How did you start in the industry? I started by doing a three-month intensive journalism course. After plenty of work experience at glossy magazines and national newspapers, I landed my first job online for a website called ShopSmart.com writing buying guides, lifestyle pieces and website reviews.
How has journalism changed since you started? The celebrity angle seems to come into everything these days.
And women are becoming much more confident online. They are starting to trust the shopping process, download much more and are generally savvier about the internet.
How does the role of web editor differ to that of a traditional magazine editor? You've got a much smaller team and a much smaller budget! This means that you're constantly trying to find ways to get things done for free.
Plus, working on a daily publishing cycle means the pressure is always on to get things live ASAP. It's probably more similar to working on a newspaper than a magazine.
Have you had to adapt your skills to work online? Definitely. I've learnt a lot more technical skills and design skills. We don't have the budget to bring in freelancers when the workload is heavy, so I have to chip in and do all the different jobs from writing to editing, picture cropping and researching.
And then there's the advertising and marketing side - I didn't really know anything about this before I started.
What has been the most exciting part of your job so far? Oooh, travelling to exotic places! Well, on the odd occasion anyway.
Actually we do live chats with celebrities - they come into the office and it causes quite a stir. The last few were Ronan Keating, Mark Owen and the Appletons.
How does reader input - through polls, forums and email feedback - influence the content of the magazine? Reader feedback is fantastic for the brand. New Woman magazine has even chosen cover girls on the back of votes we do online. We are always doing online surveys for the magazine too. Our travel survey last year led the magazine to revamp its entire travel section.
The magazine is also interested in the message boards because they can give a real insight into the readers' personalities - what they obsess about, which celebs they love and hate, which diets they're trying and much more.
How much content is shared between New Woman magazine and the newwoman.co.uk website? We do a voteable version of Out Of The Closet (the magazine's celebrity style section) and the users' most hated and rated outfits feature in the magazine every month. Online, we archive the magazine's Q&As and 100 under £100 fashion and we also use its horoscopes.
Ninety-five per cent of the content is unique to the website.
What can web publishing achieve that print publications can't? Web journalism is fantastic for immediacy. We can put up the latest pictures of Britney snogging her new catch within 24 hours - and we can get reader response instantly. It's a lot more interactive and you can really get to grips with what your users want.
However, there will always be a place for print journalism and I'll never get tired of glossy magazines!
What are the most common mistakes made by webzines? Getting basic navigation wrong. If people can't find their way around your site they won't come back.
Also, I don't think websites put as much effort into homepage headlines as magazines and newspapers do for their cover pages. The homepage should be just as enticing.
Any top tips for new journalists?
Check, check and check your CVs and covering letters for typos and grammatical mistakes. If I see any mistakes I instantly disregard that application.
Plus, show interest in the brand or company in your job applications.
What are your favourite websites? TopShop.co.uk, ThisisLondon.co.uk, MyCatHatesYou.com and Boots.com.
What would make online journalism even better? Free broadband for everyone!
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See also:
http://www.newwoman.co.uk
http://www.emap.com
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