My First Clip in VIBE Magazine

Last December, when Aliya S. King first told me the topic of a feature she was working on for VIBE magazine, my jaw dropped.

Not only did I know then that a story about cross-dressing, gender-bending students who attend the illustrious Morehouse College (On Stands Everywhere Today!) would go viral and send tongues wagging (the president of the college issued a lengthy letter to the Morehouse community, refuting the claims in the story before even reading it. Yesterday VIBE published the story on their website and King was immediately condemned and met with harsh criticism both via Twitter and the VIBE message boards), but I also knew she was about to write the hell out of it, which she did.

I wanted in!


She asked me if I wanted to research the piece. Of course I accepted. But I wanted more than just a additional reporting byline.

I pitched her the idea of a sidebar that countered the thoughts and beliefs of the men she interviewed for her story.

She said three words: Make it happen.

I found a 62-year-old, openly gay Morehouse graduate who was vehemently against students dressing in women's clothing or in any way that could possibly disrupt the academic environment on campus and in the classroom.

Score!

We talked for almost two hours. He spoke about the gay experience at Morehouse in the 60's, his views on dressing in drag and he sent out a plea to his gay brothers to look at the bigger picture, think about their future and govern themselves accordingly on campus.

I transcribed the interview, wrote up a 500-word sidebar and turned it into King.  She sent me a minor edit. I tweaked it and turned it back in. She loved it and turned it in with her story.

And I waited.

Would King's editor like the sidebar? If so, would it make it to print?

I know from experience that just because you turn in a story doesn't mean it will run.  I don't count my bylines until the magazine hits the stands.

It was touch and go for a while.  One minute it looked as if it would make the cut. Other times, it looked like King might need to pull quotes from my sidebar and use them in her story.

After a couple of  nerve-wracking weeks of stalking King and gnawing on the inside of my jaw, I got the official word that my sidebar had in fact made it to print.

*FAINTS*

You don't understand.

I grew up reading VIBE. It was the first publication I ever subscribed to.  Growing up, I used to read the stories and then cut out all the pictures from the magazine and tape them to the wall in my bedroom.

This is huge!

Then I began to wonder what it was like for the big dogs who write and edit for VIBE now.  Were they as excited about their first clip in the magazine as I am?

So, I asked them.

UU: When did you get your first clip in VIBE?

JH: I want to say it was 1999. It was a Juice issue and Mary J. Blige was on the cover wearing a red fur.

UU: What was the story about?

JH: It was a music review in the back of the magazine. And I can’t remember for the life of me who it was.

UU: How did you feel when it was published?

JH: I was amped! Shani Saxon assigned it to me. She went on to be executive editor of the magazine. I was so nervous even asking her to review music. I ran vibe.com at the time and we just didn’t talk to people on the editorial side. One day I was in her office and she handed me a CD and said, review this and give it back to me in a week. I was like, whoa. This is VIBE! Oversized VIBE with writers like Karen Good and Kris Ex! I handed in my review and there were so many edits. I was heartbroken. But Shani was a good editor. I made the changes and handed it in. And I saw it when the magazines came to the office and I was so excited. I opened it and I was like, please let me have a couple of sentences that belong to me, I’ll be happy. I had like, two grafs that were still me.

UU: What's your favorite story you've ever written for VIBE?

JH: I’ve actually written more for XXL. I guess to date, my Puff story in the last VIBE Juice issue and that’s because we have so much history together. This interview was so natural. I’ve written four stories on Puff, including for Playboy. And this one felt like a conversation between two people who were familiar with each other.

UU: I'm ecstatic to have my first piece published in VIBE. Any words of wisdom?

JH: Celebrate it! This is a brand that's been here for 17 years. And there’s a certain level of journalistic integrity that comes with it. There have been some very accomplished editors from Jonathan Van Meter to Alan Light to Danyel Smith, to Emil Wilbekin to Mimi Valdes. I’m honored to be the latest in this line. These are heavy-hitters. So if you get that VIBE clip, know that you’ve got the goods.

UU: When did you get your first clip in VIBE?

CH: I actually had to look through my old files to check what my very first clip was. I had written some small sidebars and front of the book pieces while interning there and can’t remember. The oldest file I found was a Remy Ma interview from Dec 2004. Yikes, I should remember my first clip. I don’t know which issue it ran in, either January or February 2005. Actually I don’t remember if it was published.

UU: What was the story about?

CH: The Remy Ma piece was for a column called “Where I’m From” where she talked about her favorite salons and spas. If not that, the next oldest assignment file I have is a lifestyle piece with the reggae artist Rupee on three things she recently bought.

UU: How did you feel?

CH: I was ecstatic! I had always wanted to be published in VIBE so I was greatful to get that opportunity at a young age... around 20/21. But I was ecstatic just to see my name under the intern section on the masthead.

UU: What's your favorite story you've ever written for VIBE?

CH: My very first VIBE cover, the April/May 2010 issue. Trey Songz. That, I’ll remember

UU: I'm ecstatic to have my first piece published in VIBE. Any words of wisdom?

CH: Have you pitched me yet?

UU: When did you get your first clip in VIBE?

RK: [The] 1992 test issue.

UU: What was the story about?

RK: [A] feature on the dancehall artist Supercat.

UU: How did you feel?

