Well, kids, we’ve found ourselves a new editor. As mentioned earlier, I am stepping down so that I can spend more time in my pain cave (inside joke for about 50 people). Don’t fret. I’m not leaving the magazine. As editor-at-large, I will continue to afflict FrontBurner with mismatched homophones and so forth.
The new boss is Cristina Daglas. She comes to us from Milwaukee Magazine, where she has been the editor for a little more than a year. From her online bio: “In 2009, she joined Milwaukee Magazine’s staff as an assistant editor, taking on the role of managing editor in 2011 and editor in February 2012. Prior to Milwaukee, Daglas logged time at The Capital Times, Isthmus and Washingtonian magazine in Washington, D.C. She also edited Vox in Columbia, Mo., and was a contributing editor for The Business Times Company. Daglas holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri, where she was awarded the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship.”
Last night, I conducted a journalism-style Gchat Q&A with her. Please enjoy:
Tim: Boss?
Cristina: Yes.
Tim: You ready to make Gchat magic?
Cristina: Oh, I’m ready.
Tim: Okay, so you’re, like, what? 23 years old?
Cristina: 17 next month. No, I’m 29 and a few days if you want to be exact.
Tim: Are you worried at all that people will look at the pic I’m going to post with this chat and think, “Wick just wanted to get younger at that position”?
Cristina: Well it depends on what pic you’re going to post.
Tim: [giggle] Perhaps I need to comb the internet a little harder, eh?
Cristina: Please don’t. I’m not terribly worried about it. I can’t escape my age.
Tim: Enough foolishness. Serious question: you’re from Chi-Town. So Cubs or White Sox?
Cristina: Cubs. Obviously.
Tim: Explain for those of us in Dallas who don’t get your Yankee joke.
Cristina: Ha! Any self-respecting Chicagoan is a Cubs fan, regardless of their wonderful 100-plus-year losing streak. Unless, of course, you’re from the South Side.
Tim: So that means you came from money. I had two Chicago roommates in college, both named John. One was Irish and poor. The other was riddled with psoriasis and also poor, but he had wealthy in-laws from north of town and followed the Cubbies. Anyway, enough about my hysterical college years. Are you from money?
Cristina: Both of your college roommates were from Chicago and named John? Odd. No, definitely not from money.
Tim: DAY-glas or Dag-lass or what?
Cristina: Oh gosh, I’ve never had to actually type it out. Let’s go with Da-gliss.
Tim: Your Twitter background is a picture of a manual typewriter. Which one?
Cristina: One I found on the Internet. I’m sure it was very nice in real life.
Tim: [murmur] I have under my desk a 1941 Royal Quiet Deluxe, which I use perhaps once a year to write a short thank-you note. Twee or awesomely twee?
Cristina: Let’s go with awesomely twee. I have a typewriter of unknown make and model in my parents’ basement. It was a gift. Perhaps I should bust it out once a year for a similar purpose.
Tim: Confession: I cried at work today. Is that sort of thing going to be a problem for you?
Cristina: There’s no crying in baseball. No honestly, why did you cry?
Tim: I was editing a story about some kids who died. (Sorry to bring us down here.)
Cristina: Oh, goodness. Well that kind of crying is certainly warranted. It must be a good story.
Tim: It would be better if you edited it, obviously.
Cristina: Don’t make me blush now. You know what story I read today in the August issue? Your tuxedo challenge recap. Could you have possibly shoved more pictures of you into the issue?
Tim: [laughing] Zac and I have joked about the fact that I now certainly own the record for most pictures published of a writer. But to answer your question: no, I could not have. Shit. You’re going go change all that, aren’t you?
Cristina: That seems like a surefire way to become an office outcast. I’ll probably hold off on changing that for a bit.
Tim: Noted. Week No. 2, I’m screwed. Speaking of, I want you to type the most vulgar word you can think of. Go!
Cristina: No way. I’m not falling for your tricks.
Tim: Oh, man. I’m REALLY screwed. Okay. I’ll steer this ship into safer waters. Which of the following three employees will be the first to go? Zac Crain, Mike Mooney, Joe Capasso
Cristina: Interesting that you didn’t put yourself on that list…
Tim: [seriously f—ed] It was a trick question that you were too smart to answer. Joe Capasso was the best man in my wedding.
Cristina: But according to my quick Google search, he once had a byline in D?
Tim: Don’t bring up the Capasso bylines in D. It was a long-running prank that didn’t end well (for him). All right. Final question. And give me some words here. Because I need to go grill some steaks. Tell me about the hardest non-journalism job you ever had and what lessons you learned from it that you still use today. (Note to readers: this is a softball.)
Cristina: A softball indeed. Let’s go with bartender. I’ve tended bar in a few places over the years, and the challenges vary based on venue. How can I possibly take this many shots during bar dice? How can I get all of these fancy martinis to these unhappy guests? Dammit, the keg is out. Anyway, what I’ve learned is that you need to give the people what they want but also with a heavy dose of personality. I think that applies here, too. That work?
Tim: Solid. But what else did you expect me to say? I look forward to your arrival in our fair town and to the many days of collaboration we’ll have — until you fire me.
Cristina: Likewise. See you in a few weeks!
