A new job! Sort of.
Journalism meets "The Substance."
I’m coming up on 6 years at the newspaper — a job I thought I’d be at for a year then go back to being a feral freelance writer running around the world alone. In the spring of 2019, I showed up to Washington D.C. 28-years-old, completely untethered. Now I have roots. Like a lease on a place where I planted flowers in the garden and get to watch them come back to life after winter. And husband!!!! who I owe to th this job for bringing me here.
Of course, I fantasize about leaving all the time. (Not Dan, I’d bring him with me.) We could run from country to country, no ID badge lanyard dangling from my neck, no $14 Sweetgreen salad lunches. The only problem is he loves his job teaching kids at a high school, and I still love mine and the people I work with. And a couple weeks ago, my job got more exciting.
As you may have heard, the newspaper business is in crisis. We’re competing for subscription dollars with everything from other media outlets, to Netflix, YouTube Premium, Substack, egg prices. So in an effort to meet people where they’re at (social media), our company has launched the “Creator Hub,” a division to more effectively translate our journalism into “content.”
I applied to be part of the first cohort of reporters in the Creator Hub and was accepted(!) along with fashion critic Rachel Tashjian; sports reporter Ava Wallace; tech experts Geoff Fowler and Chris Velazco, and contributing columnist Dr. Trisha Pasricha.
That means for the next six months, I’ll be making more videos to tell stories and report the news, and writing less (filing one article a week instead of two).
Monica Rodman, my bff/video producer, will edit at least half of the videos and I’ll do some editing too (like this!). Plus we have a team of people who will approve our ideas, pitch us assignments, weigh in on edits.
The best part: they want us to travel more!!!!!!! They want us to make videos in the field, and get out more than I do now. Next week, I’ll meet Mo in NYC for a day of filming. I’m putting together a sweeping Europe tour spanning at least five countries.
We’ll be testing stuff (travel pillows, trains) to help people demystify online reviews, much like this investigation of the biggest buffet in Las Vegas. We’ll report on fascinating people, places and phenomena (think my dispatch from the world’s longest-running water competition). And I’ll keep interviewing beloved tastemakers in my fledgling series.
We’re smoking this thing to the filter.
When I first started experimenting with videos last year I was nervous and uneasy. Namely: is this cringe? Now I am absolutely chuffed.
It’s been a meaningful and frustrating pleasure to learn Adobe Premiere Pro from scratch this year. I’d forgotten about my teenage years, spending hours behind the computer editing “movies” I made from filming my friends, or the group video projects I made pretending to be a newscaster. When I’m editing now, I get into a flow state that’s hypnotic and joyful.
There is a little “The Substance” / cautionary tale to the whole thing. I’m using my “old” way of doing journalism to make something 🔥sexy and new🔥. One generates the other! The balance must be respected! But if I quit doing the meaningful journalism part of the Matrix, the only thing left is the shallow influencer. Not my dream. I’m hearing Dan now: “I think that metaphor got away from you.”
So now what? I’d love any tips for video ideas/trips/things to test. Please drop any ideas in the comments. Are there places in the world you’re curious to see? Travel gear you’d like to buy but aren’t sure if it’s worth the hype? Weird festivals or competitions or people I should know about? Legends I should interview? The lines are open.
And as always, thanks for stopping by.
Congratulations. Ironically, I recently subscribed to the Post because you were writing and working there - honestly. I’d like to know more about Inns and Bed & Breakfast’s in the US - I would love for you to pick a part of the US and do a series.
Congrats, Nat! 💛 Love this so much & can’t wait to follow along with your adventures