Teen Vogue - Woke - Politics - what?

Coming in the wake of a summer of social and political unrest, Trump’s election created something of a perfect storm for Picardi’s new political agenda; the Teen Vogue news desk had already caused a stir with strong coverage of the Dakota Access pipeline protests and the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead of merely reporting them, Picardi says, they try to figure out what their readers will care about the most, and this often means finding the personal interest angle. One of the first stories Picardi went big on was the case of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of spinal injuries following a brief (unwarranted) stint in police custody. “Black male teens are 21 times as likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts – 21 times. Can you imagine that?” ran the opening paragraph. “Think about your brothers, cousins, fathers – can you imagine hearing that number and seeing their faces in your head?”

There were several years when Teen Vogue was seen to embody the most bland type of media aimed at young girls
Do Teen Vogue’s readers see themselves the same way the editors do? I talked to 16-year-old Paige Wagner, who says truthfulness and trust are the main reasons she reads it, since “most of what I read on social media is unreliable”. For her, “The recent presidential election brought to the surface a lot of important issues that weren’t getting as much attention as they should have: women’s rights, LGBTQ community rights, immigration.” Like many young people, Wagner is galvanised by the election, in which she saw “a complete misrepresentation of the younger generation. It’s important now to educate young minds so they can form a political identity. We are the future of America.”

Does she see a conflict between the glossy glamour of a Condé Nast publication and political reporting? No, she says: it’s “brilliant” that she might see fashion advertising on the same page as a story on the environment. “I think it’s OK to be interested in both.”