wassup all, welcome back to this week’s “Just A Girl..in this digital world”!! I hope everybody’s had a blessed week and looking forward to the weekend and good things.
This week our feature is the star behind GangStarrGirl.com:
Starrene Rhett.
a NYC based freelance journalist, contributing to BET.com as a resident blogger, Vibe.com as a content producer, Honey magazine, XXL Magazine and Dr. Jay’s, she has hosted/produced “Roc the Town”, a bi-monthly webisode series and served as fashion editor for Hiphopdx.com. throughout her career she’s interviewed everyone from Ice T to Keke Palmer to Common and has had her work appear in The Amsterdam News, Elemental magazine, Scripps Howard Newswire, AllHipHop.com and VibeVixen.com. and now she’s created GangStarrGirl.com as “an outlet to post her ideas without being filtered and as a means of controlling the content she wishes to see more of in the media.”
this is definitely a woman that is handling her business. and having cut her teeth in the world of mainstream media, and now being at the forefront of blogging via her site GangStarrGirl.com, I wanted to get her perspective on this digital world…
me: what are some of your fave sites right now?
Starrene Rhett: GangStarrGirl.com (shameless plug lol), Jezebel.com, Subwaydouchery.com, ClumpsofMascara.com
me: how much time do you usually spend online?
Starrene Rhett: A LOT! Let’s just say, I get on the comp at about 9 am and I’m on until about midnight, maybe later. I can’t believe I even admitted that smh.
me: have you found social media to be an advantage or disadvantage for the independent artist, writer, entrepreneur?
Starrene Rhett: It’s a gift and a curse. A gift because you can reach more people, but a curse because it’s like sensory overload. Now everyone thinks they’re going to blow up via their web page and that’s simple not the way things work. But I can say, I’ve gotten a lot of freelance gigs from having my blog so I’d rather take it for the good that it can do.
me: I’ve heard there’s some debate about the validity of bloggers vs. journalists, as both a journalist and a blogger, what’s your take?
Starrene Rhett: Bloggers feel that journalists are outdated and that no one wants the news, that they just want bits of information fast and cheap. Journalists feel that bloggers have no integrity and no scruples about the information that they sometimes blindly release without doing research or fact checking. Plus, a lot of times bloggers become personalities who are known for their name and how fast they get the info (which is why it’s often only 50% accurate) and not really the quality of their work. I often find myself torn because I was a journalist first and I see both sides yet ironically, blogging has become the way that I’ve been making freelance money. In a lot of ways, magazines and newspapers that used to be reputable have tried to adopt the blogger format in the way they disseminate information because they feel that whatever the blogs are doing is working and they want to cash in. But the thing is, blogging has cheapened what journalism truly is and should be. That’s not to diss anyone but it’s true. Now everyone just wants to gossip and spread lies and sensationalism to get more hits to their site, which drives me nuts. Blogging is to blame for that. Also, there was a time where journalists would write opinion pieces and actually have a valid argument for what they were saying but now, since everyone can blog, it has become opinion overload but more in the direction of trash talking and judgment and not a well thought out argument presented with actual facts. It’s a complicated thing that I think about every day. I sometimes even get offended when people call me a blogger because I feel like I’m so much more than what they think blogging is. And even though I am technically a blogger, I always put journalism first and try to merge both worlds in my posts. I’ve wanted to be a journalist since I was nine so I looked up to people like Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey, Brenda Blackman, Sue Simmons, etc. Now, people can look up to people like Perez Hilton who draws insults on celebrity pictures or Necole Bitchie who posts celebrity news blurbs. That’s not to knock what they do but if you thinking about the people who have built careers off of journalism vs people who have built careers off of blogging, you have to look at the difference in the quality of work that is reflected. It’s a huge difference. There’s a way to balance the two though, and that’s what I try to do.
me: where do see journalism heading in next 3-5 years?
Starrene Rhett: Straight to hell if people don’t stop jumping on the gossip blogger and sensationalist band wagon. America is a society that’s obsessed with celebrity and now, the internet, which reflects in the way people think. People don’t even question why all these so called informative sites post the same information. People don’t even question the validity of the info they read even if it sounds ridiculous. Sadly, now, like I mentioned earlier, even some reputable magazines and newspapers are moving their brand more toward the web but in doing so, they’re trying to be like top bloggers. So if things keep up like this, then journalism is going down, for real.
me: what suggestions would you have for young women that want to explore your field?
Starrene Rhett: Get a tough skin because it’s HARD. Network not just online but in person. It’s easy to reach out via facebook and twitter but you have to put yourself in places where you’ll meet people in your field. People always respond to you better and remember you more when they meet you in person. Don’t get discouraged and don’t let other people discourage you. It’s HARD, like I said–really, really hard. Plus, one great thing about blogging that i failed to mention earlier is that it allows you to shine on your own terms and build your own brand. Really think about what you want to put out there because blogging is going to be like your portfolio in a way. Oh and it’s hard like I said lol…but not impossible. Know that going in and you’ve already won half the battle.
there you have it..def check for GangStarrGirl.com! and currently Starrene Rhett is vying for an opportunity to be head blogger for Alicia Keys new website, IAmASuperwoman.com, and she’s one of 60 finalists so check out her vlogs/blogs that she’s posted just click the link and leave a comment!!
so thanks for stopping through this week for “Just A Girl..”, see you all next week, we’ll talk about Facebook privacy policies, that should be fun..-_-. BUT always remember, stay up stay strong stay positive!!
peaces
rox.
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