Eats and Feats at Every Day with Rachael Ray

Tracey Seaman (right) talks to students in the Every Day with Rachael Ray test kitchen.

The delectable aroma of herbs, spices, and Mexican cooking greeted M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media students as they arrived at the test kitchens of Every Day with Rachael Ray for an industry visit. Naturally, at a food magazine, the test kitchen is key–and the perfect place to start our tour! Christine Guilfoyle, the magazine’s Group Publisher, who graciously set up the student visit, explained that a goal of Every Day with Rachael Ray is to help readers understand the everyday practices of good cooking.

Mag Lab: Carey and Carr Talk Shop

Carey and Carr at NYU Media Talk

Are “two pizza” teams the future of media? Championing the value of start-up staffs being small enough to share, well, two pizzas, Hearst Magazines President David Carey praised the entrepreneurial spirit at the latest NYU Media Talk. Sponsored by The NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing, “Magazines 2011: The New Conversation” featured Carey and David Carr, Media Columnist for The New York Times, talking about important issues facing the industry. “There’s never been a better time,” Carey began about working in magazines. He described his faith in publishing as a ship that can change course, reroute and stay solvent (with proper leadership) in any tide.

Carey is widely known as an eloquent speaker about media. It was David Carr who had suggested him to Center for Publishing Director Andrea Chambers as perfect for the Media Talk. To be sure, Carey was a timely choice: earlier this month Hearst Magazines completed their $900 million acquisition of Hachette Lagardère, acquiring nearly 100 magazine titles in 14 countries, including Elle, Elle Décor, Woman’s Day, Road & Track, and Car & Driver. The merger is a bold gesture that now makes Hearst the largest publisher of monthly magazines internationally, and a dominant player in all sectors of lifestyle publishing. Carey addressed the importance of emerging markets for publishing  such as those in China and India) and commented that Hearst’s aim is to have a heightened presence in those climates, meeting the growing demands for consumer goods and Western culture. Next up for Cosmopolitan, noted Carey, was a possible move into Mongolia, though the magazine “takes a different tone” in such climates.

Social Media Socializing

Debbie Stier and Yuli Ziv speak to students and alumni

The conversation at a recent publishing event was all about social media and how to harness it for maximum profit—and have some fun along the way. Sponsored by the Publishing Students Association at the NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing, the Office for Alumni Relations, and the Publishing Alumni Association, the evening was a way for students and alumni to gather, send lots of tweets, and hear from two top social media experts, Debbie Stier of HarperCollins, and Yuli Ziv of the Style Coalition.

Secrets of the Freelance Life

Being stood up by Britney Spears in Las Vegas, going on free vacations, and filing stories from sweatshops in Mexico all come with the territory, a panel of freelance journalists told students at NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute (SPI).

Virginia Sole-Smith

As Donna Sapolin, Magazine Director of SPI, deftly moderated, four top freelance writers and editors generously shared secrets and advice about how to get published happily and steadily in some of America’s leading publications. How to get started? Virginia Sole-Smith, who has filed stories from sweatshops in Mexico and whose bylines appear in the Progressive, the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and Elle, among other publications, suggested setting up a schedule to help keep on track. When she was starting out, she made a list of potential stories and publications which might run them, and then resolved to pitch three stories a week. Within three months, Sole-Smith was a published journalist. “Set your own goals and deadlines and be strict with yourself,” she emphasized.