Are Your Looks (And Not Your Resume) Getting You In The Door?

I have a few really hot friends who wanted to get internships in magazine publishing—they didn't even want to be editors, they just wanted a magazine internship "for fun." They sent out cover letters and resumes, and within a week, all of them had scored internships with some of the best pubs in the business.

However, some of my less-stunning friends (including myself) have resumes that are a little more sparse when it comes to having served as interns at brand-name publications. And yet my hot friends with no experiencegot these awesome internships. Coincidence? I think not. Ugh...The media industry appears to be increasingly image-obsessed. The Devil Wears Prada depicted the offices of magazines as a toxic peer culture of snobbish beautiful women... and Lauren Conrad at Teen Vogue really doesn't help that stereotype.

I was walking by the New York Times building a few weeks ago and saw a young woman smoking a cigarette outside who was in a tight button down shirt and a short, poofy skirt that was so outrageous that it had to have been couture. Is this what the Times has come to--young staffers who probably have to spend as much time primping as they do reviewing the Elements of Style?

When I think of the glory days of newspaper and magazine publishing (before financial stress at the New York Times and Time Inc., and the new media), I think of newspaper editors reclining in their chairs with their feet on their desks while chain-smoking cigarettes, and sleep-deprived editors at magazines with tired eyes and a little too much stubble. Now that magazine editors have become near celebrities and newspaper editors bringing celebrity guests to the Washington Correspondents dinners, has the media lost the ruggedness that used to be so endearing?

Does it mean that today's college grads need to be hot if they want to get that prized editorial assistant job or internship? In the past, paying your dues used to mean grunt work. Is the prerequestite to today's grunt work a diet and a makeover? I'm hopeful. I'm cute and blonde, but I'm also very overweight, and I hope to get a job in the media. It just probably won't be for AnnaWintour.

Liz Funk, Contributing Writer, NYC

photo from here.

Check Yourself, Umbrellas Away: Paparrazi In Town

Italian film director Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita gave way to the celebrity photos seen in tabloid, magazines and newspapers. Fellini was inspired by a pack of press photographers he saw in Italy trying to snap a photo of a passing celebrity; in Italian, paparazzo means buzzing insect.

According to John Ingledew, author of “Photography,” the paparazzi objective is to appease the public with photos of celebrities in their private lives without any regards to personal boundaries. They in-turn sell the photos to newspapers and magazines willing to offer the photographer a comfortable paycheck. X17, the most popular paparazzi agency, is said that a few of the photographers made over 100 thousand dollars from Britney Spears photos in one year, according to timminspress.com. Because the pay has been getting higher in the past few years, the competition for celebrity photos is getting more aggressive.


The Independent Institute’s Web site explains that the paparazzi cannot invade private property to obtain a story or to take a photographer. The line gets blurred with this law because everyone has the right to freedom of speech, which means paparazzi are protected by the First Amendment.

"...66 thousand dollars worth of security..."

However, they have free reign over public property. As an example of what the paparazzi can do on public property, The Independent Institute uses the illustration, “as when they chase relatives of the victims of a plane crash to ask, ‘How do you feel about losing your children in this tragic accident?’”

There is a legislation said to in consideration called "Britney's Law," according to the LA Times Online. The legislation will help protect celebrities from chasing photographers and passersby getting stuck in the middle of the swarm.

William Hodgman, chief of the target crimes division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, explained on firstamendmentcenter.org that it would be impossible to charge photographers on trespassing. "Prosecutors wouldn't have to overcome the kind of First Amendment defenses photojournalists have when they are sued for taking photos in public because crimes like trespassing aren't protected by the Constitution."

California is trying to enforce a new anti-paparazzi laws to protect the privacy of celebrities and civilians. Any person can sue a member of the media if they have entered private property without permission explains Kelli Sager, a writer for Davis Wright Tremaine practicing law office. She also explains that constructive invasion of privacy is when a member of the media tries to get a hold of private videos, sound recording or undisclosed photographs of a celebrity, or a civilian. However, if the items were achieved without a trespass, it will not be considered against the law. This normally happens when a friend or family member of the celebrity sells photos to the media.

Despite the efforts, Los Angeles' city police believe the law is difficult too enforce because it would mean that every celebrity would need a buffer of a few feet between them and the photographers. Los Angeles' Police Chief William Bratton explained to fox28.com that he is more concerned about equal protection. "Are all celebrities, A list, B list, C list, entitled to the same protection?"

During the legal battle between both sides, the conclusion was brought to that the law is flawed. It violates the First Amendment. On bnet.com, attorney Douglas Mirell says that there is a problem with the wording of the law. "Does persistently] mean [following someone] for six minutes, six seconds, or six days?

Photographs and videos aren't the only things the media is trying to obtain from the famous. According to latimes.com, 13 workers are in the process of being fired from UCLA Medical Center for looking through the medical record of Britney Spears, and in 2007 Palisades Medical Center in New Jersey suspended 27 workers for a month for looking through George Clooney's records after his motorcycle accident caused by a paparazzi chase. In both cases, the information was leaked to the media. But because the paparazzi did not trespass to obtain this information, they could not be charged for invading privacy.

Celebrities have taken the situation into their own hands when having to deal with the paparazzi. Heidi Klum and Russel Crowe have hired their own photographers to release their wedding and children’s photos under contracts with publications and networks. Klum told USA Today about her child’s photos, "That's why I released the photos of her, instead of having photographers hunt for them.”

