Seek Out Mentors, Stand Your Ground

Amy Bernstein, a senior editor at Business 2.0, a website and magazine that covers business and technology, has been a journalist for more than 20 years. She has spent much of her career working on the Internet or for technology-related publications. Before joining Business 2.0, she spent two years as executive editor of the Industry Standard. Prior to that, she was editorial director of Brill’s Content and an assistant managing editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Fascinated by the Internet

Bernstein got her first introduction to the Internet in 1989 when a friend showed her Compuserve. “I was absolutely fascinated, and went straight out and bought a Sharp 286 laptop,” she says. Bernstein got more of a taste of the virtual world in such early online communities as ECHO and never looked back. Around 1991, she worked to get a version of U.S. News and World Report up on Compuserve and has been involved with online media ever since. “It [the Internet] changed how we tell stories and represent the world.”

Seeking Out Mentors

Bernstein began her career at CBS News in New York as a researcher and quickly learned the importance of seeking out mentors and exemplars. A CBS senior-level executive named Joan Richman, whom Bernstein describes as having a “brilliant mind and the ability to zero in on defects of any kind” was one such person.

“She took a special interest in research reports. She could look at a 70-page report and she would find the two things wrong in 70 pages. A word of approval from her sent me soaring for a week. I wanted to be as good as Joan. She was one tough lady, but I had such admiration for her and wanted her respect. I worked triple hard to get it,” she says.

Over the years, Bernstein has had many mentors – people whom she admired, both male and female—who were generous with their time and skills. “Choose someone whose work you admire and who is generous,” she advises.

For young journalists starting out, she says, “Don’t be arrogant; ask for help.” And when you can, “give help freely” as well.

Dealing with Difficult People

When it comes to dealing with difficult people, Bernstein has had her share of challenges. “I’ve worked for people who were like Jabba da hut, but I’ve learned about dealing with people who scream and yell and who are bullies. You need to stand your ground. And you really need to let them know that you weren’t being treated fairly; that you won’t stand to be treated disrespectfully.”

In the journalism business, especially, it helps to have guts, she says. “You can’t be intimidated and let your fear get the better of you.”

Amy Bernstein’s Bio:

Amy Bernstein shared her strategy for success at a workshop in the IWMF’s leadership series, Women Reaching for the Top: Initiatives for Media Leadership, held in San Francisco. As a section editor for Business 2.0, she oversees the editorial direction of Business2.com, meshing the website’s content with that of the print magazine. Before coming to Business 2.0, Bernstein served as an executive editor at The Industry Standard from 1999-2001. More recently, she worked as a consultant to the San Francisco Chronicle’s business section, reporting to executive editor Phil Bronstein, and launched a newsletter about the videogame industry. She was on the startup team of Brill’s Content and served as editorial director. She was at U.S. News and World Report from 1988 – 1997, where she was a writer and, in her last year, an assistant managing editor.