Thursday, April 03, 2008
Sex and the City
Does the popular show affect consumer behavior among young women?
Number one, what in the world does a 27 year old know about relationships, to add enough value to write a column.
Number two, while I hate to begrudge someone what they're making on the open market, in what universe is this young woman so much better at her job than an army of dogface reporters and editors and writers with decades more experience and insight into her beat to warrant a six-figure income?
My guess is she parlays a base salary into a few tens of thousands per year in freelance writing fees. Fair game. But what kind of person moves to New York (and becomes a relationship columnist!) to model herself after Carrie Bradshaw? Did she win some sort of drawing, or something?
I'm going to write a story on consumer debt among 20-somethings. And she's going to be my first call. I'd love to know what her credit card balance is. And show my 22 year old sister.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: Upon reading the Times article profiling Allison, it's worse than I thought. Worse than I could have imagined.
But really, how much influence do such shows actually have on young women? Ask Julia Allison, a 27-year-old relationship columnist and Sex and the City fan profiled last weekend by the New York Times. The article says that her devotion to the show was in part why she moved to New York City after college. She also keeps up with habits of Carrie Bradshaw, dancing at celebrity-rich clubs, throwing parties and collecting trendy shoes. The problem is that the lifestyle portrayed in the show is difficult to afford; for example, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side — where Carrie lived as a single professional on the show - - is $2,448 per month. (Indeed, Ms. Allison says even with a six-figure income, she lives in a tiny studio.)
Number one, what in the world does a 27 year old know about relationships, to add enough value to write a column.
Number two, while I hate to begrudge someone what they're making on the open market, in what universe is this young woman so much better at her job than an army of dogface reporters and editors and writers with decades more experience and insight into her beat to warrant a six-figure income?
My guess is she parlays a base salary into a few tens of thousands per year in freelance writing fees. Fair game. But what kind of person moves to New York (and becomes a relationship columnist!) to model herself after Carrie Bradshaw? Did she win some sort of drawing, or something?
I'm going to write a story on consumer debt among 20-somethings. And she's going to be my first call. I'd love to know what her credit card balance is. And show my 22 year old sister.
Splash, out
Jason
UPDATE: Upon reading the Times article profiling Allison, it's worse than I thought. Worse than I could have imagined.
Labels: culture, economy, women
Comments:
I'd love to know what her credit card balance is.
Dave Ramsey just had a fit...
I'm pretty sure I'd have one, too.
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Dave Ramsey just had a fit...
I'm pretty sure I'd have one, too.
