Between You and MEdia - Sandy Hingston
Posted by [email protected] on Jun. 15, 2023 / Subscribe 0
Can you start by telling me a bit about yourself and your career in journalism?
Sure! My first job out of Duke, where I wrote poetry and majored in English Lit, was in Philly for the Pennsylvania Law Journal, a weekly legal newspaper affiliated with the Daily Intelligencer. I met and married a journeyman musician while I worked there, and when my mom died of cancer in 1981, he suggested I reevaluate what I wanted out of life. I began a freelance writing career that included penning a number of historical romance novels while I stayed home and raised our kids. When the youngest started first grade, I took a job as a copy editor at Philadelphia magazine. That was in 1998. I’ve been there ever since, going from copy editor to deputy editor, expanding my writing and editing skills along the way.
Can you share one of the most memorable events from your journalism career?
I have to say it was the mayonnaise. In 2018, I wrote one of my regular Crankcase columns about what a pity it was that younger generations didn’t care for the classic picnic foods that my mom had been so good at making — your basic coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, the iconic BLT … Well, there must have been something in the zeitgeist, because it was viral — a first for me. The next thing I knew, everyone from Ad Age to Business Insider to the Boston Globe to the Guardian was debating whether millennials had really killed mayonnaise. It was fascinating to watch the process, and a very interesting lesson on how easily and often readers completely fail to identify sarcasm in the wild.
Your features and columns for Philadelphia Magazine cover various topics including sports, love, food, and events. As a journalist, what drives you to choose these specific topics or angles?
The best thing — the very best thing — about my job has been getting paid to satisfy my peculiar and wide-ranging series of interests. Why are prescription drug names so weird? Where can you find the biggest tree in Pennsylvania? Why don’t I like to eat fish while everyone else in my family loves it? Why the hell do I care so much whether the Eagles win? The questions I find myself asking myself are the ones I get to delve into and ask relevant professionals about them. And when it turns out other people share those same interests — man, there are a lot of mayo haters and mayo lovers out there — the planets align in a marvelous way.
With so many events, causes and interesting people in the region, you likely have more things you COULD write about than time to write them. How can a pitch from a public relations professional stand out?
The most important point is that there has to be a Philly angle. After all, we’re Philadelphia magazine. I can’t tell you the number of interesting pitches I get that simply have nothing to do with Philly. I will say this, though, and it may not be true of everyone I work with: I read everything that comes into my inbox. I really do (unless I’m accustomed to getting useless junk from someone like, oh, say, Moms for Liberty). If it’s not right for me but I think it has potential value, I’ll forward it to the relevant colleague. What annoys the crap out of me? Repeated follow-up emails that say, “Just wanted to bring this to the top of your pile” and “Just in case you missed my earlier email” and … you get the idea. I’m not missing anything. I’m ignoring you because I’m not interested in your pitch.
What type of stories are you looking for right now?
Philly-centric stories about interesting people, trends, academics, sports figures, restaurateurs, gardeners, wine experts, veterinarians, social workers … really, the range is vast. Ideally, the subjects should somehow cast light on bigger issues than themselves — should be relevant to the world at large, how we see that world, and how we deal with it. I’ve got a pretty eclectic range of interests and a stable of great writers eager for assignments.
Is there a particular story or subject that you’ve always wanted to cover but haven’t had the opportunity? (Or, perhaps just an area that you’d like to write about more).
Oh man. Yes. Somewhere down the line, when there’s time, I want to write about human consciousness and all the really fascinating research being done on the topic locally. I have a file. I’m collecting. I hope to get there someday while I’m still fairly conscious.
What is the best way to reach you?
E-mail. Don’t call. There’s nowhere to call anyway. [email protected] . I’ll read it. And if I don’t get back to you, you’ll know why.
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