This story originally appeared in La Fronde’s July 9 newsletter issue.
I did a lot of stupid stuff in my early 20s, but one thing I think I did right was not letting myself get too comfortable in one career track. If I didn’t move around I probably would have never found what really interests me (reporting) and this very newsletter would have never existed in the first place.
That’s why I relate to Managing Editor of CNN Underscored Rachel Quigley’s non-linear career path in many ways. She was, like me, a career nomad for a period of time, first working at the regional papers in her home country of Ireland before moving to London to work for the Daily Mail’s newspaper, where she reported on news and then on showbiz. She went across the pond to New York to launch MailOnline US, where she covered big crime stories like the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy, before moving on to work on other lifestyle titles like inTouch and Life&Style magazine (which, if you were a 20-something girl in the mid 2000s, you know that these magazines were the chef’s kiss of celebrity gossip).
After spending a few years on the audience development track overseeing several Condé Nast titles (where I got to know her and became hip to the phrase “turn the craic to 90”) she landed at CNN, where she now oversees the network’s Underscored commerce team. For this week’s Maxed Out I talked to Rachel about what it’s like to work at CNN, advice for aspiring journalists who aren’t quite sold on a specific career track yet, and her media diet that includes an impeccable book list.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s going on at CNN Underscored these days? I know there’s no “typical day” probably, but with that said: what’s a typical day like for you on the job?
I think in this industry — journalism, audience development, commerce — no two days are the same, and that’s what I love about it. But usually, when I come in in the morning, I'll check the data from the day before, then I'll have a look at the content lineup for the rest of the day slash week. I will check in with my editorial director, who is a rock star, Chelsea Stone. Her and I work on the content strategy together. She's more involved in the day-to-day, like top editing of the stories, working with the writers, whereas I then have more time to do things like work on an RFP for a sponsored package with our business development team, or I could be working with my boss, who is the VP of Commerce, on business strategy. Obviously, we just finished Prime Day, which is a beast every year. We also launched our very first innovation awards this year in January.
Oh, I saw that. Congrats!
Thank you. Before I started working here I told my boss in an interview: "You should have awards," and he was like, "I totally agree." So it was great to actually pull that off. Post-Prime Day, we're really focusing on whittling those submissions down and starting to look at finalists and things like that. So, every day is totally different. Next week will probably be heads down on the award stuff and the heat as well — we have a big package every year around this time called Beat the Heat, where people need to be cool, so we sell a lot of cooling products.
What are people buying these days? What's been the most popular item or items that Underscored has sold in recent months?
It really depends. Everything we do is so seasonal. At the minute, it's warm, it's hot everywhere, there's a heat wave. So neck fans — everyone loves a neck fan. All neck fans are not created equal. That's what the team is for. We test out neck fans and tell you — Shark came out with this fancy neck fan, Dyson came out with theirs, they're like $100. So it's my team's job to say, do you really need this fancy $100 one, or is this $25 one from Amazon just as good? Our audience also loves a comfortable shoe. Anything comfortable but fashionable, and same thing with summer dresses. They love to look good but also feel comfortable.
How do you get people to buy, because with Google algorithm shifts and social changing all the time, I feel like it's really hard for publishers to get real estate on people's feeds more than ever. How have you been able to navigate that?
Lots of different ways. Our social team is phenomenal — they really nail down our voice and aesthetic to attract that younger audience on TikTok and Instagram. I think our content is very recognizable there. They have a lot of fun and it shows. I remember when I first started working here, the thing that stuck out in my mind was they're throwing suitcases down the stairs to show if it dents easily. They're jumping up and down on top of them, but that's also showing people, is this going to last if you're on those baggage handlers, throwing your suitcases here, there, and everywhere? So they really do listen to that audience, and that audience is very engaged — they talk to them, and they always ask, “what should we test next?”
As for the rest, we're very lucky — CNN has a very loyal homepage audience, and we really lean on that core audience. We spend a lot of time just building up our trust, and I think our audience really trusts us.
We actually just got news that we had the biggest share of voice on Google for Amazon Prime Day of all our competitors. We had a 15% visibility score. Number two was NBC, and they had 9%, so it was quite a bit higher, and then Yahoo was three, they had 6%. So that was amazing — a testament to the SEO team, to the editorial team, and I think also, Stephanie, we both come from audience development, so knowing how important SEO is and working with that team. Almost every decision we make here is based on data, and that has worked out for us so far, because I think affiliate revenue isn't going to follow traffic for much longer. I think it's going to follow trust, and we've seen that a smaller audience that trusts you outperforms a bigger one that doesn't.
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How are you navigating a world where a lot of the spending power is also coming from influencers and creators?
Our audience skews a little older, and we have found they're very brand loyal, which a lot of the younger audience is not — they'll go through TikTok Shop, Instagram, even Reddit, where they're not necessarily brand loyal but they'll follow a trend. So we do some of that on social — we have a franchise called Worth the Hype, one of the strongest ones we have, on both social and on-site, where the whole editorial team will say, "I keep seeing this on my TikTok, let's get it in, we'll test it and let you know.” I would consider myself a little older, brand loyal, but I'm not averse to an Instagram video telling me something's going to make my hair look amazing. So we will get that in and tell you, no, this is not worth the hype, or it is, and you should buy it. So we follow those trends a little bit, but it has to be a product that we know works with a broader audience that serves a specific purpose, because there are so many silly things out there we could spend all day testing that we just don't have time for.
