By Giana Levy
Journalist and reporter Dani Kwateng spoke to the members of the Clark Atlanta University chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists during the chapter’s Fall 2020 speaker series.
The Entertainment and Culture Director at Teen Vogue discussed her career, what it takes to cultivate a successful pitch and projects she has worked on that have been recognized by Beyoncé.
You have previously worked as an editorial assistant early in your career. Would you say that assistant job jump started your career?
It did, but my evolution in this space is not the same as it's going to be for you all. When I graduated 10 years ago, the Internet was not taken seriously. It was pretty much newspapers and magazines. At that time, yes, I think when you graduated that I would try to be an assistant or intern. Now, I would say to try and pitch story ideas.
What are some tips that you have about pitching that editors appreciate?
I always say figure out the legs of the pitches or story. We’re looking for the specifics. We're looking for something interesting that’s not obvious. So, make sure that pitch is solid. Secondly, when emailing editors, the subject line should be very clean and straight to the point. For the body of the email, write three sentences to introduce who you are and then write the pitch which should be four to five sentences explaining what the story is about, word count, and a deadline that makes sense to when the story should run. Also, a proposed head and dek would be good as well.
You have been able to be a part of some projects that you have created like “The Volta.” Can you talk about what that is and your inspiration behind it?
When I started “The Volta” in 2016, it was after being a fashion editor for three or four years. I kept seeing fashion shows and designers that were constantly White, and I personally know so many Black designers that were not getting a space to show and sell their work. “The Volta” was the idea to give a space to these designers through e-commerce. “The Volta” is an e-commerce curated site where I would sell stuff from Black designers. I would buy wholesale and sell them retail.
You have also worked with the “See in Black” project, which was recognized by Beyoncé on her website. Can you explain more about your role and how it felt to be recognized by Beyoncé?
It was amazing to get her co-sign. A good friend of mine, Joshua Kissi, is a photographer that reached out to me with an idea to sell images from only Black photographers and use the money to give it to non-profit organizations. He brought me on as a comms person, so I created all the language seen on the site, Instagram, and I wrote press releases. I did anything that dealt with any form of communication and branding.
As young journalists coming out of college that may not get their dream job right after they graduate, what is some advice you would tell them as they are working towards that goal?
Definitely pitch. If there is a specific publication that you love, find the editor that’s in that section and regularly pitch to them. Pitch to them once every two weeks.
If and when a job opens up and they’ve seen your name enough in their inbox, they will consider you for a role. Don’t be a stranger. It’s really important to get familiar with the people that you really want to work with one day. Stay on their radar and that’s honestly how jobs will likely come.
What are your hopes for the future of journalism?
True blue journalists -- people who know how to get sources, write, report, and edit, I hope that they maintain to be honest. I hope that they start getting paid respectfully, the bylines they deserve, and having a good life work balance. I hope that we go back to those days where journalists were really respected and given the space to do good work.
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