By Ariana Marini
When Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life premiered, we found out Rory Gilmore was having some trouble finding her next full-time journalism job. If you’ve seen any season of the show, you know that Rory has wanted to be a journalist since she was young and has worked hard to pursue her editorial dreams. She worked on her high school newspaper, majored in journalism at Yale, and even became the editor of the Yale Daily News.
But she makes many mistakes along the way, too. Yeah, yeah, we know it’s a fictional TV show, but Rory’s experience pursuing journalism is one that many people can relate to. So, we rounded up some of the mistakes she made throughout the series and what you can learn from them.
1. The Mistake: She (temporarily) quit her dream because of one person’s opinion of her.
In Season 5, Rory scores her first internship at a newspaper with the help of her boyfriend’s father, Mitchum Huntzberger, who is a newspaper conglomerate CEO. She spends a lot of her time filing, grabbing coffees, and generally doing assistant work. It’s not exactly how most Yale journalism students would want to spend their days, but it is how many internships can go. At the end of the internship, she sits down with Huntzberger to discuss her performance. Unexpectedly, he tells her she “just doesn’t have it.” This one man’s opinion was enough to get Rory to quit Yale and give up on her journalism dreams.
The Lesson: Luckily for her career, Rory later snaps out of it and gives both Yale and journalism another go. But she never should have just accepted one man’s opinion of her as the truth. If you get stuck with a supervisor who doesn’t believe in you, don’t let him or her crush your spirit. Be professional, do your best work, and always keep a positive attitude. When you leave, leave graciously. And then prove that supervisor wrong by killing it at your next gig.
2. The Mistake: She fails to recognize conflicts of interest.
In season 5, she’s working on an article for the Yale Daily News about a secret society on campus. She tags along on a trip they’re going on to do some reporting. But when she gets there, she flirts with her primary source for the article, accepts a gown he bought for her, and participates in one of the secret society’s major stunts. She jumps off a seven story structure while holding hands with her source.
Fast forward to the revival and it seems she still doesn’t see conflict of interest when it’s in front of her. While out reporting an article for GQ, she sleeps with a source.
The Lesson: Rory no doubt would’ve learned to avoid conflicts of interest, whether real or just perceived, while studying journalism at Yale. But in case you didn’t, you heard it here. Don’t hookup with sources and don’t accept favors, gifts, or special treatment.
3. The Mistake: She’s rude to her sources.
Rory is reporting on an article for GQ. She shoves her cellphone, which she’s using as a recorder, in people’s faces without asking them first. During the same reporting trip, she falls asleep talking to a source.
The Lesson: Before you put a microphone in someone’s face, it’s always a good idea to have a polite conversation with them first and then ask if you can record their responses to questions for your article. This one is pretty obvious but, if they say yes, don’t fall asleep on them. Treat the people who help you with kindness and respect.
4. The Mistake: She shows up to a job interview completely unprepared.
During A Year In The Life, Rory goes in for an interview at a startup media company called Sandee Says. Because Sandee herself was eager to meet with her, Rory went into the interview with the assumption that she already had the job. It was clear that she had done no research on the company and came to the meeting without any pitches. After the meeting, she gets a call from Sandee who tells her they’ve decided to go with another candidate. Rory then proceeds to angrily yell at the Sandee on the phone.
The Lesson: Always do your research on the company, their voice, and the types of articles they cover before you go on your interview. Show up to your meeting ready to pitch ideas that fit in perfectly with the brand. If you haven’t been formally offered a job, don’t assume it’s been given to you. And definitely remain polite and professional if it isn’t.
Of course you know all this advice already. But wasn’t it fun?
Ariana Marini is a journalist based in New York. She loves reading up on the latest health news, trying on new beauty trends, and frequenting comedy clubs in the city. You can check out some of her work at her portfolio website or tweet her @rarirana.
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