Episode #14 Charu Suri, New York Times, Architectural Digest, Condé Nast Traveler

 Hanna (01:14) Hi, Charu. It's so good to see you.

Michael (01:17) Thanks for joining us. 

Charu (01:18) Thank you so much for having me, Hannah and Michael, really thrilled to be here.

Hanna (01:23) Before we talk about journalism, let's talk about music. So you are an accomplished pianist and the first female Indian-American jazz composer who performed at Carnegie Hall and a Grammy Award voter. And we've seen you perform and listen to your music and we love it. 

Charu (01:43) Thank you so much. 

Hanna (01:43) No, thank you. 

Charu (01:44) So kind.

Hanna (01:45) So what does music mean to you?

Charu (01:47) It's kind of been my life ever since I was five years old. I started playing, uh, when I was in Africa. That was when my father was working for a record company and his bungalow came with a piano. And even though my parents never played piano, I sort of took to it like a fish took to water. It was inexplicable.

Michael (02:12) A natural gift.

Charu (02:14) I just loved it. I never stopped playing. So it's been my best friend since I was five. And then I took it to India. I found a wonderful teacher who groomed me and I started giving concerts of the age of nine performing on stage, like very complex pieces.

And I won an international piano competition, et cetera. And, you know, regardless of the awards, which were wonderful, it's just been the thing that I turn to when I'm having a bad day or when I need to make sense of the world. Music is what I turn to above all. 

Hanna (02:51) Oh, that's beautiful. Us too. I think music means so much to me, as well. It just makes me find that peaceful place. 

Michael (02:58) Yeah, we all, we all need a haven, especially during this challenging time. So Charu, we see your byline in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Conde Nast Traveler and many more outlets. So what's your process for writing stories for these very different publications and how do you cover each one differently?

Charu (03:20) I've always been hungry for news. That's my driving yardstick. And I find the news first and I determined the outlet later, or rather my editors sort of determined it for me in a, depending on what I pitch. But I think that, you know, a lot of writers, they come to me and they ask, how do I write for these publications? How do I get started? And my, my single answer for them is always, what's the story. Um, for The Times, especially, they're very, very particular about what is a news item and what is the story?

I've I still continue to run dozens of ideas and maybe one gets picked out of every 10. And that's not because the ideas are bad, that it's possible that it's not a fit or it's not news driven. It's not hard news driven enough. It's not national enough. And it's possible that you're pitching a regional story. The various considerations that goes in to determining what makes a good story.

Even for Architectural Digest, I recently interviewed Jean Nouvel for the third time in French about his groundbreaking project in Saudi Arabia. He's designing a hotel in the desert and the sacred AlUla Valley, which is just now opening to tourists and it's timely because of two things, because a Jean Nouvel's never broken the news before and he wanted to break it with Architectural Digest and they actually reached out to me, which was a big honor.

The second piece of news is that Alula, which hasn't been opening to tourists, which has never been open to tourists is just opening right now, October 31st. So it's very timely and it's news driven. So I think what is the story and why now are my two main deciding questions all the time before I write something for a pitch anything before I think of what is a story to send managers. 

Michael (05:21) Well, actually, uh, you read our minds. We wanted to ask you about that story because it was beautiful. And Jean literally speaks in poetry the way he explains his relationship with nature, with the rock formations, it was very moving. So how did, how did that really profound story come about and what was it like interviewing him?

Charu (05:43) So this is my third interview with, uh, with Jean Nouvel and I conduct everything in French and that's because he speaks French and I'm fairly fluent in French, which is good. I've been studying French since I was nine, but you know, that was a hard story because when you start going to the complexities of language, you need a translator and luckily he had a translator. So I interviewed him over Zoom then I went back and I listened to the audio recording for about four to five hours, I would say, 

Hanna (06:14) Oh, wow. 

Charu (06:16) And then really getting the nuances of the words and the poetry of his language and the poetry of his vision. Because in order to write a good story, it's not enough to just translate. You have to get into a person's head. You have to be that person. There's no other way, the same way with music. You have to be that composer. You have to be Beethoven if you're playing Beethoven. You have to be Mozart when you're playing Mozart, that's your job. You can’t just say, you know, that was a nice interview and a translation.

So I take it, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a lot of work, you know, journalists don't get paid very much, but I do it because it's a labor of love. So it took me about four hours to just get into his head and his vision. And once I was there to write the story was very easy. Um, that came in in like half an hour, an hour, but there's a lot of prep work. I think people don't realize for, for writing a story or for journalism. And my editors at The Times always say this too. And sometimes it can take a year to write a great story. 

