Anna Quintana
Editor, Distractify
What was your path to becoming an editor?
I studied journalism at the University of Florida, and interned in various newspapers and digital media websites during college. In 2015, I moved to New York City and worked as an associate editor for Life & Style magazine for three years before transitioning to Distractify.com in 2018, where I am currently the VP of Editorial Operations.
How and when did you learn to write? Do you think writing can be taught?
I have always been an avid reader and enjoyed storytelling in general. I believe I "learned" to write in high school thanks to a great English teacher. My writing skills, especially journalistic skills, were further honed in college. I do believe you can be taught to write — i.e. following a formula/structure to tell a story — but there is definitely a natural talent that is needed that you can't necessarily learn.
Who are your biggest inspirations within the space?
My biggest inspirations when it comes to digital journalism are Complex, Vulture, and Vox. In regards to writers and journalists in the space, I look to Edward Enninful as inspiration in making sure the voices on your platform are diverse and representative of your audience.
What is your brand’s mission? Who are you seeking to impact?
Our brand's mission at Distractify is to cover and curate what’s trending on the Internet in a relatable voice. In a nutshell, if you have a question about something you watched on TV or saw trending on social media, we aim to be your source for the answer.
What is the most challenging aspect of maintaining your particular brand’s voice?
I think the most challenging aspect for our brand is knowing what to cover and what to skip. On a website like ours where we focus on "viral" content, a lot of different topics can fall under that umbrella, so understanding where we have authority and credibility and where we don't sometimes can be difficult. There is definitely a lot of trial and error.
How has COVID affected your editorial strategy? What is something you’ve learned from this new normal?
Due to Covid-19, there have been huge disruptions in primetime TV content — which was a huge chunk of our daily traffic. We have had to shift our editorial focus to social media and other "beats" to make up for that drop. However, having to spend time finding new topics to write about helped diversify our traffic sources.
What do you think will be the greater impact on journalism?
Overall, I think Covid-19 shined a bigger light on just how much news is out there and making sure you are reading and exposing yourself to credible journalism. This makes us more diligent when it comes to fact-checking and not spreading stories that are false. We want our readers to trust our website at all times.
What feedback have you gotten from your readers that is new/different than before?
In general, we are seeing more hostile interactions on social media due to the tension that exists in the real world. These "tough" topics — Covid, BLM, and race — which have surfaced in 2020 bring out the best (and worst) in people, and as a media brand, you want to make it a safe space for your readers.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading 'Chiffon Trenches' by Andre Leon Talley, the memoir by Vogue's former editor-at-large.
How important is it to have mentors during this new journalistic landscape? Can you describe your ideal mentor relationship?
Mentors are incredibly important, especially when it comes to brainstorming and bouncing new ideas off someone who has more experience and knows what has historically worked and not worked when it comes to digital content. Sometimes, editors (myself included) can get into a rut and be repetitive when it comes to what we cover/write about so a mentor would be someone that challenges you to think outside of the box and be constantly trying new things.
Knowing that news breaks on social media, whether it's a new government policy or the latest celeb pregnancy announcement, how does your team use social media to report on the story?
Our brand does not cover breaking news in a traditional way. We are not trying to be the first to report a story or post on social media. Instead, we are interested in seeing the nuance that people are interested in when it comes to a news story and targeting those longtail keywords. For example, if there is a celebrity pregnancy, we would never cover the pregnancy. Instead, we would look to see, are people interested in learning her due date specifically? Or do they want to know if the celeb already has kids? This makes our content more unique and more likely to pop on Google.