Events

Landing your fantasy media internship is a beautiful thing — working hard in the field of your dreams, mastering the fine art of photocopying, and acquiring valuable skills like, um, well, we’re sure there are some. Internships may not always be as fun and glamorous as we make them out to be, but with the right approach, they will actually help you get jobs. We know because mediabistro.com interns go on to great gigs, including working here.
Some tips on how to survive your summer internship:
1. Soak up as much information as possible. Good or bad, there’s always something to take away from your internship experience. Meet as many people as you can and learn about the work they’re doing. This is the time to decide whether the work is a good fit for you long-term.
2. Learn about the industry. Do your research so that you’re knowledgeable about the work that you’re doing. Check out mediabistro.com’s blogs every day – TVNewser offers invaluable info for anyone in broadcasting, and GalleyCat will give you the inside scoop on the book publishing world.
3. Meet and commiserate with fellow interns! We’re throwing a Media Intern & Student Party in New York on Monday, July 23, and you’re invited. mediabistro.com is all about building a sense of community, and since it’s the height of intern season, we figure you all can use a few drinks by now!
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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Media Intern & Student Party — July 23

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

If you’re in San Francisco on Wednesday, July 11th, stop by mediabistro.com’s book party for Clint Wilder, co-author (along with Ron Pernick) of The Clean Tech Revolution.
The green movement is certainly having its day. Awareness about the effects we’ve had on the environment — and ways we can lessen our impact — is the highest it’s been in years. But is it also a money-maker?
Clean technology (such as solar energy and wind power) creates less waste and toxic emissions, and reduces the use of natural resources. It’s also a hot investment opportunity, with companies investing billions of dollars in them. Clint will be signing complimentary copies of the book — and giving guests the scoop on what you need to know about clean technology, how a social issue became a mainstream business one, and how you can benefit.
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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Book party for Clint Wilder’s The Clean Tech Revolution — July 11, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, Swig

mediabistro.com events

Are summer travel plans taking you out of the country? If so, not only am I more than a little jealous, but I can also hook you up with an mb party fix while you’re on vacation.
Little-known mediabistro fact of the day: In addition to hosting parties in cities throughout the U.S., mediabistro.com also hosts international shindigs. If your travel plans involve London, Sydney, or Toronto, check out our events page for details on when the next party is.
mediabistro.com’s international party efforts have been well-received all around. Not even threats of a cyclone were enough to keep Syndey guests from gathering at their last party! “Despite warnings of a cyclone the night before, 40 or so professionals from every corner of the media gathered in Sydney’s Verandah Bar,” reported mb hostess Rachel Hills.
Stay tuned for a party in Toronto this August. And when you tire of that pesky sight-seeing, hang out with us for a drink or two — maybe you’ll meet a few locals who can give you a tip or two on what to do while in town!
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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mediabistro.com events

mediabistro.com party photos

If you’ve ever been to a mediabistro.com party, you know the drill — throw a bunch of writers, editors, and assorted media types in one room, add drinks and conversation, and watch what happens. Since we host more than 200 cocktail parties a year, we know how to successfully work a mediabistro.com party. Whether you’ve never attended an event before or are a regular, here are a few tips to make the night more enjoyable.
DO:

Stray from the group. We all like to go to parties with our friends, but you’re never going to meet anyone new if you stay in a clique all night. Break out from the group and say hello to a few new people.

Introduce yourself to someone standing alone. It’s normal to feel nervous approaching people you don’t know, but it’s guaranteed that there will be others in the same boat. Strike up a conversation with someone looking for a conversation partner, or make eye contact with a group of people, and jump in!

Volunteer! If you’re a little shy and need a reason to go up to people and chat, volunteer! We’re always looking for people to help us check guests in and take photos. Email us for more info.
DON’T:

Hand out your resumé Aggressive networking is not looked upon kindly, and handing out resumes or openly asking about job opportunities reeks of desperation.

Attend random parties. Sometimes we host parties geared towards people working in specific parts of the media industry. If you’re an assistant editor at a magazine, stick to our parties for edit staffers. We host “All-Media” parties in every city, where all are always welcome.

Hang out at the bar all night. Sure, we all want a drink. But perching yourself at a bar stool all night is not going to facilitate conversation or mingling. Instead, grab your drink and start making your way around the room! Your hangover will thank you in the morning.
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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View all upcoming mediabistro.com events

Summer is here, but I still haven’t gotten around to my spring cleaning. My closet’s a mess, the pile of papers on my desk keeps growing, and my bookshelves are overflowing with books I’ve been meaning to read.
Here at mb we like to help out in whatever small way we can. In the spirit of getting organized (and meeting new people), we’re hosting a Book Swap Party on Tuesday, June 26th, at Chinatown Brasserie. Bring a book (or more) to swap, find a few new reads for the summer, and chat up fellow media folks and book lovers.
It’s all for a good cause — any leftover books will be donated to our friends at Housing Works Used Book Cafe. GalleyCat editors Ron Hogan and Sarah Weinman are hosting, and can offer some good summer reading options!
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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Book Swap Party — Jun 26, 2007, 6:30 to 8:30pm

Eliminate the Clutter: Get organized and get your life together (New York seminar) — Monday, June 25, 6:30-9:30 pm