Hanna (07:25) Speaking of fantastic articles, you cover everything from hotel designs to a travel destination, to restaurants and many more. So how did you come to cover all of these fun topics? 

Charu (07:40) Oh completely by accident. These various topics. I just grew interested in them. I think in order to be in this business, you have to have a natural curiosity. And I never set out to say, Oh, I'm going to write about restaurants today and design tomorrow.Um, design just happens to be something I absolutely love. And because I'm visually driven.

Michael (08:02) That very much comes across in your work. 

Hanna (08:05) Absolutely.

Charu (08:08) Thank you. And I feel that there's so much going on in design right now. Recently I've interviewed quite a few, um, minority designers, um, because you know, after the Black Lives Matter movement, that came into spotlight what's happening with design and diversity.

So I was able to interview quite a few designers I wouldn't have otherwise been able to, and I think that's, again, both timely and interesting for me. Uh, we want new voices, and I think because people are also spending so many, so much time indoors right now, they're looking at design in a fresh way. They're looking at their four walls as a palace because that's where they're spending most of their time. So that's also increased. Um, you know, the interest for these design-driven articles.

Michael (09:01) No question. And, uh, speaking about timely, uh, you had a great story in the New York Times about people going abroad to work at home, and it was syndicated all over. So for our listeners’ benefit, can you explain what syndication means? 

Charu (09:18) Well, syndication is any means when that story that was published and the original source is reprinted, uh, with the permission of course, of the original source across various regional publications and other, uh, smaller, uh, publications. And it was very timely because we had been at the time when the story came out, I think we had been six or seven months into the pandemic and people were getting very frustrated and wondering what the options were because borders were closed and you can’t travel and borders are closed. What are your options? Especially if you are hungering for travel and many people are telling you it's irresponsible for you to travel, which it is. I think it is. But to actually go to a place and live, it’s a different story. 

Michael (10:10) So there there's a second part to this story. You're, uh, taking your own advice and homeschooling your daughter this winter in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. 

Hanna (10:18) Is she happy about that? 

Charu (10:20) I'm so thrilled. She is thrilled too, uh, she's going to learn snorkeling. And it was actually a tough choice for me to make, because I always toy with the idea of being responsible. And so I've only done local hikes and I've done road trips to forests where we are socially distanced from the world. So I take, you know, this pandemic very seriously. So the idea of hopping on a plane only happened because I had read a lot of studies that said the transmission in plane and due to the HEPA filters and circulation is low. That was really the only reason I was able to come to terms with that. And then St. Croix, because it's part of the US Virgin, it's part of the United States. And we wanted to beat the winter. I mean, who doesn't, I'm not, I'm not a skier. But that's great because it's almost like putting my own story to the test of remote working. 
Michael (11:16) So I'm sure that's going to result in a story or two. 

Charu (11:20) I hope so. Yes. We are eagerly hoping to find a good reason to document our journeys. And I think there will be chances. 

Hanna (11:29) Sounds like a dream. So, um, we also enjoyed reading your travel and leisure magazine story about how hotel guests are booking very extended spaces. So what are the trends are you seeing in the travel space during this challenging time?

Charu (11:48) So many, so many. I have never been busier in terms of generating stories, and story ideas and pitching, I have actually found this a fertile period of innovation for some strange reason. So many stories that I have discovered like the Business Insider piece on hotels, renting their rooms by day for workspaces, because people aren't able to work from their homes that resulted as a result of this, you know, this pandemic, you know, hotels are down in terms of occupancy levels by 80% so the fact that they were able to repurpose a suite into a workspace and sell a day package was kind of genius. Um, and I didn't hear it just from one hotel. I heard it from the Hamilton Hotel, The Ballantyne, The London, West Hollywood, and from Lake Como all over the world.

Michael (12:38) It makes a lot of sense. 

Charu (12:40) Yeah. 

Michael (12:41) They have all the inventories. 

Charu (12:42) Exactly. They have the inventory, so they're able to charge, you know, um, a low price because you know, the lower the fees are you'll attract a good customer who just wants a day room to go and use and come back to their families. I learnt a lot writing that story. Cause I learned that the marketing efforts of these hotels had to be more local than global before the mindset of the hotel was how can I do the out of towner? But during the pandemic and the renting of the day rooms, they were saying, how can they move the guy next door, a very different strategy. So I've seen a lot of creativity come out. Uh, even for dining stories, I interviewed a local business Seed to Sprout that had closed the restaurant and then transitioned to vegan delivery boxes. They were sold out. You had to place your delivery by nine, nine or 10:00 AM. Otherwise you couldn't get a box, but it makes sense. People staying at home meant that you either had to cook, which not everyone enjoys doing. 

