Kay Ribeiro, former Features and Entertainment Editor of Heat Magazine, has underlined the importance of persistence and being adaptable in the ever-competitive journalism and media industry.
“If I’ve had any success, the key to it is tenacity and not giving up”.
Ribeiro was speaking at Leeds Trinity University’s annual Journalism and Media Week.
Having worked at Heat for over 20 years, grafting through the ranks from a Reviews Assistant to Features and Entertainment Editor, Ribeiro took a leap last year and left the magazine to pursue journalism as a freelancer. She said: “Doing something for 20 years and at a level that I was happy with, I could have stayed there; but it just didn’t feel right. It felt like I had to push myself and to try something new, even if it did make me a bit nervous.”
In her career at Heat Magazine, Ribeiro interviewed hundreds of celebrities, from Hollywood A-listers like Jake Gyllenhaal to British ‘national treasures’ such as David Attenborough, while also overseeing Heat’s presence at the BAFTA’s and NTA’s and organising the yearly 32-page Christmas edition including the iconic ‘Stars Dress Up’ photoshoot.
Reflecting on her achievements in light of her departure from the magazine, she said: “When you work somewhere for a long time, you might feel like you’re not quite sure of your talent and your skills, or you might not quite entirely believe in yourself; but it’s important to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself because unless you do, you’ll never fully know what you’re capable of.”
Ribeiro encouraged students to embrace new challenges and do the things that are scary, sharing stories of hosting BAFTA screenings and a thorny foray into radio which led her to discover a joy for podcasting.
Discussing her short radio career she said: “Now, that experience was horrific, right? When I listened to the first show I ever did I started crying, […] it just sounded awful. But it didn’t put me off. It was a learning curve because I realised that actually, I’m better bouncing off someone […] and it made me realise I really love oral communication. And then in time, we created two podcasts.”
When asked about how to manage imposter syndrome as a budding journalist, she said: “I don’t know if it ever leaves you, or at least I don’t know if it’ll ever leave me. It’s about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. “
“Once you’ve jumped out of something that’s comfortable and you’ve shown yourself that actually, the world didn’t end, that encourages you to do it again and again.”