We Want Media

Teen queen Atoosa Rubenstein, the former editor in chief of Seventeen, gave a surprise interview with our Digital Journalism class this week. While the most obvious excitement came from students who have their eyes set on a career in women’s mags, this was still a pretty big deal for most of the class, even the boys.

Anyone with a healthy appetite of online media knows at least a little bit of Rubenstein’s story. Not only has Gawker made her a frequent target of snarky and often catty posts -- dubbing her “the ’Toos” -- her abrupt decision to sever ties with Seventeen has been covered by countless media publications and online sites.

No stranger to Gawker, I have even posted about Seventeen’s new editor in chief, Ann Shoket, comparing her to Rubenstein’s legacy. While I made a few -- dare I say it -- snarky comments about Rubenstein’s approach to blogging in my earlier post, I found her honesty and candid discussion in class to be wildly refreshing.

She may not be the first to criticize the clique-y world of women’s mags, but she is surely one of the first to drop out so abruptly from such a high position. Unedited and trying hard to be totally real, she filled us in on her battles with self image and social awkwardness while growing up, as well as her ambitious climb to the top. She advised us that dressing the part you want to get is extremely important. Showing up to work in designer duds is not just an option at some women’s magazines, but an absolutely necessity.

Her advice for graduating J-school students was to head straight for the digital world. Print magazines don't have a wide open future anymore, now that many readers are moving online.

I had to remind myself, however, that her view of magazines may be a bit skewed, considering that her new career plans are in digital. One of Rubenstein’s reasons for leaving Seventeen, she said, was due to the positive reaction she got from girls who created a dialogue with her on her MySpace page. I think that surrounding herself in the world of teen girls has influenced her perspective about the future of media.

Which isn’t such a bad thing. Her dedication and attention to those girls will probably be extremely valuable for her next venture. What that venture is, we don’t exactly know. Rubenstein didn’t reveal too much, but it will definitely have to do with digital media. Her loyal fans will undoubtedly follow her wherever she goes, and because of that I see her being wildly successful yet again with the teen population.

To be honest, after class I looked back on this post I had just written, wondering whether I went too far. I found Rubenstein likeable and I admired her honesty. Because of that, I couldn’t help feel a pang of guilt for calling her the ‘Toos. But, I chose to leave it. I did think that some of Seventeen’s articles that were published under her were a bit outrageous and sometimes disagree with some of her attempts to reach out to young girls. But perhaps that has more to do with my personal lack of interest in teen mags.

I don’t think her account of the future of the magazine business can be applied to all publications. Her views have to be taken with a grain of salt. Just like how readers of Gawker (which she warned us against reading, dubbing the blog “negative media”) recognize that its entertaining, quippy gossip shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I mean, c’mon, Gawker has gone so far as to make fun of her arm hair. They’re obviously not The New York Times.

Still, I am fairly confident that her niche audience of “Alpha Kitties” will bring her success in the small “circus” she hopes to create online.