The theme of this newsletter today is to not get complacent at your job! 

I’ve been meaning to do a deeper dive on people who’ve done career pivots later in life, and that still will happen at some point, but today’s Maxed Out interview is a window into how someone can take that risk and find greater happiness on the other side. 

Also in our free newsletter: We’ve got a bunch of new jobs (that actually don’t seem soul-crushing) in our Thursday roundup, NYT’s ambitious plans to scale up local news, how people are making $30M by just clipping videos, and why I’m annoyed at a lot of people this week for their Graham Platner sexual assault reporting.  

xoxo,

Stephanie 

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 digital news division, MailOnline, where she reported on celebrity news and big crime stories like the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy. She went across the pond to New York to launch MailOnline US and moved 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.

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.

What we’re seeing and hearing around the industry.

We’re not about to blame the victim here, people. Politico's Jessica Piper and Adam Wren did extraordinary work reporting Jenny Racicot's allegation that disgraced Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner raped her five years ago. The reaction on X after the story came out was predictable: no police report, no criminal case, therefore no story — a familiar refrain anytime a survivor comes forward without a legal paper trail. But that's not how most sexual assault cases unfold. Survivors often never report to police, or don't do so until years later, which means the evidence critics demand simply doesn't exist. So journalists have to do the harder work themselves — interviewing witnesses, reviewing contemporaneous communications and records, and testing every part of the story against them. That's what makes Politico's reporting so remarkable. There was no criminal case behind it. There didn't need to be. The reporting was strong enough to reshape the political conversation almost overnight. Democratic leaders pulled their support within days. Platner's campaign was over by Wednesday night.

Why didn’t anyone tell me?! You’re saying that I was slaving at a corporate job for 15 years when I could have been making $30 million cutting someone else’s videos? I’m sick. CNN interviewed some of the early 20-somethings who’ve made millions of dollars from clipping, where people cut and share short clips from long-form shows for social media to boost awareness of these shows on social media. The interview goes on to talk about one app, called Whop, where people can choose what campaigns they want to clip and make about $1-$1.50 for every 1,000 views the clips get. There has to be some sort of catch to this, right? Or was I that naive to not jump on this and miss out on millions. Please someone tell me it’s the former. 

Have a tip for me? Send it to [email protected] or my Signal if you want to keep things confidential (itsstephwill.94).

The New York Times gets into the local newsletter game. I know lots of people are talking about NYT executive editor Joe Kahn’s interview about the newsroom’s big push to video, but there’s also another development happening there that’s worth calling out. It looks like NYT is taking a page from Axios’ success with local newsletters by launching its own offerings. It’s so interesting to see this turn of events from a decade ago, when places like NYT and The Washington Post were so laser focused on wanting to be the national newspaper of record. But in digital media, what’s old is new again and now that the digital landscape has shifted to nurturing smaller, more engaged, audiences, local news is making a comeback of sorts. The first installment of NYT’s newsletter will focus on the Twin Cities, and NYT vet and deputy editorial director of newsletters Hanna Ingber will lead the charge along with local journalists based in the Twin Cities area. The launch date is still TBD but you can sign up here if you’re interested. 

The race to capitalize on women’s sports continues. Togethxr, a sports media company co-founded by media vet Jessica Robertson along with athletes like Sue Bird and Chloe Kim, is now launching a women’s sports podcast called ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports’ with iHeart Radio. (I have to admit that when I first saw the company’s name, I thought it was referencing the fictional MTV boy band of a different strange spelling of the word that I swooned over back in the day.) The show will be a mix of interviews with big-named athletes along with news commentary — like a SportsCenter but solely on women’s sports. The podcast is a part of iHeart’s big pledge to make at least half of their new sports offerings women’s sports focused, just one of many names I mentioned a few newsletters ago who are placing their bets in this space just in the last two months.