Blurring the Lines with Alexis Benveniste

This week I spoke with Alexis Benveniste , a writer, editor and consultant who works directly with media outlets and brands to create unique and engaging content. Over the years, Alexis has written for 彭博资讯 , CNN , New York Post , 纽约时报 , Resy , Under Armour , Zillow and more.

Tell me about your career journey up until this point.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. When I was in high school, I decided to focus on photography and journalism. I did a few week-long photojournalism camps in high school — nerdy, I know — and I was the editor-in-chief of my school newspaper senior year. Studying journalism in college felt like a natural fit, and I minored in fine arts, which combined art history and studio art classes.?

I went to Barnes & Noble, Inc. with my grandma during Thanksgiving break my freshman year of college, and we flipped through every magazine I loved. I looked through the mastheads and started reaching out to editors at Hearst and Condé Nast that December.

A magazine internship didn’t feel attainable for the summer after freshman year because editors were looking for people with more experience, but I pushed myself to find an opportunity in New York and landed at DANNIJO, a fashion jewelry company. Even though I wasn’t in the media world, being in New York gave me an opportunity to meet with editors and recruiters.

I vividly remember meeting with a Hearst recruiter during a massive heatwave, and I had to fan myself with my resume before walking in. The recruiter was shocked when she found out I was 19. She inspired me to keep pushing for magazine internships, and I did. I continued to reach out to editors, emailing them with pitches and admiration for published stories.?

I really focused on making it happen, and it paid off. For Seventeen Magazine , I made a video about 17 reasons why I should be a Seventeen intern, and it sealed the deal. The editor knew how badly I wanted it, and I worked super hard as an intern, eagerly taking on every single task and assignment. The following summer, I worked as a web intern at ELLE Magazine . These were super competitive internships and landing them felt like winning the lottery, but looking back, it wasn’t a coincidence.

Before graduating, I accepted a six-month editorial fellowship at 美国在线 , which was a great transition into the professional media world. While I was there, a headhunter reached out about an editorial outreach coordinator role at the New York Post. I felt ready to try something in legacy media and took the job. A few months in, I transitioned to working as a writer for Page Six, and I learned so much from my editor Maggie Coughlan, who is still a friend and mentor. She really helped kick off the beginning of my career and pushed me to dive into red carpet reporting and syndicating stories between print and digital.?

I worked from 2pm until 10pm at The New York Post , and I was ready to have a job with normal hours, so I joined Bloomberg’s TicToc team, which has since been renamed QuickTake. At the time, it was part of 彭博资讯 ’s partnership with X (then known as Twitter) to create a social news network. That job felt like a bootcamp in the best way. I covered breaking news, cut video from live events, wrote newsletters and produced a podcast. I learned so much, but I missed writing and decided to write stories for Bloomberg News in addition to my work with TicToc. That experience really helped me expand my scope, which ultimately led me to the writer and editor job at CNN Business . It was incredible to be an editor, especially at such a young age, and I had the opportunity to work with a super smart and kind team. I covered earnings, wrote breaking news stories and assigned feature stories to reporters. In many ways, working there felt like getting a mini MBA.

A couple of years into that role, I saw an opening for a staff writer position on the games team at 纽约时报 . I pitched a column idea during the interview process and had the chance to launch? both online and in the paper after taking the job. “Clued In” gave insight into New York Times crossword clues and answers, and bringing it to life was incredibly meaningful, especially as an avid player of the crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee.?

Now, as a writer, editor and consultant, I work with a wide range of media outlets and brands. On the traditional media side, I write travel, culture, beauty and business stories. I get to work on really fun pieces like? this story on this story on the CEO who made tinned fish a girl-dinner staple for The Cut and this story on a unique Tokyo hotel for The MICHELIN Guide. In terms of brand work, I’ve done everything from writing a six-part guide to New York City for Lyft to crafting Under Armour ’s sustainability report. It’s never boring, and I’ve really enjoyed having control over which projects I take on.

I’m currently working on launching a newsletter studio that is dedicated to writing and publishing newsletters for founders, thought leaders and companies. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I’m super excited about it.

