Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.
This week’s Q & A is with Joanne Bamberger, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of The Broad Side: Real Women. Real Opinions.
1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?
That moment was actually when I was 42 and became a mother when my husband and I adopted our daughter from China. At that time, I was still a practicing lawyer and Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Before law school, I had been a journalist for ten years, and had spent years working my up the legal ladder. But I always knew my true passion was journalism, especially writing and researching topics of particular interest to women, and I wanted to find a way to get back to that, as well as finding a way to use my voice to advocate on behalf of issues that I had expected would be resolved by the time I became a mother. With a new daughter in our family, I knew it was time to do whatever I could to promote issues, through my writing, that I hoped would be resolved for my daughter by the time she became an adult, like equal pay for equal work, paid family leave, and more. Our daughter is 14 now and, sadly, I don’t see much change happening on those issues in the near future. But it is my hope that by further cultivating The Broad Side as something of a thought leader incubator, that maybe some of those things will change before my daughter has children of her own.
2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?
I would use the word “supporters” for those who have cheered me on in my journey of trying to convince many that women, especially those who are mothers, have valuable opinions and insights, and that someone who originally went by the moniker “PunditMom” was someone to be taken seriously. But a few of the women who have always kept me motivated when there were times when I was ready to throw in the towel have been Jill Miller Zimon (former Pepper Pike, Ohio City Council member and recent candidate for the Ohio state legislature) and Veronica Arreola, author of the site Viva la Feminista. And, of course, my husband, David, has always made it clear that he is behind my professional efforts 100%, and that has made all the difference. Though I am always on the lookout for mentors, I haven’t had much luck in finding someone who wasn’t already too busy with their own pursuits. That is one reason I am trying to find ways to be a mentor to younger women … I certainly could have used one (or more!)
3. What is your biggest goal right now?
My biggest goal right now is to grow The Broad Side into something more than a digital magazine. I’m very proud that I was able to take my experience from my former personal blog (PunditMom), and the work I did writing my book (Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America), and create a space to highlight important women’s voices that were not being heard/read in other outlets. But the work of increasing the number of women opinion writers and journalists is far from done, and I see The Broad Side as being a space that will provide increased opportunities for women becoming thought leaders and change makers by using the social media tools at their disposal and cultivating the audiences they’ve created. In addition, I am working on some research for two new writing projects that I hope will turn into either long form journalism pieces or possibly even books, though I am keeping the topics to myself until I see what I can come up with and what kind of interest there might be from agents. But suffice to say, they are topics I think many women will be interested in!
4. How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?
I got my first job as a stringer for a small radio station when I was 16 years old and still in high school by writing a letter to the station manager. It didn’t seem particularly bold at the time, but I guess it was and that boldness was rewarded with an invitation to meet with him and talk about how I could get started in the news business! I didn’t have a traditional work path, as I had to work full-time to put myself through college (which took eight years, as I often could not work full-time and carry a full-time school load), but my freshman year in college I had three jobs — the radio gig, a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant and working for an answering service. In one way, not a very focused career path, but the focus was this — make enough money to go to college. As I progressed, I continued to take classes even as I was a full-time broadcast journalist in various radio and TV markets, until I made the jump to law school. I would describe my “jump” to be the moment I realized, after many years, that practicing law was not for me, and that I needed to find a way to get back to my passion — journalism and the media.
5. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of becoming a published author. The idea I had for my book, which ultimately became Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America, was not initially met with enthusiasm. Many people didn’t believe that women were online writing about politics and activism, but I was determined to collect some of that writing, and do my own research around the question of how the new tools of social media were empowering women and giving them platforms and audiences they’d never had before, and how they were using those things to advance causes they were passionate about. I knew that my work, and the work of all the women who are highlighted in the book, would make for an interesting read, and one I was hoping would also inspire more women to become more active in advocating for the issues that moved them. I am also proud that I was able to use my online writing, and my book, to bring attention to the fact that there are many mothers who consider themselves to be feminists. I have always been a feminist, so I was surprised that when I started my writing online, that many other feminists were quick to dismiss any writing by women, including my own, who also self-identified as mothers. Women who are mothers don’t abandon their feminist bona fides when they become parents, and I am proud to have been at the forefront of an effort, with many other women online who I admire, to make sure that the voices of feminist mothers are heard and not dismissed.
6. What was the last business book you read?
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink.
While not exactly a business book, as I have contemplated what has caused me to change directions and reinvent myself at this point in my life, I am fascinated with somewhat new science of what really motivates us and causes us to want to change and create new things for ourselves.
7. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
Sometimes the best way to know which path to take is to stop thinking and start feeling.
8. What is your “keep me going” quote?
“She decided to start living the life she imagined.”
9. What is your secret indulgence?
A crispy cold glass of California Chardonnay at the end of the day.
10. Who on the list of 2013 Honorees would you like to meet?
I would love to meet and have a long talk with Anne-Marie Slaughter. I am fascinated with the work she and others are doing at the New America Foundation, and I know I could learn a lot from her about research and policy-making on issues. I think we are both passionate about, especially with regard to working mothers.
Check out Joanne Bamberger’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!
Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.