WHAT DID YOU THINK OF TODAY'S GUEST, Dorothy Robinson, Deputy Features Editor at the Metro US newspapers?Here's what stood out for me:
- She is the fourth generation newspaper person in her family.
- She wanted to be a writer, so after college, she took a job as an editorial assistant at a book publishing house.
- She said that being an editorial assistant is a great way to launch a career.
- She now writes about celebrities a lot.
- The Metro US distributes 1 million copies in Philly, Boston and NYC.
- She said that celebrities are trained by public relations people and they rarely stray off-topic (i.e. they won't tell you about cheating on their spouses or anything).
- Publicists control everything you read about celebrities.
- She doesn't get nervous when talking to celebs, unless they're really good-looking.
- She considers herself a cheerleader of sorts. She tries to write about young people doing cool stuff.
- She said that dating was like a job interview for sex. Then she wrote a book about it.- She hates the pink cover. Too girlie.
- She takes junkets ("I'm writing 300 words for the Metro," she said. "It doesn't influence anything I write.").
- She said you'd be surprised who else accepts the junkets.
- She thinks celebrity sex tapes are PR stunts.
- She said it wasn't easy becoming an editor. She worked a ton, lived in a dangerous neighborhood, had no money and then got lucky.
- She survived because she was confident she could do reach her goals.
What stood out for you?
18 comments:
I thought that she was really funny and informative. She said that "Publicist have insane power over celebrities lives." I thought that was very true seeing as though they weren't answering any of her questions. She also said that "It's still a mans world." For her to admit this shows how even women in America are still struggling for equality. Therefore, I'm glad that she is challenging this type of dominance.
The things that stuck out to me were these two quotes:
"We're fat and underpaid and tired." This she said, was the reality of a newsroom or magazine office; it rarely, she said, looks like, say, the Runway office in The Devil Wears Prada.
"I'm a machine -- just turning out copy." This quote struck a chord with me, as I'm constantly writing. Granted, I love it (for some reason) but that's how I feel sometimes, a machine. I really liked the way she said it.
I really enjoyed listening to her!
She was my favorite guest, hands down. She was so nice and helpful when she stayed after class too. It was entertaining and informative to hear about her occupation and passion for writing. I can't wait to to read her book!
She seemed very approachable and I really regret not staying and talking with her.
But anyway, she has one of my dream jobs. I would absolutely love writing about celebrities and interviewing them etc...from the outside anyway her job seems AMAZING. However, when she told us about it it seemed like it was pretty repetitive and that she forgot a lot of her interviews.
I really enjoyed Dorothy. I thought she was extremely witty and real. She was relatable. I loved how she said that when she graduated from college she was just good at writing, she knew that she could do the job well so she figured that she would go into journalism. That is exactly how I feel sometimes. I am a good writer so I figure I should use that skill. I thought she was very funny and I aspire to do the sort of job and be the sort of person that she is.
I didn't know writing about John Gosselin and the like qualified as journalism.
One learns new things everyday.
I was really glad that we had her as a guest speaker because she is a features writer and I enjoy reading the Metro. I think that it is pretty cool that she gets to interview celebrities. I learned a lot about going through the interview process with them and only getting 15 minutes. I'm getting sick of being told that journalists don't make a lot of money and that there are no jobs available even though it is the truth. I'm gonna support her by buying her book and reading her articles!
I really liked her! She was my favorite guest speaker yet. She had personality, and was not boring to listen to. I also felt very interested in what she was discussing because her career path is something that I am intrigued by. Recently, I was unsure if I actually wanted to pursue my career in journalism, but now I feel more confident that this may be something that I want to do.
I thought that a number of my classmates were very disrespectful to our in class guest Dorothy Robinson. I have to be extremely honest, by saying that, I couldn't hear nothing that she was saying, because my classmates were talking loud, and just being rude. They really need to check their manners!!!
To Anonoymous, she didn't claim to be a hard news reporter.She writes about entertainment and has a gossip column, jeez. She's just a DIFFERENT type of journalist.
That being said, I really enjoyed her hearing her speak. It sucks that you kind of have to "luck" into a job like hers.
I really enjoyed her presentation. She was very enthusiastic and interesting to listen to. She was very informative about how to go about interviewing, which is important for a career in journalism. I just thought she did a great job!
Coming into college all I knew was that I wanted to write, but I always dismissed the idea of being an author because of what Dorothy said. It doesn't make a lot of money, and it takes a lot of time. But Dorothy seems to have gotten along well by doing other work for the Metro and now she interviews huge celebrities all the time, so I just decided maybe I could go about my dreams to become an author with another job to make money on the side. She was really inspiring to me, and she was hilarious, so I bet her book is going to be very amusing and I plan to read it.
She was by far my favorite guest speaker as well! The comfortable and outgoing way she spoke made her very personable. She was hilarious and entertaining without even trying to be. I'm excited to read her book. Her ambition to work in comedy is awesome. I think she'd do great!
She was a laid back person and she was good at what she did. I loved the fact that she deals with celebrities, to me I always thought of journalism as more about hard news like crimes or international affairs but here was a job I could see myself doing. Im glad she came because it opened my eyes to a type of journalism that i am more capable or fitted for.
I really enjoyed listening to what she had to say. She speaks her mind, which is something I really liked. I liked how she was so comfortable sitting up there giving us some very vital information. She was definitely my favorite guest speaker yet.
I was actually intereseted in everything she had to say. What stood out to me the most, was that she is honest.
I wasn't sure about her, she did seem really cool and was definitely informative, but when she said she didn't do her fact checking or research for Superbad beforehand I was kind of like...are you kidding me? She said she looked on Wikipedia. As journalists (which she said she considered herself), we're supposed to be looking for credibility in our research, basic as it may be. I understand she's very busy, but I was shocked that she didn't really do any research beforehand.
Great job! Interesting topics she discussed and great information she offered. She has neat opinions which were alsao great to listen to.
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