I think one of the takeaways I'm hearing from your story is not to think of your career path as linear — there are many different ways to still be in media besides just the reporting aspect of it. Any advice for up-and-coming journalists who are still figuring out their career path?
Yeah, I think keep your finger on the pulse and on trends. When I went into audience development, I was working at a startup at the time — I was hired as editor in chief, but startup life being startup life, no one really knew what they were doing, so I wore a million hats — partnership manager, business development, social media team. Back then I started to see a lot of jobs popping up for this audience development role that I had never seen before. [I] started looking into it, and thought, oh, I think I'm kind of doing that. Started reaching out to people who were in that role — our old boss [Ainul Huda] being one of them — met him for coffee, said “I'm really interested in pursuing this career path, what do I need to work on?”
So, LinkedIn is your best friend — staying on top of your contacts, going for coffee with people, or a Zoom call. As far as dealing with the industry and its pressures — it's easier said than done, but try your best not to let [office] politics get to you or get you down, and just always do a good job and try to ignore the noise around you. I've been in this industry long enough that I've been through acquisitions, mergers, I've been laid off, people getting fired, hired, whatever, and I've learned to just not stress about things you have absolutely no control over. Just show up and do your job, and what will be, will be — and if you do get laid off, or something happens, you've got to look at it as a reset. That time I did get laid off, that's when I pivoted to audience development, but I was ready, because I'd had those conversations and enhanced my skills in that area, so I could apply for audience development jobs. So try to roll with the punches and not take things too seriously. Media is changing so much, but I think we are blessed to be in an industry where no two days are the same. It's very exciting, you get to meet some very cool people, and — I'm doing commerce at CNN, but I am at CNN, this is a news company, and Wolf Blitzer might be walking around, and I get so excited to be here, in the newsroom with other people, hearing the stories they're talking about. I feel very lucky to work for a company like this, and to be in media despite the way the media is going across the board.
I know the CNN-Paramount merger will be a big change for the entire company. Do you have any thoughts on how you feel about that change?
I can't comment on the actual merger, but as I said, I just try not to stress about things that may or may not happen that I have no control over. That's what I say to my team. I remember when I started, Mark Thompson [CEO of CNN] had just started working here too, and my team were like, "What's going to happen?" I said, listen, Mark Thompson has a lot of work to do before he reaches us, and I'm sure when he does, he will see that you're all amazing at your jobs, and everything will be fine.
Solid advice. So now we get to the Maxed Out part of the interview — while you’re off the clock at CNN, what are you reading and watching online and how much phone screen time are you racking up these days?
I don't know if you've ever heard of a thing called the Brick.
Yeah, a lot of people I've spoken to for this say they've used it. I actually have one myself, and it's been amazing.
Yes, so we recently tested out the Brick — the tech team was testing it out. I volunteered to be on that testing panel, and I have it stuck to my door, so I scan it when I leave the house. That has really helped reduce my screen time, especially on Instagram and TikTok and a couple other apps. I think I've got it down to about four hours a day now.
Going back to what I read — that's why I really try to stay off my phone. I like to read books, just to get away. I could sit and read CNN or the New York Times, or newsletters, day in and day out, but I'm very cognizant of reducing my screen time and winding down before bed. But podcasts — and I'm not just saying this because I work for CNN — Anderson Cooper's All There Is is phenomenal. I lost my parents in very close proximity to each other recently, and listening to that podcast has been absolutely phenomenal. Hearing about other people, how they've dealt with grief, their grief journeys, just knowing no one grieves the same way — it was so refreshing and illuminating for me. I love that it's so popular. Any time anyone loses someone close to them, I'll always recommend Anderson Cooper's podcast. It has helped me monumentally.
Sometimes I listen to true crime stuff — I recently listened to one called Wisecrack. It's this guy in the UK, he was doing a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and some girl came to him and said she wanted to turn it into a podcast, and it's really interesting. I highly recommend that. As for newsletters, obviously yours — I'm reading La Fronde. I still read Morning Brew religiously, one called Gloria, and obviously the CNN newsletters as well. I manage our newsletter team, so I spend so much time in newsletters that, like anything you do for a living, it kind of takes away the joy of it, but I do love to see other people's newsletters, to see what they're doing — I can rarely read a newsletter and be relaxed, because I'm always thinking, should we do that? As for books, I just finished Patrick Radden Keefe's ‘Say Nothing.’ I loved ‘Say Nothing,’ very close to home for me, coming from the North of Ireland, and another book of his, ‘London Falling,’ which was awesome.
I just read ‘Strangers: Memoir of a Marriage’ — have you read that?
I just finished that one! That was a wild read, I need to talk about it with someone but no one I know has read it yet. Next time we see each other.
Next time we see each other, because I felt the same way after I read it — I was like, I need to talk about this with somebody, but no one I knew had read it yet.