Contributor Connect

Jenny Peters thrives under pressure – and manages to find her footing in almost any situation. Whether in heels on the red carpet or in flippers while scuba diving, Jenny takes her experiences and runs with them, creating in-depth articles that transport the reader to each unique scenario she finds herself in.

For example, Jenny takes on travel from many angles. An educated wine connoisseur, Jenny has attended classes with some of California’s top winemakers, and has explored and written about wine valleys in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. She has traveled across the globe to stay in fine hotels and basked in the some of the world’s most luxurious spas. Jenny’s explored nearby locations too, making the most of every minute. She has also been known to “rough it”, staying in hostels and navigating local public transportation to get around.

And, when it comes to the stars, Jenny takes a similarly hands on approach. Jenny attended Critics Choice Awards, BAFTA Tea Party, and Palm Springs International Film Festival and had her original reporting published on omg! and Yahoo! Movies. This entertainment maven knows how to write for different audiences – her career, spanning over 20 years, has brought her face to face with tons of different celebs for many different media outlets.

In the following interview, Jenny dishes on her jet set lifestyle, her career, and much more.

1. As former editor-in-chief of a print magazine and prolific online journalist, what are the main pros and cons you find with these different formats? What are your thoughts on the ever-changing face of journalism, and what has helped you adapt to these changes over your 20-plus-year career?

I am the former editor in chief of two different luxury magazines, as well as a film magazine; all succumbed to the economy in the years from 2008 to 2010, sadly, like many other magazines. I continue to write for a number of small and large print publications, as well as numerous websites. The advantage of working for magazines and newspapers is largely financial, as they generally pay pretty well. The disadvantage is that they often take months to pay! Websites generally pay less, but if, as in the case of Yahoo!, their viewership is vast, the stories can reach (and possibly influence) a lot of people.

 Journalism has changed dramatically in the years I have been a freelancer, especially since the Internet now delivers the news almost instantly; but some things remain the same. A writer has to be able to tell the story well (using proper grammar and spelling), get the pertinent information in the lede (who, what, when, where, why) and keep the reader engaged. But these days, the writer is often also the photographer, too, as well as the IT person that actually uploads the story onto the site. Those changes necessarily meant that I had to adapt my skills, learning to take good photographs and to manipulate web software. The fact is, if you don't keep up with technology and the changing marketplace, you turn yourself into a dinosaur, with limited options for continuing your career. And I plan to keep my career going as long as I can; I have no interest in retiring, ever!

2. How did you discover Yahoo! Contributor Network, and what made you decide to join?

I noticed some of the contributor stories on Yahoo!, and investigated. I decided to join because of Yahoo's vast reach into cyberspace, figuring it would be a place where I could tell more stories of interest to the world.
 
I started my career as an entertainment reporter, covering movies, music and video/DVD. Eventually, I realized that I could follow my other loves (travel, food and restaurants, wine, fashion, beauty, automobiles, parties, etc.) and find outlets for stories on a wide variety of topics. My approach to all is similar; I look for what is interesting to me about a given topic and try to tell the story in a way that will appeal to a wide range of readers. And I assume that if I am interested in something, there must be others in the world who are as well.

3. What was your most nerve-wracking red carpet or celebrity reporting experience? How did you manage your nerves and come out on top?

I've been lucky enough to meet just about every well-known actor in the world, as well as some of the top musicians, politicians, etc. I learned long ago that being a nervous reporter doesn't make for a good interview, but once in a while, the moment is so exciting, you cannot help but find yourself all atwitter. Like when I interviewed Paul Newman in 1994, on a snowy day in New York City. I couldn't believe I was in the same room with him! He was such an icon of my youth and still SO handsome. But once the initial excitement was over and I calmed down, it ended up being a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation about everything from acting to aging (he was 69 at the time) to race car driving and charity work. I felt the same way the first time I met Sean Connery (James Bond!), who also turned out to be a great interview.

4. Which of your Yahoo! Contributor Network articles was most fun to write?

I really enjoyed telling the story of Brad Pitt's encounter with a sleeping journalist during a small group interview, in my story "Brad Pitt's Golden Rule." It's one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me in my long career covering the movies, and I had never written about it until I did it for omg! Yahoo!.

We'd like to thank Jenny for agreeing to be featured and answering our questions.

Which talented contributor should be focus of our next spotlight post? Send a tip to contributor-community@yahoo-inc.com.