Speaking from experience, being single is not always easy. Chances are your friends have set you up on blind dates, you’ve tried your hand at internet dating, and maybe you’ve even spent an evening speed dating. Before you give up and retreat to your couch to enjoy a night of TV (alone), there’s one more thing you have to check out.
In addition to providing up-to-the-minute professional resources to media folks, mediabistro.com is offering a more old-fashioned one. On Thursday, June 19, we’re hosting our first-ever Spring Fling: Lock & Key Party. With the help of mb instructor and author of Secrets of a Fix-Up Fanatic Susan Shapiro, we’ll be doing some old-fashioned matchmaking just in time for the summer. The rules of the party are simple: men get a key, women get a lock, and you chat up prospective matches until you find the one that fits. Sue is a known matchmaker extraordinaire, and will do her best to ensure some successful matches.
The price of admission includes a drink ticket, and women can attend if they bring a (single, of course) friend of the opposite sex with them. Single men — you get in for free! Click here for party details.
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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Intro to Writing for NYC Newspapers and Magazines with Sue Shapiro starts June 26

Intro to Writing for NYC Newspapers and Magazines with Sue Shapiro starts June 26

The Secrets of First-Person Writing Mediabistro On Demand Panel Video moderated by Susan Shapiro

I’m not sure I know what nanotechnology is, but I’m damn sure I like the outfits.
The Kavli Institute at Cornell is hosting a free workshop in nanotechnology for journalists, June 13, Ithaca, NY. Great fashion at a great price.

New York can be a magical place. But the New York of the movies might be even more magical.
Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies, a multimedia exhibit at Grand Central‘s Vanderbilt Hall, is on display through June 22. Based on the book by James Sanders, the exhibit features huge recreations of NYC landscapes used by MGM in films like North by Northwest and The Clock, film footage of streets and skylines used in movies from the 1930′s to the present, and panels that will walk you through depictions of the city in such iconic films such as 42nd Street, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Annie Hall.
Mediabistro.com co-sponsored the opening party of the exhibit on June 5th. 200 guests sipped Ginger Rodgers and Scarlett O’Hara cocktails (courtesy of Chopin Vodka) as they toasted the exhibit, and explored images from the many films that have made the city a spectacular backdrop in Hollywood. Check out a few party photos after the jump.
And don’t miss Celluloid Skyline’s beautiful website, with interactive features and galleries.
Capturing the romance, ambition, beauty, and grit in a way that real life never can, the New York of the movies might help you fall in love with the real city once again.
Rachel Edelman, Events Manager
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Dana Vachon Hosts BookExpo Party

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Celluloid Skyline party photos are after the jump.

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Anna David reads from Party Girl at Book Soup in L.A. on Friday, June 8th from 7-9 pm. See below for details (hint: there will be booze).
It’s a big day for instructor and friend of the ‘bistro Anna David, who recently stirred the soup with a NYT Modern Love column. Her first novel, Party Girl, has arrived. We checked in with her about writing, partying, and writing about partying.
What was the inspiration for your book?
When I got sober a little over six years ago, my first job was working for Premiere magazine, doing a column called “Party Girl.” It was ironic, of course, that I’d been a party girl my entire life and no one had ever asked me to write a column by that name, and as soon as I realized I had an actual problem and put the substances down, I was essentially given this moniker. While that column covered premieres and award shows and was essentially just a different way to quote celebrities, it occurred to me years later that a great set-up for a story would be for a newly sober alcoholic to be given a column where she has to document her risqué adventures and thus have to create a persona based on who she used to be. I’d read all the memoirs about alcoholism and drug addiction — and absolutely loved a few of them — but I felt like a novel, where I could create a character similar to how I was pre-sobriety, and then make fun of myself and how delusional my thinking used to be, was a better approach to take.

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We’ve had at least two panel discussions in the last five years about what it takes to put anthologies together. As a moderator, I’ve noticed all successful anthologies share one component: a passionate editor who has a deep connection to the book’s topic. Jessica Berger Gross had that special connection topic with the subject of the anthology she edited, About What Was Lost: Twenty Writers on Miscarriage, Healing, and Hope (Plume). The book features contributions from writers like Pam Houston, Joyce Maynard, and Caroline Leavitt.

“When my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage,” says Jessica, “I was shattered by feelings of loss. Although as many as one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, this is something many women didn’t talk openly about. Pregnancy books tend to ignore the topic. I began writing about my experience and an essay turned into an idea for an anthology. About What Was Lost is the book I wanted to find in the bookstore after my miscarriage.”

About the editing process, Jessica says, “It was important for me to respect the deeply personal nature of these pieces when offering my editorial feedback to my contributors. In the end, I became close with many of them because of the intimate nature of the anthology.” Part of her understanding on how to deal with writers comes from her experience on the other side of the desk. She’s contributed essays to the anthologies It’s a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters, edited by Andrea Buchanan, and Why I Stopped Speaking to My Parents, forthcoming from Rebecca Walker.
Jessica credits a 2003 Boot Camp journalism class with some of her success. “Before Boot Camp, I had written for several publications,” says the contributor to Salon and Yoga Journal, among others. “[Instructor] Lew Harris helped me improve the quality of my queries and become more confident in communicating with magazine editors.”
If you’re in New York, you can catch a reading from Jessica’s book on June 12 at McNally Robinson. Details are here.
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Director of Community Development.