RK: Elated. But also a little shook. I didn't see Cat again for four years, and was not quite sure how he felt about the piece, which covered some touchy subjects to say the least. But once I saw him it was all good.

UU: What's your favorite story you've ever written for VIBE?

RK: Probably the Nas cover story in June 2003. I caught him at a good moment: he had just ethered Jay-Z, buried his mom, and fallen in love with Kelis, so we had a lot to talk about.

UU: I'm ecstatic to have my first piece published in VIBE. Any words of wisdom?

RK: As Journey's Steve Perry once put it: "Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling..."

I wept on the corner of 72nd & Broadway when I picked up a copy of this issue at the newsstand.

I am forever indebted to King for that.

UU: When did you get your first clip in VIBE?

ASK: Had to be '98 or '99. TLC was on the cover.

UU: What was it about?

ASK: It was an obituary on disco legend Gwen Guthrie, best know for her song, "Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent." Her daughter had been in my class when I was a teacher so I knew the family. I found out early that she passed and immediately pitched it to VIBE. Which is kind of morbid when you think about it. But I had the story. I needed to jump at the chance.

UU: How did you feel when it was published?

ASK: I was ecstatic. I think I cried. I ran all around to newsstands to see if anyone had it. I finally found it, at a newsstand right in front of 1515 Broadway, the building where I worked at Billboard. I was thrilled! A byline in VIBE?! What? WHAT?! I could have died and went to heaven. For serious. And the story was 50 words long, tops. And 1/8 of a page at best.

UU: What's your favorite story you've ever written for VIBE?

ASK: Easy. Story I wrote on Al Green. About the woman who threw a pot of hot grits on him in the mid-70s.  The story was awarded ASCAP's Deems Taylor Award for magazine writing. I literally fell out of my chair when they called to tell me.

UU: I'm ecstatic to have my first piece published in VIBE. Any words of wisdom?

ASK: Don't assume that because VIBE covers an urban audience that you can be informal or assume that any pitch you could come up with fits the magazine. Be professional, concise and educated about the magazine.

UU: When did you get your first clip in VIBE?

EP: February 2003 issue. Justin Timberlake was on the cover.

UU: What was the story about?

EP: It was a story on Erick Sermon.

EP: He hadn't really talked much about his "accident" in which he "allegedly" fell from a second story window. First reports said he was in a car accident and a whole bunch of other mess. Many speculated that he was caught with a gay lover or something. That was the hot rumor of the time. The problem is, and what made my story somewhat juicy was he did nothing to refute any claims. I certainly didn't get to the bottom of it, but I probably did better than most when it comes to investigating what actually happened. I went to the apartment in NJ from which he fell (leapt?). I interviewed the neighbors, the people from the business below. I found out about the girl who used to live there (she had since moved out). I looked at the windows, which were impossible to fall out of because they barley opened. But I came away with no conclusions. However, I did have a good story, even if it was rather short.

UU: How did you feel?

EP: When I got the assignment, I was the former music editor of The Source. I had already done some pieces for Elliott at XXL, who kept me working after I left. But with the VIBE look, I was happy on many levels: On one level--a very real and immediate level all freelancers can relate to--I could use the check. But bigger than that, it was more validation for me, more about pulling me out of the Source's orbit. VIBE was always more mainstream than the Source and XXL. And I started opening up to pieces for The Voice and Rolling Stone and others. It was good to reach different audiences.

UU: What's your favorite story you've ever written for VIBE?

EP: Don't know if I have a favorite one, mostly because I only wrote about four features there. After my Erick Sermon story and one other piece I was hired as an editor and it was a difficult sell to edit and write at VIBE. But maybe my fave is the Haiti story, "All Falls Down," which was the April/May 2010 Issue.  The story was under crazy closing deadline and as a result there were a few typos that make me cringe. Yet I like it because it was different than other stories I've written because it was all first-person and about my experience. That can be fun. But then again, it's sometimes embarrassing to read first-person stories. Me. Me. Me. And by the way, did "I" tell you about "Me."

UU: I'm ecstatic to have my first piece published in VIBE. Any words of wisdom?

EP: Just keep pitching and researching stories. And writing the ones you believe in--even if they don't--for your blog. Mostly, enjoy the process no matter what outlet.  My advice would be to enjoy the print world but don't live within the confines of it, which, judging by your work on your blog, you already know.

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Well. There you have it. VIBE is definitely a tough nut to crack. And getting a clip up in that piece, be it small or large, is definitely a reason to celebrate.

Next up for me: I've got a 450-word Q&A with John Legend coming out in the November issue of Upscale magazine. We talk about his style, music and philanthropic work.

*INSERTS SHAMELESS PLUG HERE* 

Oh, and...ahem...just in case there are any editors reading this post and you want to see some of my work, you can check out my clips at: http://www.shydeljamesclips.com/

In the meantime, I'll keep writing solid posts here on the blog, start pitching the hell out of Clover Hope and hatch a plan to push Aliya S. King down a flight of stairs so I can start picking up her travel stories for Upscale.

Writers and journalists: Do you have a publication on your wish list?

A magazine you'd love to have a byline in?

A story idea you're dying to write about?

Do you remember your first clip? Where did it run? What was it about?

Share your stories, bylines and clips.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.