When she was 12 years-old, Zan Strumfeld saw Cameron Crowe’s groundbreaking comedy, Almost Famous, and knew in that moment, watching 15-year-old William Miller aspire to get published in Rolling Stone by following musicians around the country with a tape recorder, she wanted to be a music journalist. Now 22, Strumfeld is a local politics reporter for The Spotlight newspapers in New York’s capital region. She is not currently a music journalist per say, but an established and energetic writer nonetheless.
Photo courtesy of Twitter @zan_spotlight
“I always wanted to write,” says Strumfeld. “In any facet.” Having grown up in Latham, NY, Strumfeld wrote as both the music and photo editor for her local high school’s newspaper, The Bison. In college, Strumfeld majored in English with a double minor in Journalism and Creative Writing at SUNY New Paltz. Taking stints as a Staff Writer, Copy Editor, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Features Writer, and Assistant Managing Editor at The New Paltz Oracle, the college’s award-winning newspaper, Strumfeld learned the ways of copy editing, a passion she has held onto ever since.
“I really enjoy doing it,” says Strumfeld of copyediting and proofreading. “And that’s something most people don’t.” Currently in the midst of joining the American Copy Editors Society, or what she refers to as “the nerdiest thing I’m ever gonna do,” Strumfeld will attend the ACES 17th National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri in April of 2013 to improve upon her copy editing skills.
This past May, as a hardworking, recent college graduate and journalist with an internship at art magazine, The Chronogram, and newsroom experience at The Times Union under her belt, Strumfeld found it surprisingly difficult to leave her college town “bubble” and find a job. Lucky for her, in what she calls “one of those things that just sometimes happens,” Strumfeld landed a job at The Spotlight newspapers covering the news in Albany, New York’s Colonie region.
Although she freely confesses she’s not doing this for the money, still on hourly pay covering topics that she had never previously covered, Strumfeld enjoys what she’s doing. “It’s really hard work,” Strumfeld admits. “But I’m still learning and writing.” Her writing is paying off in the public too. “Because I’m doing such hyper-local news, people really care,” says Strumfeld. “I’ve never gotten so many Thank You notes and letters before.”
Now that she’s out in the “real world,” Strumfeld admits that she has no interest in going back in the “bubble.” “I don’t want to be a real person really,” says Strumfeld with a laugh. “But I love to write and I want to do what I love.”
Although she enjoys creative writing as a hobby and journalism for a living, Strumfeld has also recently dabbled in song writing. Having always enjoyed writing about music in various Arts and Entertainment departments, Strumfeld has also found enjoyment in playing music. Though she once dreamed of being a rockstar, Strumfeld can be heard “folking up the lonely lovers” with her own Facebook and Bandcamp sites and performing open mic at More Bread and Jam Cafe. She can even be heard this Friday on 97.7 WEXT, a local, listener-supported, rock music radio station.
Despite maintaining multiple blogs, a personal Facebook account, a music Facebook page, a YouTube channel, a personal Tumblr page, and a Twitter account (@zand_spotlight), Strumfeld is adamant in her disapproval of the Internet and social media technology. “I hate the Internet, but I’m all over it,” admits Strumfeld. “The HT Recorder app is literally the only reason I got an iPhone.” A self-proclaimed lover of print and traditional reader of books, Strumfeld thinks today’s obsession with technology and social media has made people unable to communicate and at a loss for human interaction. “I’d love to be an editor in the future but you will not find me online,” Strumfield says with a laugh. “You can quote me on that and see where I am in ten years.”
Although she claims to not be very good at giving advice, little pieces of wisdom seem to spew out of Strumfeld’s wry sense of humor when speaking with her.
“Read everyday. The best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.”
“Don’t lie, don’t cheat. But sometimes you have to.”
“There’s no reason to go to grad school for writing majors. It costs so much and you’ll never make it back.”
“If you can read and you can write, then you can work anywhere.”
Though her career goals may have changed (“Rolling Stone is biased, corporate, bullshit”) and her job at Spotlight is “not like Almost Famous,” two things are for sure; Strumfield is still passionate about writing and there is still a long road of success ahead of her. “Don’t let people tell you you’re not good at something,” Strumfeld says in a last bout of wisdom. “Do what you love. Fuck everything else.”
Follow Zan Strumfeld on Twitter @zan_spotlight
Shelby's Blog 
Leave a comment