Teen Vogue is about education, that’s the message editor in Chief Amy Astley expressed in her recent interview on MediaBistro. Indeed, as a Teen Vogue It Girl myself, I know first hand exactly what she means by that statement. As a reader of teen vogue and an active participant in the teen vogue community I was able to get my very first behind the scenes look at magazines, marketing and even a bit of modeling. It all started at a Teen Vogue event when I was 16 and I went up to one of the Marketing Directors, asked them some very direct and inquisitive questions and was able to build a relationship and become more involved with the magazine. I participated in countless focus groups, behind the scenes marketing videos and even won a contest that allowed me to fly out to a beauty company and create and brand a beauty product for Be Fine. I appreciate Teen Vogue in the aspect that it allowed me to be exposed to their inner workings from a young age.
In the interview, Astley talks about her background in interior design working for HG magazine and then how uncanny her jump was to Vogue magazine. But she says she has a love for style which can include fashion, aesthetic, home design, anything…she is simply obessed with things that look pretty! She also explains the importance of networking and talks about being the founding editor of a Teen magazine with a distinct voice and staying afloat in a deterorating media world.
Check out some interesting excerpts from Amy’s interview below.
ON NETWORKING:“Interns, for example, should network with each other and also the person who is supervising them -- and that could be a very junior person. I've seen this happen so many times: the guy who runs [the Teen Vogue fashion] closet will decide who the two best interns were for that summer, and those [are the] two that will be recommended for jobs at Teen Vogue or Allure or Vogue.”
ON THE MAGAZINE’s VOICE:The features are critical, too. To me, the features give you your voice and connect you to the readers. They allow people to find out who you are and what you look like. We've always had strong art directors. It's really key to me. I'm an intensely visual person and care deeply about my environment. I'm obsessed with beauty, to be honest.
ON LAST LOOK- A ROOM OF MY OWN: Well, the room came from me out of my love of decorating. I always wanted to see what girls were doing with their own bedroom, their own space, and it's such an important space for girls. And their mom, if she's even remotely a cool mom, will let them do what they want in there. I let my kids do what they want in their bedrooms. I just was always fascinated to see how girls personalize their own space, so that's why that page exists.
ON THE WEB:I think that they're two different animals. Our Web site is not just an extension of the magazine. We don't just plop the print articles there. We try to give more and different stuff there -- things that can't go in the magazine. I think they're equally viable places. Really, the Web site is really a different way for kids to experience Teen Vogue. I don't edit the magazine differently because of the Web.
ON EDUCATING READERS:We have, and we have to, and we want to, but really, what we're about is not social platforms. We're really about education, giving girls opportunities. So we just want to reach them. Maybe we reach them in print, maybe on Twitter, maybe on our Web site, maybe in an email blast. Any way that we can reach them, we'll reach them.
When I started working on the test issue of Teen Vogue [in 2000], the girls all wanted to be a model. Or they'd say, "Do you know Britney Spears?" But now, sometimes people will ask me if I've met a celebrity, I'll get that a little bit, especially from younger girls, but the older ones say, "Tell me about you. Tell me about your job. Tell me about so-and-so's job on your staff. How do I get an internship? What should I study in college?" It's relentless. I try very hard to give them real information -- something they can work with. I've always felt very strongly that every kid who is interested in Teen Vogue and what we do, we owe it to them to give them back as much as we can.
I highly encourage it, it’s a great read.
