Nancy Han
SVP, News Originals & Editorial Content Strategy
What was your path to becoming an editor?
Growing up in an immigrant household, my family watched the news religiously. I learned from a young age that the media can be an incredibly powerful force when it comes to shaping our perspectives of the world around us, but also that there was very little visibility for my community. I chose journalism as my career path as a teenager because I never saw anyone who looked like me presenting the news, and I wanted to be that person.
After college I started working at a local news affiliate in Providence, followed by stints at an NBC affiliate in Boston and another as a writer for WNBC here in New York. But after more than a decade of experience producing morning shows like GMA Weekend and CBS This Morning, I wanted to take a new path to lead a newsroom of young people whose core mission was shedding light on untold stories, and pursue a new medium beyond television.
As the Senior Vice President of News Originals and Editorial Content Strategy at NowThis, I’ve had the opportunity to be a leader for an outlet that is digitally native, and where meeting young people on social platforms is a core competency. In this role, I’ve been proud to oversee a group of young journalists who are finding insightful and creative ways to tell powerful, visual stories about the most pressing issues of the day.
What is your brand’s mission? Who are you seeking to impact?
NowThis is the #1 mobile news brand in the U.S. We have a singular mission: to make news engaging and relevant for young adults by humanizing our complicated world. By providing insightful context from a youth perspective, NowThis has revolutionized how news is consumed today by distributing news natively on social media where young audiences spend their time. Launched in 2012, NowThis’ entertaining, inspiring and informative videos are created for a mobile generation and receive over 2.6 billion monthly views.
What is the most challenging aspect of maintaining your particular brand’s voice?
NowThis has become a trusted news source for young people. Keeping our audiences informed and inspired hinges on finding an entry point for important news of the day that will stop our audience’s thumbs as they scroll through their feeds and keep them engaged. Powerful visuals, an authentic feel, and spotlighting stories about people who look like our audience, has been key to building a voice and visual identity that resonates.
How has COVID affected your editorial strategy? What is something you’ve learned from this new normal?
As a company that had a mobile friendly workflow already in place, NowThis was uniquely positioned to adapt to remote work almost overnight. We were able to do so while maintaining the high quality and authentic look that resonates with our huge young audience. We were also able to meet the demands of keeping our audience continuously informed about vital public health developments at a rapid clip. Our strategy reflected our core mission -- cover pressing news of the day at the intersection of the issues young people care about -- from the climate crisis and social justice to voting rights and beyond. Our audience not only remained deeply engaged, but grew as more and more young people sought us out for important information.
What are you currently reading?
I just started reading a memoir called “The Last Girl,” by Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi human rights advocate who was kidnapped by ISIS at age 19. While I love escapism, I mostly gravitate towards nonfiction, and I’m particularly drawn to memoirs by women who refuse to accept their circumstances.
How important is it to have mentors during this new journalistic landscape? Can you describe your ideal mentor relationship?
I have been privileged to have excellent mentors, and have always believed it was my responsibility to be a mentor to others as well. I think mentorship is essential for people at any stage of their career. There is a misconception that it’s the role of a mentor to somehow give you an advantage, or help get you your next job. I think it is actually an opportunity to connect with someone who has been in your shoes so you can more broadly navigate the waters of your career, both in the long term and the short term. As a woman of color in a newsroom, I think it’s especially important for me to serve as a mentor to other young journalists in an industry where we still remain underrepresented.