Deez Interviews: Meet the reporter behind that "Crazy Rich Asians" TIME cover story (And Today in Tabs veteran!)
Happy Friday, Deezers!
Today’s interview is with Karen K. Ho, who you’ll definitely know from her fabulous TIME cover story from last summer on how Crazy Rich Asians Is Going To Change Hollywood (but if you’re extra hxc, you’ll know her from her Today In Tabs days!!). She talked to us about 6 actually addressable things we could all do rn to help achieve parity in media, how to Twitter network like a boss, and why j-school grad school can def be worth it. Read on!!!
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The interviewee: Karen K. Ho (follow her @karenkho!)
The gig: Freelance business, culture & media reporter
You just wrapped up a year as a freelancer that culminated in publishing a TIME cover story! What was that process like?
A quick Q&A assignment at GQ turned into an opportunity to do a feature-length profile on the actor BD Wong. That did really well. When Kelly Conniff, the culture editor at TIME, was looking for new freelancers, I was recommended by a mutual friend. Kelly read the profile, then emailed me, but I thought it couldn't have been real until she emailed me again.
I decided to just talk with her and another editor about my ideas, but I never thought I would actually get hired. But my business-focused pitch was intriguing enough. Interviews were arranged, then they were confirming flights to LA, and soon enough I was sitting with Constance Wu on a bench, and she was telling me it might be a cover. I kept reading every relevant article I could find to check we had something different and working with the editors until the day before the movie came out. I just knew I couldn't fuck it up.
You also recently graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism, where you were a Delacorte fellow at the CJR. But before all of that, you were already a working journalist — so what aspects of having additional formal/academic training did you find most valuable?
There was a data reporting course for MA students taught by two Pulitzer winners from the WSJ's investigative team. That taught me an incredible amount about how to use Excel and SQL to analyze data and how to report stories using that analysis. I used it for my thesis. My accounting class used news articles to show the real-world implications of our lessons and key concepts.
I also really loved the seminars in economics, finance, and a core class called Evidence & Inference. The econ and finance seminars taught core topics like automation and IPO pricing along how to write and report on them. For example, we studied Disney's financials and then grilled two C-Suite level executives. E&I had us look at methods like oral history, ethnography or statistics, analyze good and bad examples and then go out and do them ourselves. I really loved all of that.
How did you originally get your start in journalism? Was there a specific moment when you remember being like "yes, this is what I'm going to do!"?
I started at my high school newspaper, became co-editor-in-chief in my junior year, then attended a small journalism program at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) for undergrad. Worked at The Varsity, the big student newspaper at the University of Toronto, as a bureau chief. First job after graduation was safe and solid in communications at UTSC. Then I met comics journalist Joe Sacco, who made me realize I wanted to become a reporter or I would regret it for the rest of my life. Luckily, one of my coworkers at UTSC was a former freelance journalist and helped me figure out my first magazine story. That turned out pretty well.
I didn't know how badly I wanted to write until 2015, when I quit an entry-level job working at a news station for a business reporting job in the sub-Arctic city of Yellowknife (winter temps are often -35F). I didn't know I how badly I wanted to be a feature writer until I got the Delacorte fellowship offer from CJR.
When we got drinks last year, I remember you gave me this incredibly valuable advice about how to network successfully on Twitter simply by engaging with the people I looked up to. Can you tell us a little bit about how you've honed your Twitter voice and presence, and how young media professionals can do the same?
I think Twitter is a great place to figure out who you eventually want to work with and be friends with in the media industry long before you actually ever meet in person, work with them or pitch them. Think about what you want to work on. Who are the writers and editors doing that already? Be genuinely curious and pay attention to what they're interested in. Be friendly in your interactions, but casual, unless it's a topic you genuinely are super excited about.
Make it a no-brainer that they would eventually want to get to know you too. Provide a new perspective, expertise in a subject, or things you're interested in and have read.
My Twitter voice and presence is me being honest about tough topics like challenges in the news industry, photos of my sister's rescue dog Noodle, a lot of stuff I'm reading, and occasional travel updates. Sometimes I also make goofy jokes.
My advice is 1. don't spend too much time on it and 2. think about your feed like a product. Why should someone follow you and pay attention to what you're saying? Are you offering something different, funny, thoughtful, cute, or insightful? Do you open a window into a perspective or experience they wouldn't otherwise have? What are you learning that could help others?
Speaking of Twitter, you're extremely active on the platform especially when it comes to talking about the importance of diversity and representation in media. In your opinion, what are the most addressable issues around parity that we could all actually tackle in 2019?
White guys need to tell their colleagues how much they make. White women need to tell WOC how much they make.
White men and women need to make diversifying sources and diversifying hiring more of an active responsibility and not expecting their BIPOC colleagues to continue to do most of it.
White women need to remember that Black, Latinx, and Asian women have it extra tough and a gender balance is a low bar.
White men and women need to negotiate and advocate for more diverse hiring during union negotiations as well as for more funding for their BIPOC colleagues to attend training and conferences.
White people can help by looking over job applications; actively championing and mentoring their minority coworkers; donating to orgs like Ida B. Wells Society, NAHJ, AAJA, NABJ and NAJA; as well as pointing out how our industry continues to suffer from this lack of parity. Stick your neck out for everyone else through long-term efforts.
Media workers who are BIPOC need to keep collaborating and supporting each other when opportunities arise. No one is an island and shine theory works!
And finally, hardcore media newsletter enthusiasts will recognize you as one of the esteemed interns of Rusty Foster's "Today in Tabs" newsletter! What was it like being a part of the most fun and funky media newsletter of all time?
It was tough to balance on top of an intense, full-time job but also one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. I had a blast writing it every chance I got. I learned how to pack in a lot of information using hyperlinks, how to format text in markup and that I was funny. I loved figuring out what to write about and how to cram it into 100 to 300 words. One of the intern tabs I wrote even helped me get into Columbia. That still makes me laugh.
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That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to follow Karen on Twitter, and have a chilly but chill weekend!!!