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her lengthy career and the experiences that led her to
becoming one of the most influential women in the
journalism world.
Her career as an editor began when she headed the
revival of the British publication Tatler magazine at
the age of 25.
"(I was) both completely inexperienced and lucky
enough to have something of my own," said Brown.
After four years at the Tatler, she accepted a
position as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair.
"Vanity Fair was one of those titles with instant
magic," said Brown. "At Vanity Fair, we owned
Hollywood."
During her eight-year tenure at Vanity Fair, Brown
increased circulation from 250,000 copies to 1.2
million.
After leaving Vanity Fair, she became the fourth-
ever editor-in-chief of The New Yorker, and the first
woman to hold the position, which proved to be a
challenging one.
"The New Yorker writers and editors saw me as the
Antichrist," said Brown.
Although her staff was initially resistant, she
managed to once again increase sales, this time by
250,000 copies.
Despite her illustrious career, she admitted she was
not immune to making mistakes.
In her speech. Brown shared her experience with
her self-created magazine Talk.
Even though it was not a success, she still benefited
from her "experiment" and now draws from it when
giving advice about rolling with the punches and,
persevering.
"Be careful," said Brown. "That was very good
for me to learn because I had always been very
impetuous."
She turned the failure of Talk into an opportunity
to take a break from editing and return to writing.
In 2007, she published "The Diana Chronicles,"
a work that synthesized 250 interviews in what she
referred to as a "jigsaw puzzle" of the life of Princess
Diana.
Most recently, she transitioned from print to web
journalism when she became the editor-in-chief of
The Daily Beast in 2008.
"There was a tremendous amount of scoffing that
a print maven like me could go digital," Brown said.
In 2010, Newsweek and The Daily Beast converged
to form The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Brown
was named editor-in-chief.
"(Newsweek and the Daily Beast) are the same
reader in a different mood," said Brown. "We live in
these two tempos, and they're complementary of each
other."
On Oct. 18, Newsweek announced that it will be
going completely digital in 2013.
"We find that our content online does the most
amazing traffic. ... Basically it seemed to us the
inevitable end of magazines (will be) in the next few
years," Brown said.
After her speech. Brown took questions from the
audience and shared her opinion on a wide range of
topics.
One question pertained to the relationship of media
coverage and political campaigns.
"I think the media coverage is a disaster," said
Brown. "Candidates are just killed by these flying
sound bites that are flung into the media."
Another attendee asked her opinion on increasing
reliance on portable electronics for accessing the
news.
"Whenever I walk through airplanes now, everyone
is reading screens," said Brown. "It really is a fact that
you're not just competing with words on a screen, but
also games."
During her short time on campus. Brown left a
positive impression on students and faculty alike.
"Tina Brown is a smart, pioneering editor in the
current journalism revolution," said Professor of
English Jim Hood. "I want my FYE students to have
the opportunity of hearing a world-shaping journalist
talk about where media is headed in this 21st century."
CCE student Pamela Rhyne attended both the
speech and an informal session that Brown held with
select students and faculty earlier that day.
"I think it's just a really unique opportunity," said
Rhyne. "We're lucky Guilford offers us this kind of
experience, especially that intimate experience."
Tina Brown will be followed in the Bryan Series by
Tom Brokaw, Geoffrey Canada, Caroline Kennedy,
and Thomas Friedman throughout the year.
Brokaw will visit on Nov. 29.
(Above): Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek and The Daily Beast,
participated in a small-group discussion with students in the Community
Center in the afternoon. She discussed her decision to make Newsweek an
online only magazine as well as her many editorships.
(Below): Later, Brown took the stage at the Greensboro Coliseum to talk
about a wide range of topics including media coverage of political campaigns,
her work at The New Yorker and how to evolve during life's changes.
Racketeer or wrongly accused? Discussion panel gives
new perspective, information on Jorge Cornell case
BY JORDAN SMITH
Staff Writer
Many people have heard of Jorge Cornell and his upcoming
trial, but a Guilford discussion panel titled "The RICO
Prosecution of Jorge Cornell: Racketeer or Wrongly Accused?"
gave a new perspective on the topic.
Jorge Cornell is the head of Greensboro's Almighty Latin
King and Queen Nation, a gang organization that originated
in Chicago.
On Oct. 15, Cornell and 12 others went to trial on
racketeering charges under the Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act. This act calls for penalties on
gang-related — specifically racketeering — actions.
Cornell is accused of heading a conspiracy to commit
murder, kidnapping and arson, according to the Greensboro
News & Record. The trial is expected to continue for five to
six weeks.
Cornell came to North Carolina in 2005. After establishing
the ALKQN, he called for peace on the streets between gangs
in 2008.
Many of his policies focus on assisting children and
teenagers in the ALKQN, who had to adhere to a set of rules
to stay in the organization. Among other things, members had
to stay in school and treat others respectably.
The individuals on the panel knew Cornell personally and
used their own experiences with him to explain the reality of
his situation.
Guilford alumnus and panel member Eric Ginsburg '10
met Cornell at the Greensboro community center. Developing
close relations with him, Ginsburg managed the first of
Cornell's two City Council campaigns in 2009.
Guilford County Board of Education member Deena Hayes
also noticed Cornell because of his peace tactics.
"I really saw the big picture," Hayes said. "He wanted to
change the direction of what street gangs normally do."
"He loves people, loves his children," said Lewis Beverage,
another friend of Jorge Cornell. "Nothing but love."
The panelists saw a common issue in the situation
surrounding Cornell: the Greensboro Police Department.
Hayes invited Cornell to join the School Safety Committee
she created, which at the time was looking into the issue of
gangs in schools. When she did so, the GPD left the committee
despite the fact that Cornell was committing no offense.
"Tm not afraid of gangs," said Sarah Lee, a neighbor of
Cornell. "I'm not afraid of my neighbors. The only gang I'm
afraid of is the Greensboro Police."
On Dec. 6,2011, Greensboro police raided the ALKQN.
Lee said the police carried M-16s and flash grenades,
assaulting innocent groups to address a threat that may not
even exist.
"To throw three-year-olds and 16-year-olds to the ground,
so they could pull a woman out of the shower and tell her
she could take it later, to take a birthday card to the Kings
and Queens," Lee said. "Not a single gun was there or taken.
Instead they took clothes, literature, birthday cards."
The panelists agree that Cornell has been unjustly accused,
and that the leader of the ALKQN could not be participating
in such organized crime.
"They're accusing them of being a criminal enterprise, of
raking in money, when they don't even have lunch money,"
said Reverend Nelson Johnson, another friend of Cornell.
Hayes made a similar connection.
"I've never seen someone work for food, for utilities, for
basic needs, who was running a corrupt organization too,"
said Hayes. "It just doesn't add up."