In 2003, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas took legal action against a paparazzo named Rupert Thorpe for invading their wedding and selling photos to Hello! Magazine. Zeta-Jones and Douglas had hired a photographer and 66 thousand dollars worth of security, and had an exclusive contract with OK! magazine for the rights to use their wedding photos. Also, Nicole Kidman testified in 2007 against an Australian newspaper because a photographer forcefully pursued her. "I was frightened and I was worried there was going to be an accident," Kidman said in court according to cbsnews.com.

Unlike the United States, France has strict privacy laws. According to the International Herald Tribune’s Web site, the laws are so strict “that editors usually print a black band across the faces of subjects who have not given permission for their pictures to be published.” However, French photographers get around this rule by taking the photos then selling the prints to Britain, Spain, and Germany’s tabloid magazines.

According to the nytimes.com, People magazine's weekly circulation is 3.63 million, and US Weekly has raised its circulation of 10 percent from 2006 with 19 million. Washingtonpost.com says that there are over 50,000 celebrity photos submitted a week to each magazine. Obviously, the demand for these stories and photos are still high, and despite efforts to protect celebrity privacy the laws and legislations are not going to be enforced soon.

Laura Delarato, Playgirl Intern & Contributing Writer

photo from here.

Writers: To Which Cult Do You Belong?

19 of us were chosen for a week-long college editors' conference at Columbia University in New York City the week of May 26. The workshop was made possible by the generous donations of Bloomberg L.P., an information-services, news and media giant.

We met in the freshman lounge on the first day, all of us prepping to head over to the J-School, where we'd inevitably end up in photos posing near the Columbia University J-School plaque. Our crew - we were excited, naive, and eager to pocket any business card we could get our jobless hands on.

We were student editors of our respective East coast, West Coast and Everywhere in Between newspapers -University of California, Berkeley, Bates College, University of Chicago and Pace University. In a room of college journalists, the obvious tempering of egos is what kept us all at the same level - which is why we started off with a Name your University's cliche icebreaker.

Pretty soon, we were all leveled off -- the "We're not all rich, white, preppy girls" and the "We're not all NYU rejects" and the seemingly futile, "we're not all angry lesbians." With egos subdued, we set off with pen and notepad in hand, fervently scribbling down advice by industry giants, like The New York Times and Bloomberg L.C.

No matter where we came from (one of us a student editor at Virginia Military Institute whose cliche was, not surprisingly, "we don't all hate women") we were linked by the same exhausting desire: how to fit into the ever-changing media and where to get a paycheck. But some of us didn't want to sell our souls in order to get there. Some of us wanted to find something that would make us happy. Something that would fulfill our salary expectation without forcing us to work 13 hour days.

Some of us wanted to see sunlight. Others didn't care.

The Others, in this case, were those who gawked at the polished Bloomberg Tower (fully stocked with Beyonce in the penthouse up top) located at East 58th Street and Lexington Ave. Gawked at the chandeliers that blinked in Morse code sentences about languages. Foamed at the mouth over the free employee food bars strewn throughout the building. Found the random floor tanks of fish (representing fortune) to be just what they needed to have a "serene experience" at the work place.

The tour guide even got the Others when he barked on and on about how Bloomberg is a physical representation of transparency. Read this to get a thorough understanding of a real-life Xanadu. Every conference room and newsroom was see-through, the radio and TV stations were see through and the people, oddly enough, seemed see-through too. They had wide, white smiles and expensive suits. These were beacons of light to our Others. These were the bobble-heads that repeated, "Bloomberg strives to be completely transparent. We have nothing to hide."


In my little notepad, I scribbled down the number of times our insincere, model-boy tourguide said things like, "we have nothing to hide." This number was 6. In a 15 minute tour. It would be presumptuous to think Bloomberg was maliciously hiding something, but it would be naive to think the company is completely innocuous. Generally, overcompensating for having something to hide often comes in the form of making sure others think you have nothing to hide. It's a newsroom. It's got a high-tech fingerprinting chip that enables employees to access data from across the globe.

And while Bloomberg claim's they strive to get the news fastest and first, it's with a whole lot of pretty on the side. Journalistic integrity can be sought without the sugery toppings. For instance, The New York Times building -- is as the joke goes (black, white and read all over) -- it's understated and clean. They produce the news without having glitz and gloss.

The Bureau Chief of Bloomberg News told us her dress had a leather belt. She said she saw her husband one hour a day and that her marriage would last because of this. She said she worked from 6AM to 6PM. This was Bloomberg.

Some of us called it a cult. The Others were fascinated.

We eventually trickled on down to DUMBO, where we visited with Jewcy Media - a small start-up that is thriving because it's niche - Jewish counter-culture viewpoints. The owner, Talh Raz, told us the Internet was where it's at. That drive meant everything. A degree meant nothing. The ability to be an industry chameleon would benefit us. That major media was being sideswiped by smaller media companies with big dreams. A degree in journalism was meaningless unless your writing was creative and necessary and useful.

Some of us fell in love with the idea of finding a niche market, and writing for it. Can't find a job? Create one, we thought. The Others wanted to bleach their teeth and get Ivy league graduate degrees and work for mainstream media conglomerates.

Journalism is an industry that welcomes people from different backgrounds, with different colored pens-- the steadfast, alternative-weekly reporters, the culture writers, the prestigious, national newspaper editors, the photojournalists, the news magazine finance writers, the online political writers and the celebrity bloggers.

If the job field is a microcosm of the world, than You, Me and The Others live in a nation that really is free.

-Lisa Marie, Five Wire Editor

New York City