Zan Strumfeld: Reporter-Musician-Blogger-Writer Extraordinaire

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

Social Media and Online Tools: An Interview with a Feminist Researcher

As a longtime feminist researcher and professor of Women’s Studies, Bianca Sanders* understands firsthand the benefits of social media and online research tools. Since starting her doctoral degree in 1997 at the University of Oregon, Sanders has utilized an extensive array of online tools to aid her feminist research. Although she specializes in body politics and women’s activism in Argentina, Sanders’ interests and research extend to many globalization issues pertaining to women’s lives in a transnational context.

Since her research on human rights, militarization, and general social inequality always operates within a feminist, often Latin American, framework, Sanders does a significant amount of traveling for her work. Just like an effective journalist, an effective feminist researcher immerses herself in the world of the people she is interviewing. As is such, Sanders makes many trips to Latin America and more specifically, Argentina. She utilizes the internet’s potential for connectivity and communication to further her research and to keep up with political events, opportunities, and conferences in Latin America.

In terms of the impact social media and online tools have on her feminist research in Latin America, Sanders finds that the expectation as a researcher to be constantly available and online makes it harder to set boundaries between her work life and personal life. “Everybody sends emails at whatever time, so sometimes if I open my email account before sleep, I am taking a risk,” says Sanders. “Seeing a problem I need to address right before sleep has an impact on all aspects of my life.”

Although she keeps personal and work email accounts separate, there is often overlap when it comes to her students. Sanders finds the Latin American and feminist email listervs she is a part of to be beneficial to the Women’s Studies classes she teaches at the University at Albany. “To search for materials for class I use the internet on a daily basis,” says Sanders. “I use audio and visual clips but also the library databases, and my listervs from my research. These are very useful for articles for class.” The significant amount of time Sanders spends in Argentina has become both a prime time for her work as a feminist researcher and her lessons as a Women’s Studies professor. “I can request articles for my students from my colleagues through Skype and email,” says Sanders. “I email my students and send them links to these sites, and the library, and Blackboard.”

For her research, Sanders uses a variety of online tools, search engines and databases, including Google Scholar and Skype. Although she sees the beneficial aspects of connecting and communicating with various people, Sanders does not have a Facebook or Twitter account because she is uncomfortable with the amount of personal and contact information you must provide to the public on these sites. For this article she was even hesitant to let me use her real name as this was going to be displayed to the general public on a blog post.