"It's never systematic, like at a print publication." --Sandra Angulo, Editorial Assistant, Entertainment Weekly Online

A Typical Day in the Life

10-10:30a.m. Arrive at the office and read news and wires from different web sites, like the NY Times online and the entertainment trades. We have a roundup of daily news that I go through. I am also responsible for checking that all our proprietary charts are up on the site in proper format and with regular updates. I write a new chart daily, like: "Top Ten Movies at the Box Office."

12p.m.
I'll usually have an unofficial meeting with our editors about different things, like what movie screenings we should check out that week, which calls from publicists we should pay attention to, which actors are hip these days. That's the gist of it. Our whole staff is actually just the Executive Editor; the Editor; two writers-one in N.Y. and one in L.A.; five production people; and me, solo editorial assistant. Sometimes, if an editorial assistant starts for EW print magazine, we'll all go out to lunch. Our office [E-Weekly print and online] is not in the Time Inc. building like most of Time Inc.'s publications are. So we don't get the cafeteria perks.

2p.m.
Off to the latest movie screening. On a heavy week I'll attend as many as five screenings. We check them out to see what sort of stuff we should be paying attention to in the industry. I recently went to a screening of The Best Man. It portrayed an all-black cast and each character was upper middle class and upwardly mobile. That's really unique because so many directors in the African American niche portray all or some of their black characters as down and out. The director is Spike Lee's cousin, Malcom Lee, which is also interesting.

~ 5p.m.
After conducting whatever interviews I have for the day, I will transcribe them and, if I have time, sit right down and compile the article. I've collected tons of bylines already; I write and report according to how much time I can make outside my other responsibilities. Administrative tasks aren't much of the job. I have to track people's vacation-time, and every once in blue moon photocopy a new staff list or something, but it's pretty minimal.

6:30 or 8:30 or ??p.m. When you work for an online division, you just stay until you get your work done, which is different than print magazines, which have designated late nights reserved for each month. We have ongoing deadlines, which means that you could stay late five days one week, and only one or two the next. Before I leave at night, I write the daily quiz for the next day. It has to be something timely and kitsch. Before the season premiere of Dawson's Creek, I wrote a quiz that queried, "Which of the Dawson's Creek gang is of legal drinking age?"

Career Yearbook

1990-1994: High School, Miami, Florida
As a high school student I interned at the Miami Beach Herald. I'd write for the Miami Beach edition featuring events at schools or shops, celebrations and anniversaries.
1994: Columbia University, New York, NY
I studied at Columbia as an English major and also worked as a resident advisor and as a mentor in the big sister program.
1995: Miami Beach Herald, Sesame Street Magazine
I worked two internships during the summer after my Freshman year.
1996: Baby Magazine
The summer after my sophomore year I was an editorial intern for Baby Magazine, a publication for pregnant mothers.