Necole Kane
Founder and Editor in Chief at XONecole
What was your path to becoming an editor?
My path to becoming an editor was accidental. I started my career as a celebrity gossip blogger, reporting entertainment and celebrity news. When launching my new brand xoNecole, due to underrepresentation of black women, I transitioned into an Editor in Chief role.
How and when did you learn to write? Do you think writing can be taught?
I was writing novels before I was a teen due to my vivid imagination; however, I do think writing can be honed and taught through writing exercises, feedback and creative writing courses, workshops, and groups.
Who are your biggest inspirations within the space?
A huge inspiration for me was Elaine Wetheroth, the former EIC at Teen Vogue. I loved that she used her position to shake the table and gave the brand a strong, woke, political, and aware voice.
What is your brand’s mission? Who are you seeking to impact?
xoNecole's brand mission is to give black women a safe space where they can be their unapologetic full selves, and have their stories and voices amplified while also elevating in all areas of their lives.
What is the most challenging aspect of maintaining your particular brand’s voice?
Choosing whether to inform the audience when the news gets particularly heavy since our brand focuses more on uplifting them and providing a space for mental wellness and self care. It's where most go to get a break from the taxing news cycle. Also, another challenge is finding writers that write in the conversational girlfriend next door tone that our brand has adopted.
How has COVID affected your editorial strategy? What is something you’ve learned from this new normal?
You have to make sure that you are not tone deaf so that sometimes means re-strategizing. I've learned from the new normal to always check my communities pulse, listen to their pain points and then figure out how we can serve them as a brand as they navigate the challenges of the pandemic.
What feedback have you gotten from your readers that is new/different than before?
We haven't received particular brand feedback but they do let us know that the current climate has them very exhausted and tired.
What are you currently reading?
I'm currently reading The Wild Woman's Way by Michaela Boehm.
How important is it to have mentors during this new journalistic landscape? Can you describe your ideal mentor relationship?
I believe mentorship is super important to evolve. My ideal mentor relationship would be someone who has served in a high level editorial position or executive role at a media company. I haven't worked at a media company before launching my own so guessed my way through a lot of my career trajectory such as what rates to pay, how to set up a pitching structure for new writers, and editorial budget. The good news is that we surveyed a few of our writers who told us our compensation was fair or above average and they were happy. The added insight on how we can continue to improve our overall organizational structure would be invaluable, especially for a black-owned/minority brand.
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?
Most of our stories have a lifestyle angle. We don't report on celeb news unless there is a lesson that we can pull from it.