One of the more difficult aspects of the media industry is figuring out what’s interesting to others and what makes a good story. That starts with the pitch — the story of the story. What is the reader going to learn? Why does the reader want to know it? And what has come before the story that you’re writing today?

A good rule of thumb for media writing is that if you think a story is intriguing, others might like it as well. So, first ask yourself, “Is this interesting? Would I read it if I weren’t the writer?” That’s one good way to gut-check yourself and figure out if you’re writing something worthwhile that will grab an editor’s attention and make them want to share it with their readers.

What makes a good story? That’s something we all grapple with every day. It’s one of the most difficult parts of the writer’s job — and the one that’s most critical to your success. News editors are looking for something that’s going to immediately attract readers and make them want to know more.
Now, what you had for breakfast this morning may be new information, but it’s not something that anyone cares about. You need to find that sweet spot where you have a particular insight, or, even better, fresh facts about a subject that people already want to know more about. Then, you can bring those to your writing and say, “Look, you may have already learned something about this, but if you read what I have to say, you’ll come away with something new and better.”

People always ask me, “What’s the difference between a writer and an editor, and why does one become a writer or become an editor. Or can you do both?” Personally, I do both.

But, a writer is mainly focused on crafting their pieces. I mean, they’re going to draft them. They’re going to potentially edit them. I was editing and writing always. A lot of times, people ask me that question, “Why did you become an editor? What’s the difference between an editor and a writer? Or, is one better than the other?”

Personally, for me, I became an editor and went down that path for probably two reasons. One, because you have to have a really big ego to be a successful writer. And the reason why I say that is you’re dealing with a lot of criticism, a lot of rejection. To be able to survive that, you have to be able to deal with that level of rejection and criticism. It’s a little easier, sometimes, to be in the background and not get that in your face all the time.

The other reason is that I had so many ideas. I was so curious. There is no way physically and mentally that I would be able to do and execute all the things I want to do myself. That’s why I needed an army of people doing things — I can assign them things and then edit them. And then we’ll tell all these stories I want to tell that I can’t physically do myself. Furthermore, some people are just more talented than me. They have a great writing style or voice. It’s very satisfying to work with people in the media industry who are talented and give them an extra level of attention.

As a singular career path in the media, if you’re looking at editorial, you’ll continue to improve as a writer. There are a lot of writers who are editors for years and years and years, and then they write a remarkable novel. In the past, it was really looked down on in the publishing world that it was another failed writer. You had to sort of keep it a secret that you were working on a novel on the side. I think that’s changed a little bit.

The etiquette may still be to keep your mouth shut a bit with media writing, but there’s a reason that those editors do that. And, you know, they’re just very skilled. They know how to structure a story. They know the workflow of the story. When they have a story to tell, they know how to get it on the page.

The state of media writing today is very different from the state of writing 10 years ago. Even 20 years ago, websites were brand new. They were novelties within newsrooms.

The most important product that that newsroom may have created in the year 2000 was the print edition of all of the work from the reporters there. And if you look at a television company, the most important thing there was not its website but whatever the reporter or correspondent or anchor would be saying on the nightly news later that night. So, remember that the media industry that you’re choosing to work in is in flux, and change has become a near constant these days.

Judging from the jobs that I’ve worked in, changes in management, learning to adjust, and becoming reorganized as a staff under new leadership are experiences you can expect to go through, especially if you decide to become a staff member of an organization.

So, as you see in your online media education, digital communication is becoming more and more important, but there is a split in the industry. Those who work in major media organizations that put out a television broadcast or a newspaper may be really devoted to the paper copy or the televised copy of the information that they have to share that day. However, the digital presence of a news organization is competing with these more traditional forms of communication. A news organization’s homepage becomes its front page. The benefit of that digital organization’s homepage is that it can be changed without having to print anything or make any major changes. With a click of a button, you can create a new front page.

Even though Variety is more than a hundred years old, we want to be as fleet and intelligent and new as we can, which is why we have a number of great reporters of different ages and generations and interests in our newsroom. They’re interested in all different kinds of music and different pockets of film. We even have a lot of people whose main source of entertainment is TikTok. That is in our newsroom; that is represented.

Each year, we sponsor the Power of Young Hollywood event where we cede the mic to the upcoming generation, the biggest trendsetters that are all under 20. And you wonder how they’ve been able to gain a foothold already. As long as you’re willing to understand that things change, and you want to change and grow along with the industry, that’s how you keep fresh.