-suite with a wide array of powerful women in it,” says Gandhi.
Hiring news roundup
- Melissa Giannini was promoted to editor in chief at Nylon. Previously, she was Nylon’s deputy editor.
- Sarah Gilbert was named executive producer of NPR’s Morning Edition. She had served as NPR’s Weekend Edition senior supervising editor.
- Michelle Kempner was promoted from her role as director of operations at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. She is now publisher, a new position at the company.
- Michelle Lee, former editor and CMO of Nylon, joined Allure as editor in chief.
- Martha Nelson, formerly an editorial chief at Time Inc., officially took over as head of all media at Yahoo, including all of its video operations.
- Faye Penn was named editorial projects director at InStyle. Penn previously was features editor at New York and the New York Post.
- Yasmin Sewell joined Style.com as fashion director, a new role. Sewell was a consultant and owns her own label, Etre Cecile.
- Lisa Sugar was appointed president of Popsugar, a newly created position at the company. She is also co-founder and editor in chief of the site.
Let us know in the comments if there are any other recent stories or career moves you’d like us to include in our next Women in Media roundup.
Photo: Digiday
Technology for Publishing’s Women in Media blog highlights the news and achievements of female leaders and role models in the publishing and media industry. Look for our in-depth profiles and interviews of top women to watch. Is there someone you’d like to nominate for an upcoming Q&A? Drop us a note!
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
