The View from the Office. 

I met up with Julia Munslow who guides social media strategy and social video production at the Wall Street Journal at Kona Coffee in the East Village. We both had the Turmeric Ginger tea. 

We connected at the suggestion of a common acquaintance, Phil Rosen, who runs Opening Bell Daily, a newsletter. He knew we are both passionate about media and communications and both chronically online. 

Julia started her career at Yahoo News where she launched the company’s Webby-nominated TikTok account, which accrued 1.2 million followers within 16 months. She moved to the WSJ in 2021 and has helped build out the Journal’s social media capabilities. 

It was fun to speak with someone who sees both the day-to-day scuffles in digital content and the bigger trends of where we are going. One of the main themes we covered is how legacy media is adapting to demands for new kinds of storytelling, especially from Gen Z. 

We agreed there is a shift in consumer preference toward shorter, bullet-pointed content, less boilerplate and more personal narratives. Readers and viewers prefer stories with a distinct voice, personal narrative and point of view. 

We talked about the rise of independent journalists and niche newsletters and how they have become profitable because online distribution has expanded their reach. 

Julia said video on LinkedIn offers a particular opportunity. She compared it to TikTok in 2020, a moment when that platform saw a huge surge in engagement. In part that reflects the fact that there is relatively little video on LinkedIn now. 

I told Julia that I have no experience doing video but had started to experiment with creating clips for LinkedIn. She was enthusiastic and asked to see some. 

I watched her face as she scrolled through my material. You could see the initial look of delight turn to slight alarm. I realized too late it was the equivalent of a Little Leaguer asking someone in the Major Leagues for advice. 

“Why is your head so low in the frame?” she asked.

“Is it supposed to be higher?” I asked. 

It was pretty clear I had no idea what I was doing. 

Julia was kind and offered great suggestions, the most important of which is you just have to put in the reps.

Start making content and learn as you go. 

It’s good advice for anyone.

Especially, as we are still so early in the game.