069: Creative Journeys into the World of Publishing and PR

Catalyst is a Creative Industries podcast, from Chapman University. Each episode features Chapman students who have completed a Podcasting course through the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries at the university. Students who had no podcasting experience or technical ability in the genre before taking the course were able to contribute all the segments to Catalyst this season with the goal being that they will take this ‘hands-on’ experience and carry it over to the launching of their very own series. Each episode of Season 8 will feature one to two different interviews conducted by CCI students, exploring different aspects of the Creative and Cultural Industries.

To start our show this week, Perla Nino interviews Amber Power. Amber is an LA-based writer, editor, and educator who teaches in the Creative and Cultural Industries here at Chapman University. Her work often focuses on activism expressed through performing arts. Amber has been a part of multiple publications including Bomb Magazine, Frieze, and Film Matters Magazine, an organization that shares the work of undergraduate students. In this episode, Amber shares her journey through theater and performance into authorship. Perla and Amber discuss how artists and writers both incorporate their values and beliefs into their work, and why it’s important for writers to observe performances. They also cover how Amber’s love of writing and academia is expressed through her publications and end with her advice to those who are interested in working toward publishing works of their own.

Our second segment features an interview with Emily Marcus by Lindsay Light. Marcus is the CEO and founder of Emily Blair Media, a boutique PR company that handles high profile clients as well as a Chapman University Alum. The pair discuss Emily’s first job with US Weekly as a writer and reporter and the subsequent journey that led her to establish her own PR firm that works with a varied client base including online influencers and individuals working in the industries of fashion, podcasting, and visual content. Marcus reveals how an intensive program that she enrolled in through Conde Nast in the UK was a huge influence on her career and then goes on to give out pertinent advice regarding how to create longevity in the career world of content creation today, including the oft overlooked role of the micro influencer.