Josh Sternberg
Josh Sternberg has background that is a bit eclectic. After being in a band for nine years, he found his way to grad school and fell in love with learning and became an adjunct professor. From there, he worked in PR for a few years and then made his way into a newsroom, but then zigged to the branded content side for a bit before zagging back into a newsroom. He was the media and tech editor at Adweek overseeing a team of reporters covering the business of media, and he’s now the executive editor of Morning Brew.
You've worked in PR, had your own communications firm for a while, and now work as an in-house editor at Adweek. How have these roles each been different, and how were they stepping stones for your writing career?
PR and journalism are two sides of the same coin. On one, the PR side, your job is, at best, telling your clients' truths to the media. On the other, the journalist side, is to cut through the bullshit.
I wouldn't frame it as 'stepping stones' for a writing career. Instead, I just write and see what happens. When I was in PR, I had a blog, which turned into freelance writing (because folks at outlets read and liked what I had to say), which turned into a full-time reporting gig.
Life is a series of happy accidents sometimes.
What's an average day look like for you as an editor?
I wake up between 5 and 6, read the NYT, WSJ, WaPo and Twitter. On my commute into the city, I'm sending out emails and texts to sources and contacts, coordinating with my reporters on what they're working on.
Get into the office and continue to shape my day based on news-as-it-happens as well as news we are creating through our reporting. I'm also in lots of meetings throughout the day around products, with sources, with my reporters.
I get home around 6:30, play with my kids, eat dinner, and get back to reading, typically long form stories - the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Wired, etc.
What's a common misconception about the work you do that drives you nuts?
Sadly, these days it's the idea that journalists peddle fake news. We don't!
If you had to give writing advice to a fellow writer, what would it be?
Just write. And trust your editors. Also: Don't use "launch" for new products, services, what-have-you. It's a weird hill to die on, I know, but it's my hill.
