For the past decade I had been determined to become a fashion journalist, but as I entered college and began taking classes I found myself not entirely cut out to be what I deemed to be successful in this profession. This realization came around the time I chose to interview fashion columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Wendy Donahue.
I came out of this experience with the knowledge that patience and perseverance are two important aspects to good journalism, that interviewing is a large part of journalism, and if you are too afraid to go out and talk to people then you wont succeed. This was a large part of the reason I found myself opposed to perusing journalism- simply because I found myself wanting to back out of the interview a lot because in the initial e-mail I received from Ms. Donahue, she seemed entirely top busy to have time for me. However, I stuck with it, and it ended up being completely worth it, I learned a lot and took away an enormous amount of personal understanding and as it turned out, Donahue was actually honored that I chose to do this final report on her.
After researching many local fashion writers online I found that I envied Ms. Donahue’s writing style more than any other journalists. So I began to read old articles she had written that I pulled from the archives of the Chicago tribune, and I was fascinated by her honesty and ability to capture my attention. I love reading about fashion, but Donahue did a better job than most writers for big time magazines- I was captivated.
The first step for me in managing to get an interview with Ms. Donahue was getting over my nerves. I was super worried at first about having to meet this woman in person, especially when I figured she probably had a lot more important things to do with her day. I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t even like talking on the phone, but I knew I had to get over this fear, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. So I began this process by going to the Chicago Tribune’s website and securing Donahue’s e-mail address. After I got in touch with her, she told me that a phone interview would be more convenient for her, so I agreed.
I knew that I wanted to talk about fashion- because that is something I figured we both had in common. I thought that if I started off by asking fun questions I might loosen up, since I would be establishing a sort of common ground between the two of us.
After I thought of a few fashion questions, for example: what item of clothing or accessory could she not live without, and what was it about fashion that made her want to create a career out of it? I moved on to some of the questions that had been suggested for this assignment, what being a fashion journalist entails, how does one go about getting an article published, and what makes something in fashion newsworthy? I found myself super interested in finding out what Donahue does in order to keep her edge in a world that is constantly filled with competition? I also wanted to find out how she got over her fear [if she ever had any] of interviewing for her stories, since that was one of my biggest issues in securing this interview. Considering this is the way one has to go about retrieving information in this industry, apart from other research, I wanted to know how she did it, how she prepared for an interview and how it differed from what I did in preparing to interview her?
Another question I wanted to ask her was what made the best and the worst list of her day. What did she love the most about working for the style section of the Chicago Tribune and what she hated? I have always seen pursuing a job as a journalist to be super individualistic, in a way hoping that the job morphs to fit your style of writing and researching, so I wanted to know if I was correct in my fantasy of thinking of fashion journalism as potentially the most rewarding and entertaining job in the industry.
I found preparing for this interview to be extremely difficult, because I had a hard time finding information on Wendy Donahue. So I figured I would have to go right to the source. After getting in touch with her and securing an interview I went back to the Tribune’s website and read through a plethora of her fashion articles. After reading those, I googled her and found a few interesting commentaries that were made on an article that she had written on Michelle Obama. I found that even an esteemed journalist [Donahue] had her own critics. I was surprised and even a little bit encouraged knowing that her work was causing some uproar in the fashion world.
Otherwise I had a hard time finding any biographical information on Donahue.
I went into the interview with a set list of a few basic questions, hoping that as I became more comfortable I would be able to expand on anything she brought up. My main questions consisted of:
- How does she go about doing her job, how the process works?
- How does she get her information, does she do any pre-research or pre- interviewing?
- What is the hardest part and the best part of being a fashion journalist- or of a typical day in the life?
The interview went pretty smoothly, and even though I was super nervous at first, I warmed up once we started talking. She was really chatty, and even though she didn’t have much time to talk she was very helpful and eager to talk. Our conversation wasn’t very long but she answered all of my questions willingly, you will find the basics of the interview attached. We especially connected over our love for fashion, and I found that I became more comfortable as soon as we started talking about something that I understood. It was then that I realized Donahue and I were not that different.
I find it difficult to try and put into simple sentences what I learned from this entire interviewing process. The most important part of this assignment was learning to overcome my fear of meeting someone new and having to, in a way “drill” them on their life’s work. I had to get over myself, and really throw myself into the actual assignment. I tried to think of it as an actual part of my job, not just a project for school. But I feel as if I learned a lot more about myself from interview Wendy Donahue than I learned about the writer herself.
First of all, I finalized my conclusion that fashion journalism is not for me. I had recently changed my major to fashion business and Donahue encouraged my decision. She explained to me that interviewing and reporting was a large part of her job, and I confided in her that I really wanted to work as a fashion editor for a magazine. She told me my decision seemed fitting.
The big picture lesson learned from this entire process was definitely about time management. I have become such a procrastinator since entering college, and Donahue was so organized and put together that I realized I couldn’t continue along these disorganized and forgetful lines I had been following if I wanted to make it anywhere in the world. I also realized that I absolutely despised the panicked feeling I got when I realized the deadline for this assignment was approaching and I wasn’t prepared. I most definitely learned a valuable lesson on time management and hope to never make the mistake of procrastinating for a major assignment ever again. It is just entirely too stressful, disorganized, and haphazard.
In closing I found myself most surprised by my own efficiency. This is hard for me to even believe but I realized that when the chips are down and I have to complete an assignment I am not prepared for or even motivated to do I am able to pick the ball back up and finish my project. I don’t mean to say that I am not motivated or don’t enjoy school, I just found myself almost too scared that I would fail or not understand to start this assignment. Yet when I did, I ran with it. I really enjoyed it and I loved learning about Wendy Donahue’s life. I was also surprised by how quickly she responded to my initial e-mails and how sweet and kind she was as far as being “ honored” that I would choose to complete my final on her. My point of view has been changed in many different ways because of this entire experience. It has changed the way I look at myself, fashion reporting, journalism as a career, and time management. I can simply say that I now have a better idea of where I am going in my future- as far as my career at least. I now have a better understanding of how seriously I have to take my work in order to succeed, as well as accepting the fact that I have a lot of personal fears and doubts that I need to get over in order to be successful in fashion, as Wendy explained to me. She was so confident and sure of her self and her writing that I now wish to become more like her, even if I only become half as successful.
The next time I have to do an assignment like this I will be more prepared and more confident. Because I find myself to be awkward and uncomfortable I was so surprised that I was able to talk to Ms. Donahue without completely putting my foot in my mouth. I don’t think there was an actual “ worst” part of the interview, but I struggled immensely with my procrastination and poor time management skills. I stress myself out and worry as opposed to actually sitting down and doing the assignment. I think however, that it is most definitely safe to say that I learned from my mistakes, and was able to uncover a perseverance and resourcefulness in myself that I had never reached before.
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