Deez Interviews: Jessica Grose, on how the pandemic could change the parenting narrative + how she’s making it all work from home
Today’s interview is with Jessica Grose, the lead editor for NYT Parenting (if you missed that beautiful Motherhood Changes Us All package from a few weeks ago, read it now!!). We talked about her career path, what makes the “parenting beat” unique, and how the pandemic could change parenting. Enjoy!
Before NYT Parenting, you spent most of your career editing some of the biggest names in women’s media — Jezebel, DoubleX, Lenny, etc. What got you into parenting media?
I ended up in women's media sort of by accident. I originally wanted to be a music critic — my first job was a new media assistant at Spin, a very 2004 sentence to type — but then I realized when music was my job, it sucked the fun out of it. I applied to work at Jezebel because I loved reading it, and was in awe of what Anna Holmes had created and wanted to be a part of it. Then, the other jobs in women's media followed from there.
What appealed to me about NYT Parenting was that I felt parenting was a space where I, as a reader, wasn't finding what I wanted to read. The joke I always tell is that whenever I had a question about my kids and I Googled it, I would fall down a rabbit hole and end up on a British message board where some rando was telling me I could cure my baby's leprosy with crystals.
So I wanted to help create a section that gave people expert-driven information that they could trust, presented in a way that wasn't judgmental. That was the other problem I wanted to solve for in parenting media: The insane judgment that even good information is often framed by. I also just love editing essays, and finding new writers and new perspectives, so the ability to get the best writers as part of the best newspaper in the world was certainly very, very exciting to me.
I'm curious about what makes the "parenting beat" unique in journalistic terms. Like, is sourcing a lot trickier since it’s such a personal topic that everyone and their mother (heh) has a perspective on?
What I love about parenting as a beat is that it touches absolutely everything: education, technology, health, science, finances, public spaces — it really can be incredibly wide ranging. Sourcing isn't tougher, but you do have to be incredibly nuanced and do your homework.
Most of the research on pregnancy, birth and parenting is not definitive — if there were one single way to raise thriving kids, everyone would just do it, and I wouldn't have a job. Most research is complicated and every parent-child relationship is somewhat unique.
One of the few parenting-related topics where the research is pretty definitive is vaccines (you should vaccinate your kids!), and even that is hugely controversial. I think the approach to the topic should be full of empathy and grace because parenting is hard for everyone in its special way.
Has the pandemic changed your vision for the role NYT Parenting should play in your audience's lives?
I wouldn't say it has changed the vision, but it has sharpened it and made it newsier. We always wanted to bring evidence-driven information to our readership, but for the first year, it was pretty evergreen. There's always a new crop of parents trying to potty train their kids, for example.
In this moment, we had the opportunity to provide more news-driven, daily information to our readers about a health scare that was affecting their kids and their lives in a very specific and once-in-a-lifetime way, and I only hope that we have been helpful and even comforting.
Like many, you’re also parenting-from-home as well as working-from-home. Have there been any changes to your workflow or ways you're personally structuring your day to make it all work?
LOL, every day is a living nightmare. Kidding! Every day is exhausting, though.
For all of our team, there has been increased flexibility in terms of hours worked — as long as folks are getting their work done, if it needs to be beyond the 9 to 5, that's perfectly fine. In my own life, each day my schedule is different, as my husband and I are both working full time jobs from home while trying to educate our 3- and 7-year-olds.
We try to go over our important calls and meetings the night before, but sometimes there's a fire that needs to be put out at work for one of us, and so the other person's best laid plans are thrown up in the air. I do a lot of working between dinner and bedtime, and also from 6-9 a.m. Honestly, as tiring as it is, I'm incredibly grateful we both still have jobs and are safe and our kids are safe.
Finally, do you think all of this will change the narratives we’ve consciously and unconsciously formed around modern parenting?
My hope is that we all take a deep breath and realize that as long as our kids are loved, have enough to eat, and have basic structures in their lives, we don't need to micromanage their lives with a zillion activities or keep up the illusion of control that seems to undergird so much of the parenting advice out there.
I also really hope that more privileged parents spend some more time thinking about how to help the more underserved kids in their communities — the pandemic is hitting them so hard, and many more parents will be out of work in the coming months and in need of the basics. But, I'm also a cynic and so I wonder if we'll have like 6-12 months of change and then just revert back to the same old nonsense. We'll see.
Don’t forget to follow @JessGrose on Twitter, and have a good weekend!
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This place is hiring: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is looking for a digital content specialist to help reach and engage new audiences. They’re looking for an experienced digital journalist/producer/editor who is passionate about audiences and who has big ideas for innovative storytelling to help us manage our social media channels and work with our reporters, developers and global network of media partners to create amazing content for the world's biggest potential audience.
—Writing / Editing—
Madison Hall: I’m a data journalist, information designer and social media manager looking for work in reporting, information design, social media and newsletter writing. She’s worked for community newspapers, tech startups and will be a great asset to your team. Email Madison madisonlainehall@gmail.com.
Yasmine Maggio: I'm a journalist with experience covering food, fashion, beauty, pop culture, and entertainment, with a focus on the intersection of culture and social issues. I also have extensive experience with social media and newsletters. I've worked at L'Officiel USA, Women's Health, and Serious Eats. You can find my website at yasminemaggio.com, and my email is yasmine.magggio@gmail.com.
Andrew Denney: Victim of layoffs at NY Post here. I covered NYC courts and would love to find something again in the legal/criminal justice realm. But I'm open to seeing where else I could fit in. Email akdenney101@gmail.com
—Photojournalism—
Ash Ponders: My work is focused on the American Southwest and how it exists as a political situation for so many people from around the world who want it to behave in ways that those who live here disagree with. My website is ashponders.com / email ashponders@gmail.com / IG: @ashponders