On Monday, February 12, in Hollywood, CA, WeWork hosted award-winning journalist, editor, author and CEO, Tina Brown, in conversation about her latest critically-acclaimed book, The Vanity Fair Diaries.
Tina Brown kept page-turning daily diaries throughout her eight spectacular years as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. Astute, open-hearted, often riotously funny, The Vanity Fair Diaries is a compulsively fascinating and intimate chronicle of a woman’s life in a glittering era.
Moderator to Monday’s conversation was Sofia Dickens, WeWork member, and founder of EQtainment, a new children’s app and startup. EQtainment is on a mission to improve emotional intelligence globally by creating fun and simple tools for practicing social skills and better behavior. Dickens is determined to provide the social and emotional skills that the traditional education system currently doesn’t provide.
Between Brown and Dickens, there was a strong a sense of women empowerment in the room. When asked by Dickens on her [Brown] thoughts on the #MeToo movement, she responded, “I believe it’s important to give women a podium and a platform.”
Brown went on to comment on the slow-moving changes in the industry to empower and support women, including equal pay and treatment. She even told the story of her own experience during her time at Vanity Fair, when she found out she was getting paid drastically lower than the editor-in-chief of GQ at the time. This realization inspired her to demand a raise, or she was going to leave Condé Nast. While it worked out in her favor, Brown acknowledged that these situations don’t always turn out favorably for all women. Today, she believes the #MeToo movement has become explosive and picked up a momentum that won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
As for her passion for journalism and reporting the truth, Tina Brown was and is a force to be reckoned with. She explained the power that magazines and editors really held in the days before social media. Brown believes the industry is coming back full circle and returning to audiences seeking reputable sources, due to the saturated and sometimes untrustworthy nature of social media today. Brown also noted that what made her stand out as an editor was her never-settling curiosity to know what really happened, even if the public felt the story had already been told. She feels as if there is always another truth, one that is deeper and just waiting to be uncovered.
Brown also goes on to identify the three characteristics that she feels make a great writer. First, a great writer has to have a voice. Second, a natural instinct. “You can teach a writer how to write a lead, but you can’t teach a writer how to notice the right things,” said Brown. Lastly, Brown explained, a great writer must have a point of view.
It was clear Monday night that the former editor possessed all three of these characteristics and has made it her legacy. She ended the night by saying that she never doubted herself, not once. “I always had a strong vision. I never doubted that I knew what to do. It’s just a question of how I’m going to get it done,” said Brown. This was the energy of the evening thanks to WeWork, powerful women in powerful spaces doing powerful things.