Ultimately, I’ve learned that no matter what your job is, you have to find a balance that works for you. It’s important to not get too attached to your byline or what you think the creative process should look like. Because oftentimes, the best and most interesting work comes from opening yourself up to things that might feel out of your comfort zone. And while that's kind of cliche, I do think the industry is changing so rapidly. You can't be narrow-minded about what you are and aren't willing to take on based on what you think you should and shouldn't do.

What are the biggest changes you’ve experienced since beginning your career? How do you recommend people stay on top of these changes without falling behind?

The media landscape is changing rapidly, and it’s not what it was five, ten or fifteen years ago. Print magazines have become nostalgic, and a lot of news consumption has shifted towards newsletters and social media. People are not as interested in seeking out the information as they once were. They want the information to find them. And that does make the industry harder to navigate. But it’s important to accept the fact that your goals will change as the industry changes. At Seventeen, I was on the print side, and at ELLE, I worked in digital. Now, more than a decade later, I just landed my first spread in a print magazine, something I dreamed about as a kid and recent college grad. As hard as it is, you have to be patient and open to seeing how things evolve.

The best piece of advice I can give — aside from being kind to everyone you work with and being patient with yourself — is to allow yourself to evolve within the industry instead of pushing against change. AI is a great example of that. There are a lot of conversations about how ChatGPT is going to take all of our jobs, but I think the strongest writers and leaders will use their creativity and brainpower to use AI and other similar technology in an impactful way.?

It’s not about abandoning your initial goals, but rather allowing new goals to come in, develop and grow.?

Agencies and brands are pitching you daily. What gets you to open a pitch and take the sender’s intended action (i.e. cover a story, schedule an interview, attend the event)?

You have to know who you're pitching to, and it should be clear you’ve read their work beforehand. When you’re pitching, beyond personalizing it, take that extra step or two. Offer more than a unique angle. Maybe that means sharing information on why a story is newsworthy or timely or including an opportunity to interview a relevant source. It’s important to show how your specific angle fits into the context of a larger landscape or trend.?

Since I work for myself and can technically pitch to any outlet, it’s particularly helpful when I get a pitch that applies to more than one audience or project. Part of my job is thinking through stories in different ways for a variety of outlets, so when someone reaches out with a super focused pitch for a specific outlet, it can immediately narrow my vision.

The journalism industry is always evolving and expanding. From broadcast, to print, to digital, to podcasts, to social media, today there are so many ways brands can tell stories that will reach their consumers. How do you recommend communicators pitch these different mediums?

All of these mediums complement each other and can be part of a holistic storytelling approach for your brand, but it’s important to know who you’re pitching to. For example, I don’t do podcasts that often. So if someone sent me a podcast pitch, it wouldn’t feel like an authentic or organic connection. It’s also particularly helpful when someone provides additional media assets — photos, videos or even quotes —?which helps provide additional information for the narrative.?

What advice would you give to someone about to graduate college that wants to work in journalism?

Be open-minded about working in journalism, and get too attached to your byline. Think about creative ways you can collaborate with other writers and editors and don’t be afraid to look for community. Think about your skills – or the skills you want to acquire – as your goals, instead of connecting your goals to a specific company or outlet. If you can apply your skills across the board, it will serve you more than going after a specific company you've always dreamed of working for. Keeping your options open will only help you.

Also, keep your LinkedIn profile and website updated. You have to think about coupling your outreach with building your personal brand. And that doesn’t just apply to social media. Yes, posting on LinkedIn is important, but make sure you also focus on creating an impressive website that helps you stand out.?

Rapid Fire Questions:?

What’s your favorite song right now? Femininomenon by Chappell Roan, and anything by Maggie Rogers or Noah Kahan?

What’s the last book you read, or the last podcast you listened to? How I Built This with Guy Raz

Who’s one person in this industry that inspires you, that everyone should go follow? Kate Winick at Win Social

If you could meet one person for coffee, who would it be? Barack Obama

What brand do you love following on social media? Fishwife

What is one word you would use to describe 2024? Evolution?