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 Journalist of the Year April Ryan, Folio’s Top Women in Media event, female leaders “disrupting the status quo,” the success of Gwenyth Paltrow’s Goop brand, and more.
“True Trailblazer”
April Ryan, who has been the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks since 1997, was named 2017 Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. According to a Huffington Post article, the 30-year industry veteran is “the only black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House.” Ryan has covered the last three administrations and recently joined CNN as a political analyst. NABJ President Sarah Glover said, “April Ryan is a true trailblazer and truth seeker. In the White House press corps circle, where too few black women have been given an opportunity to report, April has excelled and persevered in spite of the many obstacles she has confronted. Her work has risen to the top.”
Folio Top Honors
Folio recently recognized 85 women in media for their “creativity, achievement, and bringing the industry forward.” The 2017 Folio: Top Women in Media awards honor outstanding achievement in six categories: Rising Stars, Director-Level Doers, Industry Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Mentors, and Corporate Visionaries. Ann Shoket, former Seventeen EIC and author of The Big Life, a new book focused on young professionals and female empowerment, spoke at this year’s awards event, noting, “Millennials are leading the way for all of us to live the most fulfilling lives and careers possible.”
Disrupting the Status Quo
Some 37 other female leaders were highlighted by Adweek for championing gender diversity across media, advertising, and technology. It profiled their efforts to bridge what remains a significant gender gap in these areas, particularly in the C-suite: Only 4% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs and just 19% of senior management are women, according to the post. In advertising, the number of female creative directors stands at just 11%. These top advocates for diversity and women’s issues are out to change that, it said, from investing in female-founded companies to teaching girls about STEM careers and more.
How to Build a Brand
In a Digiday article, Gwyneth Paltrow shared what she’s learned from running Goop, which has grown from a simple lifestyle newsletter into a product and media powerhouse that, among other ventures, recently partnered with Condé Nast to launch a quarterly print magazine. The idea behind the magazine is to “create a more beautiful visual experience, which is what a magazine should be,” Paltrow says in the post. And what’s behind the success of her Goop brand? “The recipe for success is to build a brand that authentically connects people to a mission,” she says. “It has to mean something.”
Hiring News Roundup
- Brooke Ellis was named vice president of digital design and UX for Condé Nast’s Co/Lab leadership team. Ellis had served as executive director of UX and design for the group.
- Emily Anne Epstein, formerly an editor at The Atlantic, joined Bustle as executive editor of news.
- Stephanie Flanders will head a new Bloomberg unit called Bloomberg Economics, set to launch in October. Flanders is currently U.K. and Europe chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. She previously was an editor at the BBC and a speechwriter. Prior to that, she worked at the Financial Times.
- Stephanie Fried has been promoted to executive vice president of research, analytics, and audience development at Condé Nast’s Co/Lab leadership team, previously serving as vice president.
- Soo-Jeong Kang is now executive producer of New Yorker Video at The New Yorker, working with the group’s supervising producer, Cath Spangler. Prior to her appointment, Kang worked at the New York Times.
- Meredith Kopit Levien was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer at The New York Times, where she most recently was chief revenue officer. She also worked in the same position at Forbes Media.
- Meredith Long, senior vice president and general manager of news and luxury at Time Inc., was appointed president of New York Women in Communications. She succeeds Jacki Kelley, chief operating officer of Bloomberg Media.
- Laura Milsted joined the Financial Times as B2B client director for EMEA and global director of insight. She most recently was Dentsu Aegis Network’s U.K. managing director of Interprise, the company’s B2B division.
- Mary Gail Pezzimenti is now VP of branded content at Mashable. Prior to joining the company, she headed the Huffington Post’s Creative Lab, a division of AOL’s Partner Studio.
- Ally Tubis was named SVP, data and analytics, at Fusion Media Group. Before that, she was Rodale’s head of data science and growth.
- Jessica Winter is joining NewYorker.com as executive editor. Winter previously was a features editor at Slate and a culture editor at Time.
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.
Huffington Post Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
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: Margot Knorr Mancini
