This has been weighing heavily on my mind – how do I begin? How do I make sure my message is poignant but to the point?
The truth is no matter what I say there will always be people who will disagree with some of the editorial decisions we make at HER Magazine.
First I will begin with a disclaimer: who we feature – who we interview does not represent the magazine’s affiliation with any one political party or Presidential candidate. In fact our team is made up of a diverse group of women and yes – even men, with different viewpoints.
We decided to pivot for November because this has been one of the most highly charged elections in modern day history. No shortage of rhetoric – and no shortage of disrespectful chatter surrounding our two primary candidates.
I have spent too many hours perusing through forums – from liberal to conservative blogs and so-called fair and balanced news sites. I am shocked at the uncivil discourse. That is not the America I know. That is not the America my immigrant parents taught me to love.
We chose to feature Tomi Lahren – one of the most polarizing political pundits, on the cover because she is unapologetic. Agree or disagree – she is doing something right because her message is resonating with millions of men and women.
Too many of us tiptoe through life, fearful of “What will people think of me?” If we – especially as women, teeter too much – how far can we really get, especially in business?
What’s been disheartening about this month’s issue is just how many women – who claim to be all about empowerment – have raged on about how hateful Lahren is. How dare we feature her on our cover? There has been a lot of name calling, mostly from women. And the name calling didn’t stop at Lahren – who says she can take the hits. My staff has been harassed.
But what I realized is these are not the type of women we want to be part of our exclusive member group, the Circle – and these are not the type of women who will really get anywhere in life – especially behaving like this. In fact, after deep analyzation – I realized that most of our readers, even if they disagree with our choice for this month’s issue have a deep respect for HER Magazine’s decision to be bold. We did not cave to the calls to pull Lahren off the cover.
We genuinely wanted to get to know who Lahren is – beyond her Final Thoughts. Because as women in business – it is imperative that you’re able to get along with people, even if you don’t like where they’re coming from. Many of my staff met her – and again, a diverse staff who all could agree on one thing: Tomi is a nice person. And that’s probably a side to her you’ve never seen. On a personal note: Tomi is also a damn smart young woman. Never mind her 4.0 GPA through high school and college – there is no question she can’t handle even from a retired journalist like myself. Nothing seemed to stump her.
Let us know what you think about our cover story – it was written by an African-American Latina Feminist. Don’t miss the exclusive video interview with Tomi too. Also inside this issue are different perspectives – one from a conservative who refuses to vote for Donald Trump – and another from a liberal who shares her love for Hillary Clinton.
And then – we get back to business. There are articles and features outside the political arena you’ll enjoy.
As always, thank you for taking the time to support our vision to Unmake Tradition. I am humbled by the tremendous support – you help to drown out the haters, who really have no place in all our lives. Because a strong, confident #bosswoman doesn’t let small minded people take her down. She’s got big dreams to pursue.
#bethatwoman
This is my Letter from the Founder, which typically appears in our monthly magazine but we knew this story would generate so much interest that we wanted to make sure people had access to the letter here as well.
You can access our November issue featuring Tomi Lahren, for FREE right now.
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