June 29, 2009 - New York Women in Communications
5 Questions For... Andi Zeisler
 If you’re a woman in communications and you don’t know about Bitch Magazine, congratulations: Today’s your lucky day. For more than a decade, the quarterly
has provided a feminist response to pop culture, existing as one of the few voices of modern feminism. But what about that name, you ask? It’s a reinterpretation of the insult, signifying intelligent, ambitious women who don’t hold their tongue in
the face of opposition. But Bitch isn’t only a feminist power; it’s also an interesting case of an old medium becoming new. Learn more about Bitch’s beginnings, its transformation and its future, from co-founder and editorial/creative director
Andi Zeisler.
You and your friends, Lisa Jervis and Benjamin Shaykin, started Bitch on
a whim, even distributing your first copies from a 1977 station wagon. 13 years later, Bitch Magazine is still around, as a renowned leader in feminist perspective. How does it feel to witness an idea you bred in college become an important force that exists today?
It's pretty humbling — I think that while we all hoped in a vague, abstract way
when we started that Bitch would grow beyond a little zine into a “real” magazine, none of us expected it to still be around. We have had the support of so many,
both individuals and entities, and there's no way it could have lasted this long without that. I think of it as kind of an endless loop — people care about the magazine because we care, and we care more because we see how much the magazine means to its readers, and so on.
The upcoming issue of NYWICI’s Connect focuses on entrepreneurship.
What has starting and running your own company been like for you?
I've only ever been marginally involved in the business side of things, but I’ve certainly been involved through creative and editorial direction, as well as
working on crafting our fundraising campaigns and messages. What's really important to me is making sure the magazine's (and now
the website's) voice remains strong, relevant and witty. There's plenty of media out there about feminism, and plenty about pop culture, but not necessarily a ton that looks at the intersection of those two. We have a really solid niche, and it's important to us to evolve the kinds of work that we do, but keep our intent firmly within that niche.
In the last few years, we’ve watched the print industry struggle to find its niche in a market of new media. How has Bitch reinvented itself to take this challenge head-on?
It's definitely a challenge, and something we've struggled with over the past several years. We've always wanted to branch out beyond publishing a magazine and work on programming that hews to our mission of feminist pop-cultural critique — lecture series, videos, podcasts — but, financially, we're just starting to be in a place where that's logistically possible. We're in the midst of a re-visioning process, where we're looking at how we want to diversify the offerings of Bitch Media, and planning our fundraising goals accordingly.
In the meantime, we're continuing to publish the magazine quarterly and keeping our newly re-designed site as relevant and fresh
as possible.
Another hot debate in the new media landscape is how to monetize content; whether sites should make users pay for content or not. What’s Bitch doing to bring in the dough?
Bitch is unique because we use a mix of non-profit and for-profit tactics. When we first became a nonprofit, we did fundraisers very
much by the book, but it became clear that we could appeal to our readers in the same voice we used in the magazine. That meant we could approach fundraising in a more immediate and grassroots way, like the member-focused campaign we have going on now. Until recently, the Bitch site was ad-free, but we realized that we could be doing much more to make it a viable secondary revenue stream.
So that's something that, again, we're still in the midst of figuring out and building up. We're still not sure whether or how we'll start charging for back-issue content, but we are going to be taking sponsorships, we just recently opened BitchMart and will be adding
more Bitch merchandise as time goes on.
Bitch was inspired, in part, by your love/hate relationship with Beverly Hills, 90210. So now, it's time for a burning question: Have you seen the new 90210?
I saw the first episode, and it was like a chore for me to watch. The new version really epitomizes the way in which the lines between teen culture and adult culture have blurred. I have the feeling that this is some serious narcissism on the part of the creators of these shows — they might be old enough to be parents, but they still think of themselves as the cool kids. But someone's got to be square.
I miss the square parents.
Indulge your feminist, media-loving soul at bitchmagazine.org. |
March 4, 2009 - New York Women in Communications
5 Questions For... Mary Wells
 Mary Wells skyrocketed to legend status when she founded the wildly
successful advertising agency Wells Rich Greene in 1966. Her latest project, “The Women on the Web” (WoW), a site for sophisticated women over 40,
has captivated an audience across the nation. Read on as the epitome of style, ambition, intelligence and triumph reveals the power of women in business,
and why everyone should live the life of their dreams.
