This year’s 2022 CultureCon Host, Blake Newby, spent her formative years preparing to become the next Soledad O’Brien. Originally from Detroit her first role in journalism came by way of her high school’s morning news show where she was the broadcaster. Fortunately, her news reporter dreams were well supported by her Spelhouse (Spelman and Morehouse College) parents. Unlike them, though, life in Atlanta at one of the AUC schools wasn’t in Blake’s plans. Instead, she and her sister Bryce went on to become Bison as they turned their attention to Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Spoiler alert: the hard news dream was short-lived after a nightmare first media job in New York City. After three years Blake was on the heels of relocating back to D.C. just before Essence, the same publication she interned for in 2012 presented her with an opportunity to return to the magazine in 2021; where she would become the publications Beauty & Style Editor. It was in this role that she rose to the ranks as she led the beauty and fashion verticals across both print and digital platforms. During her time Blake was responsible for the Method Man Shoot, beauty and style directed the viral Simone Biles cover, wrote the Halle Bailey cover story, and interviewed Rihanna.
Today, the beauty and style editor, influencer, reporter, and woman with many jobs who appeared on both Access Hollywood and Good Morning America 3 takes us back to her career beginning, her time at Essence, and what she left the magazine to do.
Did you always want to work in media? If not, what was your dream job when you were younger?
Media was my dream job. I so deeply wanted to be the anchor for MSNBC. I just knew I was going to be the next Soledad O’Brien on television, reporting on serious news, but God had different plans for me in his own comical way. I graduated from Howard University with no job lined up. However, I had an upcoming interview with a major news network that I ended up getting two months after graduating in 2017; it was hell on earth. My weekly schedule was from Wednesday through Sunday from 4pm until Midnight.
Imagine being brand new to New York City, this place renowned for its nightlife and socializing, and you can’t even go to brunch or happy hour with your friends because of a dreadful night schedule. I took the position though because I thought, “whatever will get me in the door.” Had I perhaps been at a more progressive network, my outlook then and now may have been different, but the good old boys and their antics where I worked forced me to pivot.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your worst job? What job was it?
This may be race-specific, but it profoundly applies because it’s been highly prevalent in my life for so long. So many Black women have been told to shrink themselves throughout their entire life on this planet by women and other people in spaces who do not look like us. This usually happens when you’re a young woman who’s sure of herself and where she wants to be; maybe it’s off-putting?! My worst job was my first job in the beauty space, and it almost made me leave the beauty industry behind. I truly felt I would never work in this space again after that role because it had broken me.
The most valuable lesson I learned was: “It doesn’t matter how much someone tries to make you seem like you are too this or that; don’t shrink. If you feel you are undoubtedly walking in your purpose, don’t shrink, and it will pay off.”
What do you consider to be your first “big break” in your career?
My role at Glamour Magazine because it changed things for me very quickly; thank you, Angela Burt-Murray. I always credit Khalea Underwood; today, she’s M·A·C Cosmetics Global Editorial Manager. When she was the Senior Beauty Features Editor at The Zoe Report, Khalea was the one who sent me a job posting at this very small indie brand before she started letting me write bylines here and there for her. She brought me on when she was approved to have a full-time writer. Khalea was the only editor who gave me edits for every story I wrote. It wasn’t so much about punctuation, but her saying, “I know you can think deeper here” or “I know you can say this in a more profound way.” She was my teacher. My big break was The Zoe Report and a piece I wrote titled “Why I’m Done Supporting Beauty Brands That Don’t Support Me.” It was my first viral story and moved the needle on everything. After that piece, Refinery29 reached out and I wrote for Hearst Branded. BET and Essence also came from that.
What is your greatest strength in your role as an editor?
I think it’s one that folks may minimize but I’m kind. Anyone who has ever worked under or with me can attest to that. People have to feel empowered to want to write for you. Nowadays, editorial has become content news, and individuals are constantly churning out content they probably don’t even want to write about. While these brands are driven by SEO, the least you can do is be kind to your people, especially when the creativity is taken out of their writing. It helps if they can at least feel like they have a purpose in their work.
