{"id":2337,"date":"2022-12-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/?p=2337"},"modified":"2022-12-11T20:38:24","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T20:38:24","slug":"bon-appetit-recognize-your-worth-these-publications-need-us-more-than-we-need-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orgs.emerson.edu\/undergraduate-students-publishing\/2022\/12\/12\/bon-appetit-recognize-your-worth-these-publications-need-us-more-than-we-need-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Bon App\u00e9tit: “Recognize your worth \u2013 these publications need us more than we need them.”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There may be readers who have, after parsing previous Diversity in Publishing posts, come to the conclusion that there is more being done to promote diversity within publishing than there is a need for it. Authors are able to write books about characters like themselves; editors are able to work as sensitivity readers to create better, more meaningful stories. With all the attention being given to diversifying the employees of publishers, is there\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0still such a problem within the industry?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Obviously, yes there is. But let\u2019s consider the cases of publications that improve the diversity of their hiring practices. Maybe a company has begun to hire more people of color and publish a more diverse range of stories. Are these displays of genuine growth, or are they surface-level displays of wokeness? For this case, we turn our attention to a branch of magazine publisher Cond\u00e9 Nast:\u00a0Bon App\u00e9tit\u00a0<\/em>Magazine and the Bon App\u00e9tit Test Kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n

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 <\/span>Members of the Bon App\u00e9tit Test Kitchen in 2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A social media presence that appealed to culinary experts and novices alike, Bon App\u00e9tit\u2019s YouTube channel was home to series like It\u2019s Alive<\/em> and Gourmet Makes<\/em>, where staff members within the Test Kitchen experimented with unique forms of gastronomy while being filmed in an invitingly unpolished manner: the camera was shaky, the mistakes were frequent, the sense of community was genuine. The atmosphere of the Test Kitchen videos was that of “authenticity and candidness<\/a>,” and its food editors, primarily Brad Leone and Claire Saffitz<\/a>, quickly went from contributing writers to influencers: new releases on the channel were met with enthusiasm from social media users<\/a>, with video revenue for the magazine increasing 40% in 2019<\/a>. Compilations like the one below were created by fans in support of the apparent sense of community within the Test Kitchen’s staff.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/span>A sampling of the fond, enthusiastic reaction new Bon App\u00e9tit videos would receive online.<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

While it was its white staff members who received the lion’s share of attention, Test Kitchen viewers were aware of the diversity within the publication: Priya Krishna was hired to make videos for the Kitchen while promoting her cookbook, while Sohla El-Waylly worked as Assistant Food Editor and routinely appeared in episodes of Gourmet Makes<\/em>. Test Kitchen, and the magazine by extension, were places that promoted healthy work environments and offered equal opportunities for writers regardless of race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n