Hanna (13:46) Right. 

Charu (13:47) And if you want to take out or delivery, you have to plan way in advance because the resources were limited. So there were quite a few stories that came out as a result of creativity and innovation in the pandemic. So I think the more vigilant you are about what the innovations are a part of, you know, that our departure from the norm, the more, you know, stories that can come out of that.

Hanna (14:11) As you know Charu, we have so many great people in our hospitality and travel industry who are leading these innovations and everyone is pivoting and everyone is innovating the way they do business, which is the only way to survive, especially during these very challenging times. So question for you, what kind of personalities are you looking to profile in the coming months? 

Charu (14:35) So, um, chefs who are doing something amazing, innovating and luring customers in. For example, everyone now knows this, how sidewalk dining has become the norm in New York, especially. And I think de Blasio, he said, that's not going away anytime soon. And basically news or profiles of people who want to innovate safely. Knowing that there could be a pretty big lockdown for the next coming months, how do you build brand loyalty? How do you keep people interested in travel and getting excited about travel? And I wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal about virtual festivals. I mean, the fact that festivals, we can't really go to festivals right now. But, the festivals are coming to you.

Hanna (15:30) Exactly.

Charu (15:31) And the fact that you can actually forage or see foraging, the Orkney Islands from your sofa and participate just as you would, instead of taking a flight there, there's some silver linings to all of this. And I think that, you know, it's our job to figure out what the silver lining is. Look, we can all go under the covers and say, the news is bad. It's not just bad. It's horrendous. Let's be honest. We've never faced anything of this nature. But, um, as a writer, especially, you know, and also a musician, my job is to figure out who are the innovators. So I'm looking for people who are the innovators who are doing something truly newsworthy. 

Michael (16:13) And it actually looks like you've been adding to your reportorial repertoire. Uh, you're the editor of Wellness Lounge magazine. Can you tell us about that? 

Charu (16:24) So that's a fairly recent position I just got, uh, appointed as Editor in Chief of a new wellness magazine called Wellness Lounge. And it is, the publisher approached me and said, would you like to take it on? And I said, I would love that. Especially right now, wellness is a huge, huge topic. 

Michael (16:42) No question and it's only going to get bigger. 

Charu (16:45) And it's only going to get bigger Michael, I completely agree with you. Wellness Lounge is a quarterly and right now it's an e-zine, uh, but the publisher hopes to make it an actual hard copy. And what I want to cover there is topics that are really not being covered regularly in the news media. Because I think that there's a danger when you read so much about COVID you tend to think that that's the only wellness related issue that's happening right now. 

Michael (17:15) Right.

Charu (17:16) So our first issue, we deliberately profiled someone who has bipolar disease or who has Parkinson's, how are they dealing with wellness right now? Because there's a lot of people who have had burnout PTSD, depression, a lot of trauma. How do you deal with those issues? You know, how do you deal with issues that are really, really pressing that may not be getting the national coverage, but it's still important to highlight.

Michael (17:44) Yeah, I think we're only just beginning to see the psychological and emotional repercussions of the pandemic. We've just scratched the surface. 

Charu (17:53) Absolutely, Michael. It isn't always about CBD oil. You know, everyone will tell you that's having a moment, but those are trending in buzzwords. We're trying to go beyond the buzzwords. 

Michael (18:03) Well, congratulations. 

Charu (18:04) Thank you. 

Hanna (18:05) You know, as a business owner myself, I go through a lot of challenges while rebuilding our business, just like many others. And I think that mental wellness is one of the most important things to keep us intact. So thank you for what you do. 

Charu (18:22) Thank you. Thank you. That's very, very lovely. 

Hanna (18:26) Now let's talk about digital. You've been generously sharing your music on your social media channels to cheer us out. So thank you for that. It was something that I looked forward to personally. 

Charu (18:39) Oh, thanks. Very sweet. 

Hanna (18:41) On the editorial side of the business, which social media channels do you find most effective and why? 

Charu (18:49) I would say both Facebook and Instagram. I think Twitter very little in terms of stories, but I think Facebook, my personal Facebook page and my professional Facebook page, we get like hundreds and thousands of views that continues to be a way that I reach people. However, that said, what I try to do is literally step in, throw my hat in the ring and then step out. I don't engage in political conversations. Or divisive behavior. Cause I think. There is a huge amount of that happening.

And then, you know, there's all these influencers that are on the platform too, and they're, they're traveling and they're traveling to international countries and, and they're trying to get more followers. Everyone has their own agenda. I'm not subscribing to one or the other, but everyone has. A way of building brands, and this is my way of building my brand. 

