This is the first part in Ethos’ three-part series in which alumni of the magazine share memories of their time here. National Geographic staffer Nina Strochlic writes about her first pitch for Ethos, becoming a managing editor for the magazine, and the lessons she carried into the world of reporting.
I STARTED AT ETHOS SHORTLY after it traded out its original title, Korean Ducks. It was midway through my freshman year and I walked uninvited into a meeting and begged for a role, which I got, as a copy editor. That summer I pitched a feature about toilets around the world. It was killed, but I was hooked.
After that, my friends complained that I never hung out with them because there was nothing I wanted to do more than stay late in Allen Hall with the senior editors and piece together our weird, scrappy magazine.
There was at least one night during my stint as managing editor when we were still closing the latest issue when students arrived the next morning to go to class. We’d stay up debating what sort of edgy content could go in without angering the school—Should we photograph real drugs for a feature on raves? What about a collage of bare-chested women holding chains for a piece on the topless movement?—and there was rarely a quiet opinion in the house. We had no budget, so to raise money, the ad team knocked on local businesses’ doors and threw house parties with bands and kegs.
I moved to New York during junior year and drifted through a series of internships, none of which provided me with an epiphany of what I wanted to pursue, nor a clear-cut path toward finding it. I worked at a nonprofit (interesting but no room for independence) and a fashion magazine (never again) until getting a gig in breaking news at what was then the joint outlet of Newsweek and The Daily Beast.
Many nights, after a long day on the bottom rung, I’d return to a tiny New York apartment I shared with my roommate—who had been Ethos’ art director—and we would reminisce about the days we had creative ownership over something. Ethos was the most fun and gratifying semi-professional job we’d ever had.
Writing news more was the pace I wanted, and at The Daily Beast I focused on international affairs, from human rights to politics. Editing Ethos provided an impressive resume line, but also friendships, professional connections and inspiration for writing. When looking for stories at work, I often found myself going back to topics I pitched at Ethos and exploring them further. I wrote about gorilla conservation during wartime in the Congo; the scars of genocide in Rwanda; and the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan. I ate dinner with Castro’s former chef in Cuba and talked politics in Burma. I got a break at National Geographic with a story that originally appeared in Ethos about a journey to discover my family’s prewar roots in Poland. And last year, I moved to Washington, D.C., to write for the magazine full time.
The thing is, sometimes I look at what’s published between its yellow borders and realize that it contains the same vein of cultured, off-beat, ambitious content we would have tackled at Ethos.
To read Strochlic’s 2011 report, “Unraveling the Gypsy Myth,” click here. This series is Ethos’ contribution to the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication’s centennial celebration.   

Gallery • 1 Photos

J James Joiner

(Photo courtesy of Nina Strochlic)