In today’s economic doom and gloom, women-led companies are thriving. The Center for Women's Business Research reported that in 2008, women-led businesses in the New York metropolitan area brought in over $93 million. Last December, WoW received $1.5 million in venture capital funding, and the Huffington Post has received a whopping $25 million.
Why do you think women-led ventures are shining in the recession?
Well, some of that is accidental, but women have been better off in business in the last 25 years than most people understand. It’s true there are still far fewer women than men, but their number is growing at a great speed. One of the reasons it hasn’t grown even faster is because women have made their own choices. More and more women are willing to take jobs that are not the very
top job in the old-fashioned sense, but where they can do something and really make a personal impact. All of the strengths that women have are becoming more important — in politics, in banks — so many of the problems that we’ve
had have really been a breakdown of communication, creativity and the practical running of things. Women are in the process of running the world.
What advice would you give professional women to inspire them to keep accomplishing even if they are struggling in
the economy?
Nobody should struggle. I understand that may sound ridiculous to people who have lost their jobs, but, in general, if a woman is struggling, it means that she’s either approaching her business incorrectly, she’s in the wrong business for herself or she’s in the wrong particular aspect of the business she’s in. You shouldn’t be struggling. Working hard, yes, but struggling is something else, struggling suggests there’s an inner misery. Maybe you should get out of that business, take a big chance and go try something else. Maybe you need to refresh yourself by broadening yourself, by doing something very unusual and coming back charged as a different person. Or maybe you’re really not in your dream. If you’re very far removed from your dream, get out of what you’re doing, the sooner the better. There are so many possibilities and so many opportunities, and if you aren’t living your dream, you’re crazy; there’s so much more to
life than that.
You are known as WoW's “Gypsy” because you've been living on your yacht, traveling the world for over a year. What's that
life like?
My entire life has been a life of travel. I can’t imagine living in one place. My home is Mustique, a little island down by Barbados, and I have an apartment in Vancouver, which I think is the prettiest city in the world. And then I have a boat. It’s an ideal life for me. What’s it like? It’s thrilling. Every day there’s something new; every day there’s a new adventure; every day, I learn something that I didn’t know before; every day, I see something, I never saw before. I see through new eyes every day. I’m never bored. Never. Not for a second.
Do you have a favorite ad campaign of late?
I don’t. I think advertising should make you nervous that you don’t have a product, and I don’t find that in campaigns. There’s been a
loss of heart. Advertising depends so much on the general state and the direction of its clients, and it thrives on change and making people live differently. If you’re in a very conservative environment with very conservative clients, you can’t do that, so you’re not in a position to change the world. At the moment, the world doesn’t need anything and clients are still very cautious, but that’s going to pass. Somebody’s going to break through and then all of a sudden, wham, it’s going to be thrilling! And the technical aspects are riveting. It’s going to be an extraordinary world. Give it ten years, you won’t recognize it. If there were ever a business to go into, advertising would certainly be it, because the future is going to be spectacular.
What’s next for you?
Well, I am interested in everything, and I get an idea every day about something to do. I have an idea of what I’ll do next, but I’m not going to give it away just yet. |
November 18, 2008 - New York Women in Communications
Gender, Politics, Media and the Feminist Agenda
"The impact of a woman running for offfice is incredible. It's like a pebble falling into a lake;
the impact spreads far beyond." --Geraldine Ferraro
The 15th floor of the New York Times building overlooks Port Authority Bus Terminal and what seems like an endless landscape of fragmented construction sites. At 7:30am, giant, generic cranes stand frozen above a crumbled checkerboard of unfinished foundations and broken buildings. The buzzing crowd of energized, empowered women inside is waiting for NYWICI’s latest event, The Spin Room: Gender, Politics and Media in the 2008 Election, to begin.
The backdrop to our November 13 panel couldn’t have been a more perfect metaphor for our nation and the subject at hand. Now
that Barack Obama is president-elect, we wonder about rebuilding the country. Mainly, who will lead the construction and how will it
affect us?
This was addressed by the panel, which featured Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post;
Geraldine Ferraro, former U.S. Representative and the first female Vice Presidential nominee; Marie Wilson, President of The White House Project; Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor-in-Chief of More magazine; and Carol Jenkins, President of Women’s Media Center. And
in discussing sexism, media, politics, gender and the future, nothing was more crucial than exploring the political and cultural
conundrum American women face in the aftermath of the election.
