The Comment Factory

Joanna Coles, editor of Marie Claire

Fashion isn’t just about pretty clothes. Right now, it’s about keeping people employed. At least that’s how Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, looks at it. Retail and beauty industries have been hit hard by the recession, as both are considered fluff or luxury items when time is good. But Coles, speaking at the Columbia Journalism School in Manhattan during New York Fashion Week, tried to put things into a more personal perspective. That idea could hold true for magazine journalism, where its rare now that a week goes by and a major national title doesn’t shutter its door. “Journalism is a very unpredictable profession and trade,” Coles said.

Media companies from print to broadcast have been slashing jobs in the last few years, but cuts have hit new highs in the last five months, making it much more difficult for younger journalists to break into the field, where more seasoned reporters are now competing for the same jobs as well. Both newspapers and magazines are suffering from identity crises in terms of how to grapple with the Internet and also bring in younger readers.

But some magazines’ attempts to bring in younger audiences have upset many in the media field, particularly those looking to break into it. One attendee wondered if there are a plethora of reality TV shows, such as the CW’s Stylista, raffling off internships and entry-level jobs that journalism students slave away for, how are young journalists supposed to get jobs? Should writers aim to be responsible, professional journalists, or is TV the new fast-track to the top of the masthead? While emphasizing that these reality TV show “jobs” aren’t real, Coles spoke frankly. “I’m not sure what I think about this,” she said. “Certainly in this economy, it’s not realistic. Praise for Elle that they had a job with $100,000 salary. We don’t have that. What we have is an environment where you can come and get a lot of experience.” (But Marie Claire will be launching a reality show called “Running In Heels,” following three interns at the mag for five months in the coming weeks.) She advised that the best way for younger writers to break into the business is to pitch editors with great ideas, and have a portfolio of published work, either in a publication or in a blog.

Some of this advice, however, just seems a bit dated. “Pitching editors with great ideas” was the advice drummed into journalism students when I was at the Journalism School last year, and probably years and years before that. While this is what all young journalists should be doing, it simply isn’t enough, and it isn’t honest that doing this will be enough to get a job. We are amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with an unemployment rate exceeding 8 percent in the United States that’s only continuing to climb. But maybe there’s no other advice to give now because no one knows how bad the economy is really going to get. But, regardless, it might just be better to be completely blunt, which Coles was towards the end of her lecture.

“It’s an absolutely terrible market to get into right now,” Coles said, “Maybe it means that you have to freelance for a bit. There are staff jobs, but it’s going to take much longer.”

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Before Coles became Marie Claire’s EIC three years ago, the Yorkshire-bred journalist was an editor at New York magazine and, before that, the New York correspondent for the Guardian and the London Times. Since taking the reins of the women’s mag, Coles has redirected the focus to the original “DNA” of the monthly, focusing on fashion and modern women, but has with a strong portion committed to women across the world, covering serious topics such as such as contraception rights, job rights, and equal pay, which would never be found on the covers of other women’s rags like Glamour and Cosmopolitan, which frequently list sex tips and stories in its cover lines. “We’re not against orgasms at Marie Claire. Just not on the cover.”

Coles said she broke into media at the tender age of 10 writing for the children’s section of her hometown newspaper, The Yorkshire Post, which paid £2 per post. One difference between the journalism world of her youth and the journalism world of today is that newspapers simply don’t have children’s sections anymore, which she laments since its the perfect opportunity to develop younger readers and retain them as they get older.

One topic that Coles pinpointed, but is often neglected at journalism schools or lectures, is that journalists themselves need to think seriously about what they want to get out of life, both professionally and personally. “When you’re making a career choice, think about the life you want,” she said, adding that traveling is a wonderful experience but difficult, as you’ll probably lose friends and its difficult to have a family on the road. “The great days of foreign correspondents riding elephants and taking steamer ships are gone,” she said, painting a picture of journalists not long ago, living in foreign capitals with their families and entire newspaper staffs, almost a “marvelous old colonial lifestyle.”