Rachel Bowie
Director, Special Projects at PureWow
What was your path to becoming an editor?
From a young age, I always had a bit of an obsession with breaking news coverage. As a kid I followed stories ranging from the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding saga to the death of Princess Diana, actively saving news clippings and recording broadcast TV reports to create my own mini-archive. It wasn't until high school, when I landed a gig on the student newspaper, that I realized my interest was the news, sure, but more important than that, it was the storytelling. Also, the quest to get the facts right.
I started my career in Boston, working for a local city publication there, then moved to New York City, eventually getting hired at Hearst. I pivoted from magazines to PureWow.com after falling in love with the brand as an email subscriber. I actually made a short list of companies that would be my dream to work at — PureWow being #1 — and couldn't believe it when I saw an editorial opening on their hiring page. Five years later, here I am.
How and when did you learn to write? Do you think writing can be taught?
Writing can absolutely be taught. (I'm still striving to improve every day!) But you have to be a skilled reader to be a good writer. One of my first editors in Boston used to tear out magazine articles with ledes that she loved, then leave them on my desk with a post-it note: "Maybe you should experiment with this style for your next piece?" She taught me that to write, you need to read. A lot. The more I read, the more I'm inspired, but also the more equipped I am to stretch my own ability.
I also firmly believe that, behind every good writer, is a great editor. You need someone that is going to ask constructive questions, point out flaws and push you to better articulate your point.
What is your brand’s mission? Who are you seeking to impact?
PureWow is a digital media brand that focuses on lifestyle content for a woman in her 30s. While we cover the breadth of what our woman might be interested in—from what jeans she should be wearing to what book she should read next—we're known best for our beauty, wellness, food, and family content. We also pride ourselves on being wherever the audience is—from Instagram to YouTube to podcasts to Tik Tok, as well as our own site.
How has COVID affected your editorial strategy? What is something you’ve learned from this new normal?
COVID-19 has affected our entire editorial team in so many ways, but this experience has truly served as a reminder of our nimbleness. When the stay-at-home orders were first put in place back in March, we reached out to our readership and asked them to let us know what their needs were during this time. Thanks to our many direct channels to our audience, we were able to really get a feel for what they wanted from us while at the same time encouraging writers on our team to color outside the lines of their typical beats. This approach empowered so many people on our team to write from their heart—and produce incredible content at the same time.
What feedback have you gotten from your readers that is new/different than before?
I think more than anything, I've learned from their feedback that life has to go on. Speaking about the pandemic specifically, there is so much fear. But there's also the aspect that most of us have no choice but to continue working, caring for our children, finding ways to put food on the table and more. Our readers need money advice and self-care strategies and recipes for all of this. We are here for them!
What are you currently reading?
I'm currently reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. If you can believe it, I've never read any of the Harry Potter books, so I've been making my way through. I'm loving the smart escapism it provides.
How important is it to have mentors during this new journalistic landscape? Can you describe your ideal mentor relationship?
Having a mentor is something that is critical to your success in this field, but in any field. I look at mentorship like friendship—you're going to get different things from different people. I have a mentor that I can lean on for honest conversations about money, but also one that is going to look at my career trajectory and push me to fill resumé gaps. I also have a mentor I can go to just to brainstorm or lean on for support. Still, while I define these people as mentors, they're also people who are a part of my network. A healthy network of people you can lean on for genuine and judgment-free support is the main thing you need in place to navigate difficult—and not-so-difficult—times.
My ideal mentor exists in the form of one of my former editors at Hearst—she was my boss for a short time, but from the beginning she made it clear that she was my advocate. That meant encouraging me to stretch my own abilities, but also championing me to other people with an over-arching goal of always helping me grow. She was my direct boss almost ten years ago now and I still go to her for feedback and advice on so many things.