Last week our very own Trisha McGuire was able to catch up with Charlotte and Where® Charlotte magazine journalist, Virginia Brown. Check out this post from Trisha…
Like me, Virginia is a rarity – a Charlotte native. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia worked at a law firm for a while but decided she wanted something different. She took the leap to change careers and pursue the field of journalism. Bags packed, she moved to the windy city where she not only gained a great education at Northwestern University, but also got to experience the COLD winters of Chicago. Fun! Upon graduation, she quickly moved back to Charlotte to work….and thaw out.
At Charlotte magazine, Virginia is an associate editor covering a broad range of topics, including travel, history and nature. But, she primarily focuses on travel, whether that be day trips, family trips, or Caribbean coverage because of Charlotte-Douglas being such a great airport hub and her work as a travel editor for Charlotte Wedding (for honeymoons). She also handles many of of of the magazine’s feature packages, such as the recent Burger feature and an upcoming “50 Things Every Charlottean Should Do.” Additionally, she writes for Charlotte magazine’s sister publication, Home+Garden.
At Where® Charlotte magazine, Virginia covers anything from dining and shopping to museums and attractions. The magazine is really designed for travelers coming to the Queen City to give them the local, non-tourist perspective (e.g. she might mention 22 gallery in NODA as an out-of-the-way fun spot for a drink). The magazine, which is global in scope, typically hires editors from the city, not someone trying to learn the city, so that the editor can truly provide insider knowledge. She still covers the main attractions though. For example, she might cover the Justin Timberlake concert but then talk about five things around that concert that are fun facts or tips, and maybe mention the best place to park. She also edits Where’s annual Guest Book & Map.
When asked about her travel editorial roles at the two magazines, Virginia said “It’s the difference between showing off the city versus getting away from the city for a break.” She described that Charlotte magazine of course targets Charlotteans who know the city fairly well, whereas Where® magazine is for individuals from all over the country. “I’ve found that some of my twitter followers for Where® live here but want to give ideas to their friends and family who are visiting, so they can show off the city.”
Virginia was kind enough to let me play role reversal, serving as the journalist and ask her some questions. She also generously allowed me to paraphrase her responses!
Q: What is your source of story ideas?
For the Where® audience, I find myself constantly discovering and re-discovering areas around the city and then tweet to Where® followers. Oftentimes, it hits me when I’m not working; I may be at a café with a friend. For the Where® audience, I try to think about transportation – places that have easy access, taxis around, or hotel hubs like Ballantyne & Southpark. I also think about business travelers coming in weekly, from Monday through Thursday. I try to come up with a cool happy hour spot that they haven’t seen yet. Some of my followers tweet about what they want. Other times, someone may just give me an idea.
Q: Do you ever receive pitches from PR/communications pros and if so, which stand out?
I do. I get lots of them for Charlotte magazine, but not so much for Where®. The ones that stand out are the ones that are the most targeted and you can tell the person did their research. They maybe reference a story that we did last month or last year. We can always use ideas. If they are evergreen stories, we might be able to fit them in an issue where, at the last minute, a story falls through and we need to replace it. In Charlotte magazine, we have a front of book section called “Buzz” that showcases people doing really cool things or local businesses.
Q: What is the favorite story you have written?
I wrote a story called “Rooted” in August 2013 about the city’s trees. I wrote about how important it was to have an urban tree canopy and what it means for the vibe of the city. I thought about, what if they all went away? I’m an outdoors-y person and I grew up here, so the story was important to me. Charlotte is actually in the top 10 of urban forests. Some places, we have 200 year old trees in the middle of large urban areas, largely thanks to codes and laws to protect the trees. I heard from lots of people after the story was published, and received lots of letters. It always makes it seem more worthwhile when you hear that a story you wrote affected people. That story took me about three weeks to a month to complete; that includes the reporting, writing and revising. It’s going to be in a book called “27 views of Charlotte,” put out by Eno Publishers this fall.
Q: What is your favorite neighborhood?
That’s a hard question. Sometimes I’ll want to go to a wine bar in Southpark, sometimes a dive bar in NODA. That’s the nice thing about Charlotte; it caters to differences. So, depending on my mood, I have a lot to choose from. I don’t spend much time in the suburbs but when I do go, I find little pockets that are neat. Most recently, I was visiting a friend in Huntersville and I found it so pretty. Charlotte is nice because it’s so diverse in what it offers.
Q: What is your lead time for your magazines?
For Where® magazine, it’s about a three-week minimum lead time, and it is a bi-monthly magazine. For Charlotte magazine, it’s about two months. For example, for the August issue, our closing date is July 3 but we started writing in early June. But, for evergreen stories, we can sometimes fit them in last minute.