Writing for a blog associated with a print magazine is much different from working in an all-digital world. Just ask Daniela Galarza, who recently moved to Los Angeles Magazine’s food blog, Digest, where she serves as deputy editor. She said the best advice she received from her current editor in chief Mary Melton, “Pause. Consider.” Galarza had been used to the fast pace of contributing to a blog and her new position forced her to slow down.
“I’m not used to pausing,” she said. “But it makes a big difference.”
Before joining Digest, Galarza spent three years writing for Eater LA. She had enjoyed her time working for the site and was apprehensive about taking on the new position, but said that the transition was quick.
“I love my new job. It’s challenging and fulfilling and I get to work with some of the most talented people working in media in Los Angeles,” Galarza said.
Galarza holds a degree in cultural food studies from Cornell University. Her adviser there, Dr. Steven L. Kaplan, whose work on French bread and the history of food dominates the scholarly field of food studies, proved to be a big influence on Galarza.
In addition, she has studied under Los Angeles Magazine restaurant critic Patric Kuh, who taught her “how to organize a story, how to catch the reader’s eye and how to trust my instincts,” she said.
Coming from a digital media background along with her history in cooking, paved the way to her current position. She noted that her professional cooking experience informs her writing every day. In addition to her editorial duties, she supports the marketing efforts and social media initiatives of Los Angeles Magazine.
“I love social media. It’s a great way to spread a message,” she said.
She also uses social media in order to keep track of those leaders in the food industry including other food writers, chefs and restaurateurs. “I’ll get my first news of the day, because it’s easy to start the day off reading snippets, and then I graduate to blogs and newspapers as the day goes on.”
Galarza believes that social media has changed the concept of eyewitness news. She likes the easy access and latest news updates from a direct source on social media; however, she does question the credibility at times.
“Right now, the new media landscape is full of meme and GIF-filled blogs and Tumblrs. Sometimes, it’s hard to sift through that and get to real, meaty journalism. Is a blog post equal to a printed article? Often not; it depends on the source. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and most of it is perpetuated by what’s printed online.”
Galarza also advocates the idea of paid digital subscriptions and believes that paying for subscriptions will help support the future of journalism as print editions move online.
She also aims to grow the Digest blog as an even more reputable food site, as well as expand to more topics of discussions including culture and history. Her more immediate goal is to publish five timely and highly interesting posts per day.
Before print editions may eventually disappear, Galarza hopes to contribute to the print edition of LA Magazine. At that point, she will already be an expert at pausing.
Pitching Tips
Galarza only covers food related news in Los Angeles. She added, “It makes an enormous difference when I can tell that the publicist has read the publication, and knows the beat of the writer they are pitching.”
She reads and uses pitches that are timely, apply to her beat and the publication’s demographic.
Send all information via email. Follow ups are accepted.
Galarza is available on Twitter at @superdaniela.