Michael (19:51) Understood. So speaking of building brands, let's say some of our listeners would like to reach out to you, be it architects or photographers or chefs or hoteliers, you know, to share their news with you. So what would you say are your top three do's and don'ts for getting your attention? 

Charu (20:10) So do reach out to me. I have my email and contact information is on Instagram. You can easily get in touch with me and you can DM me. I've had people ping me, DM me a story. All of that. I tend to look more at my inbox at my emails. But that said that there have been some great story ideas that have been generated by a tweet or an inbox message in my Twitter account.

I think that some journalists get a little peeved at being addressed in Facebook messenger or Instagram DMs, Twitter, but I am totally open. What is probably a waste of time is if you have already launched something or if it's not exactly as newsworthy or relevant right now, but more a profile on you. It's very hard right now to convince any publication to say here's a new hotel.

Opening is a beautiful design. Here's what you should do because that's really not what people care about. What people are looking for is safety. Safety is the biggest thing on people's minds these days. They don't, they care less about going to a hotel with a beautiful canopy and a mural stand over your head, then knowing that they're going to be well and healthy. The priorities have shifted. So I think it's very important to understand what will help readers. 

Michael (21:43) We couldn’t agree more. And now for the listener questions segment of our episode, we have a question from West Chin of West Chin Architects and Interior Designers who'd like to know how you choose particular architectural projects to spotlight and if you have a certain criteria. 

Charu (21:58) Uh, we don't have a criteria except that I would say, look at Architectural Digest archives. Chances are that if it's, uh, a story on wallpaper, for example, I recently got pitched a story on wallpaper. Um, we've covered it endlessly and it may no longer be fresh and relevant for readers. So recently I profiled Evan Jerry of Studio Anansi, and he talked about black design.

That was really interesting to us because we really needed to know what was black design and what was the future of black design. Since a lot of our readers are pretty savvy and they've read the gamut, we're always looking for something that hasn't really been talked about or explored as deeply before. 

Hanna (22:47) So we call our podcast Hospitality Forward because we believe that our industry will bounce back slowly but surely. In your opinion, what type of innovation have you seen that is taking our industry the right direction? 

Charu (23:05) The private offering isolation and private islands and private rooms, outdoor terraces, and outdoor workspaces were all great examples of innovations that were absolutely necessary. So restaurants having, you know, outdoor dining or sidewalk dining and hotels building courtyards for people can work and play. Those are all examples of innovations that will not only be successful today, but also, you know, in the coming years. Cause I don't think the fear or the issue of contamination or spread is going to go away anytime soon. So those are temporary or what they thought was temporary innovations becoming permanent.

Um, hand sanitizers and HEPA filters and, uh, cleaning, cleaning protocols being elevated. You know, partnerships, I think some hotels that partnerships with Mayo Clinic, et cetera, I don't see those kinds of standards really disappearing. So I think there is a strong, you know, obviously the hospitality industry, when it bounces back, it's going to bounce back with a bang, but on the flip side of it what I have seen, which has actually made me feel a little upset is the overeagerness of certain industries to say we're coming back like the cruise industry only to be met with the realites. This is not going to go away anytime. We need realistic and practical solutions because you shouldn’t bring people back and it's going to hurt you far, far more in terms of a bounce when you realized, oh, it was premature and just a little bit too rash.

Michael (25:04) Yeah. 

Charu (25:05) So I think that the more thoughtful and long-term and practical solutions that are being provided like outdoor dining is great. I mean, I've loved seeing those, those sidewalk dinings. But a part of me feels, oh my God, the tables are still too close. And I get it. The restaurants need every single nickel that they can get that right now. But the problem is when you have solutions that are not completely thought out, you're going to have what we're having now, a second wave of infections and it's going to take much longer to heal. So I think it needs to be thought out. 

Hanna: (25:46) Agreed.

Michael: (25:46) Agreed. 

Hanna: (25:47) Safety first.

Michael (25:48) Well Charu, it's been a blast chatting with you. So where can our listeners find you?

Charu (25:52) My work is on Spotify, iTunes, Apple, Google, Amazon. Pretty much every platform there is, you can just Google my name and that's the name of myself and the band. 

Hanna (26:21) It's been great. And we hope to see you sometime though soon.

Michael (26:25) In person, hopefully.

Charu (26:26) In person. Thank you, Michael and Hannah, you are both wonderful. 

Hanna (26:29) Thanks again Charu. 

Michael (26:31) Bye-bye