Kim Osorio, editor-and-chief of The Source magazine and online reporter for BET stopped by Syracuse University on September 19th to educate students on the hardships females face in trying to make it in the male-dominated hip-hop journalism industry. The event, hosted by SU’s NABJ and NAHJ, was very informative and entertaining. Osorio gave a detailed explanation of the events and struggles that she herself has faced in the industry and gave the young female audience members advice on how to overcome gender discrimination in the industry. After graduating from law school, Kim Osorio became a free lance writer for music publications including “The Source” and “Billboard” magazine. She even did some editorial work with hip-hop legend Russell Simmons before going on to become the first female editor-and-chief of “The Source” magazine. Currently, she works at BET.com, is featured on the VH1 show “The Gossip Game,” and writes for television.
One of the major topics that Kim Osorio discussed during the event was the lawsuit that she had against her former publication “The Source.” Allegedly, Osorio faced gender discrimination and sexual harassment in her workplace on a daily basis. I was inspired by the fact that even though there was a chance that she would be “blacklisted,” so to speak, in the industry, she felt it was more important that she stand up for herself as a woman getting taken advantage of in her workplace. Another time that Osorio described being taken advantage of and used was the time that her boss forced her to write the article that exposed Eminem for making racial slurs. She wrote the article at the demand of her boss, who was an enemy of the rapper, and the backlash ultimately became the “downfall of ‘The Source’,” as Osorio described it. Although it was her boss who made her write the article, Kim Osorio received the brunt of the bad publicity and was even unkindly mentioned in Eminem’s next record.
Another topic that Kim Osorio discussed at the event was the shift that magazine journalism has made from print to online. She said that “bloggers are the new journalists” in this age of technology where there is so many online news outlets accessible at our fingertips. She explained how the public no longer wants to wait a month for the next magazine issue to come out to learn about the new gossip in the hip-hop industry when they can easily hop on their phones and computers and get the information within seconds. Also, when writing for online journalism, the story gets out within minutes or hours of the event occurring because it doesn’t need to be run past a panel of editors, which takes weeks. Regardless, she doesn’t believe that print will ever be nonexistent because it is considered by many publications a “jewel” and many artists still thrive to be on the cover of the same hip-hop magazines that their idols were once on.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kim Osorio’s presentation last night because it was not only inspiring, but extremely informative. She celebrated female journalism and encouraged us to “write down history” alongside her in the work force someday. I learned that it is important that I bring something new and unique to the table if I ever try to get into the field of the male-dominated hip-hop journalism empire so that I am the one that the magazine calls back to do more interviews. I was encouraged when an audience member asked about the poor job market for journalists today and Osorio replied that “a strong writer will never go hungry,” as she was once told herself. Overall, I thought that the presentation was engaging and very encouraging. Kim Osorio’s presentation gave me confidence that as a woman, I indeed have a platform and a voice in the industry, I just need to work for it.