“She isn’t going away,” Seymour said of Governor Sarah Palin. “There is a group of women out there who love her, who think she’s a feminist; she thinks she’s a feminist. Listen to her talk. She is a post-feminism feminist in many women’s eyes.”
“Women are hungry to see people fight, to see people be confident, to see people stand up and say things,” Huffington continued.
“Even women who deserve confidence don’t have it. So, when a woman stands up like she did at the convention and speaks with confidence fearlessly and also has children, it’s very appealing.”
Of course, the panelists stressed that we must remember Palin’s true anti-feminist nature, but the conversations about her did not end. There is something very significant in the fact that Palin dominated a discussion at an event of educated, motivated feminists and it
begs the question: Is Sarah Palin setting the agenda for modern feminists? When did we go from leading the movement to reacting
to it? And ultimately, where does the feminist movement stand in 2008?
When the discussion turned to Senator Hillary Clinton, the commentary remained somewhat unsettling. “The way Hillary gave her
final speech of the primary was very significant because it showed women, who are so terrified of failure, that you can fail magnificently, that you can fail and still succeed in so many ways,” Huffington revealed. “When she said that there was no resentment or bitterness, despite whatever she may have been feeling, she came across as somebody who was ready to move on and be in the future.”
While it’s true that Clinton’s conduct spoke to women and set new standards, how did she become an example of graceful failure and how is Sarah Palin considered bold, confident and still trying to win?
“This is the culture, this is much bigger than the media,” Wilson pointed out. “The issue isn’t really how you’re going to change sexism
in the media; it’s how you’re going to change it in the culture. This is what keeps women from moving up.”
“Women are going to be in power. It’s obvious. We are going to have power, we are going to get to lead,” Wilson declared.
Yes, women are going to be in power. It’s an exciting thought. But Wilson herself has argued time and time again that it’s not the
number of women in power that matters, but that women bring other women along. When we look to the future, will the women leading the country be the Hillary Clintons and the Valerie Jarretts or will they be the Sarah Palins? What will that mean for women here and abroad? Is this an accomplishment of the feminist movement, or is it a conflict?
Whatever you believe, this event spoke to the urgency and relevance of feminism in 2008. The panel proved one thing — that truly feminist, intelligent women must be involved in drawing up the country’s blueprints and maneuvering the cranes of change in the next four years. Donning political and cultural hard hats is the new feminist imperative. This is our chance to build a future, where all people can flourish equally. And it’s about time to get to work. |
February 28, 2009 - New York Women in Communications
New Year, New You, New Thoughts on Being Fabulous
 Amidst the bright pink walls and glittering staircase of the Diane von Furstenberg showroom, Candace Bushnell addressed the crowd: “Tonight is a night about female friendship.” Dazzling
in a silk, coral-colored mini-dress, stilettos and a stacked cuff of black and white diamonds, she radiated a supreme sense of confidence, intelligence and
success. “Believe me — one of the most important things in life is support from your girlfriends.”
NYWICI’s Feb. 26 event, “New Year, New You,” was held at von Furstenberg’s
in the West Village. With complimentary champagne, Godiva chocolates, hors d’oeuvres and a 10% discount on von Furstenberg’s collection, Bushnell was
right: The night was most definitely a celebration of female friendship. But as the famed writer and producer took center stage, a very real conversation about women supporting women and about achieving personal success broke through the glitz and glamour. “We have to stop criticizing other women in the workplace and around the world,” Bushnell urged. “We all want the same things; we have to remember that.”
This is very appropriate, agreed Stretch Inc.’s Sonia Estreich, “especially at a
time where the economy is less than it could be and people of all ages are
looking for jobs. We’ve been taught to compete with each other. But that’s not the answer.”
Another theme of the night was Bushnell’s secrets to success. She revealed that success isn’t about being born a genius. Instead, “It’s about accomplishing whatever task is put in front of you” and to “be excellent at everything.” She even admitted that when she first came to New York, she started proving herself by sharpening pencils.
Obviously, with the recent release of her fifth novel, One Fifth Avenue, and her dream of a day job—producing the NBC show Lipstick Jungle — Bushnell’s 2009 is far from her pencil-sharpening days.
As you continue on in the year, take note from a woman who’s living the dream: Cherish the people who encourage you, give encouragement to others, work hard and do everything with excellence. By having the best of intentions, the best will come to you—
both in ’09 and beyond. |
