The Survivor
How Glamour Magazine’s new Editor-in-Chief is drawing inspiration from the publication’s surroundings.
The first thing Samantha Barry, editor in chief of Glamour Magazine, showed us was the survivor tree. From the sleek confines of her office on the 30th floor of One World Trade Center, where 16 eager journalism students gathered around during a visit to the Glamour office, she pointed out the window at a single lone tree. It was the only one that had full leaves.
According to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum website, the survivor tree is a Callery pear tree that lived through the wreckage of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. It was found at Ground Zero with burned and broken branches, and then rescued and nursed back to health by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
As I gazed down at that sturdy tree, I thought of my own professional field — broken, but alive.
It’s no secret that the journalism field has been in a steady decline for quite a while.
The financial crisis in 2008 strained local and national newsrooms across the country, and led to numerous layoffs. It caused some smaller papers to fold completely. Furthermore, there are many Americans who feel no real desire to save the field: A 2016 Gallup poll found that American citizen’s trust in the media had sunk to an all time low — at 32 percent.
Much like the survivor tree, us journalists have had to adapt to adverse circumstances and find new ways to grow.
Glamour is an example. Barry caused a stir within the magazine world when it was announced she would be assuming former Glamour editor in chief Cindi Levie’s role at the beginning of 2018.
Barry comes from a broadcast and digital background: working in social media at CNN and BBC, she hasn’t had any experience with a print magazine. But after hearing her speak about her own experiences and vision for the magazine, I am excited for the direction Glamour is headed.
Barry is crafting the magazine into a brand that does original reporting on issues that affect women in today’s world. As evidenced by her latest issue, the money issue (featuring Melissa McCarthy on the cover), the magazine is tackling longstanding dilemmas for working women, and topics that often aren’t covered enough.
“How can you lead the conversation rather than following?” Barry asks.
Barry says she wants the brand to be known for its “original reporting and exclusives.” She emphasizes the importance of picking up the phone to call people and doing on-the-ground reporting, rather than relying on the Internet — a useful tool for finding information, but one which makes it too easy to reiterate existing words and ideas.
It was inspirational to see a print magazine innovating and doing so well in the uncertainty of today’s journalism world.
In a way, Glamour is just like the Callery pear tree that is visible from Barry’s window.
In response to the challenges that have plagued much of the print journalism field, the magazine has had to adapt to new circumstances.
Now, it is well on its way to thriving. I look forward to seeing Barry’s vision for the publication bear fruit.
