Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynette Carrington.
Hi Lynette, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I now wear many professional hats, but you could say that I accidentally fell into media over two decades ago when I was unexpectedly published in Vogue Magazine. Twice. Thinking it was a weird fluke, I was then published in Entertainment Weekly, W Magazine, Time Magazine and multiple times in People Magazine. After owning a wickedly successful retail business with my husband for many years, I took the universe’s hint that I should take my business know-how and marry it with my fun writing style and background in entertainment, and DO something with it.
Over the next few years, I worked full-time writing the lion’s share of content for three Arizona lifestyle-based magazines, while simultaneously learning the ins and outs of being a publicist and raising three kids with my husband. I loved every minute of it, and wanted more. I went back to college and took additional classes in marketing, film and literature and eventually landed a job as the lifestyle editor of Arizona Sports & Lifestyle Magazine.
While working as a lifestyle editor, I also took on a celebrity client, a director, a couple of film festivals and a globally best-selling novel as a publicist. I simply couldn’t get enough! At one point, I was doing freelance writing for 20 Arizona publications, was internationally syndicated across hundreds of city-branded websites and still kept my job as a publicist. It seems that working two or three jobs at a time since I was 18 instilled some kind of a work mechanism in me that has never left. I have to jam-pack every single day with meaningful work that I love.
I am now the PR and marketing specialist at Times Media Group, the largest digital and print publisher of local community news in Arizona, that also has additional markets in Southern California, Greater Denver and Central and Western Texas. At Times Media Group, I spearhead many professional relationships and partnerships, help execute a variety of events, spend a lot of time out in the public, networking and representing our company, and I occasionally still find time to write. After having 16,000 published articles, I finally stopped counting and started taking stock of where I’m headed. And the answer? Anywhere I want to go.
Working with Steve Strickbine, the owner of Times Media Group, has brought me a renewed sense of the importance of locally created and produced news. Local community news matters to everyone, everywhere. Perhaps now, more than ever. I simply love working for Times Media Group while meeting and working with local business owners and organizations.
In addition to being at one of the coolest places to work at Times Media Group, in my “off-time,” I co-host the multi award-winning The Arts Scene Podcast with my best friend, Ari Levin, and am on the production team of CinemaCon’s Big Screen Achievement Awards, held annually in Las Vegas. Occasionally, I travel to help run red carpet events for others, or book guests for Radio Row during Super Bowl Week. I feel like I’ve lived five professional lives, because I truly have!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say it’s always been a smooth road, but I always find a way to do the things I want to do. If I don’t do it in one job, I do it in my second or third. Or I create a way to do it. What I lack in a traditional college degree, I have more than made up for in creativity, perseverance, passion and unrivaled experience. My job, or jobs may have been easier if I had a college degree, but then again, I may not have wound up where I am right now. And I LOVE where I am.
I have been lucky and blessed, and I am so grateful to great teachers, horrible bosses, inspirational people and bad role models alike, all of whom have shown me who to be, and who not to be. Above all, I am grateful for all my work experiences.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I show up for work at Times Media Group, always ready to be super creative, think outside of the box and often do things in a way that is unexpected. And I always have my end goal of pleasing my internal and external “clients” and giving them a good return on their time investment with me. I always try to go above and beyond for all my “clients,” trying to lead by the example that providing a lot of value is my end game.
I love utilizing creativity in unusual, yet productive ways when it comes to PR, marketing and branding. I also use creativity when looking for people and businesses to partner with on a variety of projects. Brainstorming and networking are my superpowers, and if I had 100 hours in my day, it would never be enough to meet and work with all the incredible people that cross my path each week.
My creativity extends deeply into my ability to connect with different kinds of people and “meet them” right where they are. I can step it up, dress it down, go high, bend low, fast forward, slow it down… Every person is different and so is every approach with every person. At the end of the day, I may not love everyone I meet, but I value the time that I spend with each person. Everyone has something to teach me, and in that, I pay attention and am a lifelong learner.
What’s next?
I am planning on continuing my work at Times Media Group, growing with the company, creating more unique experiences, and doing more traveling. I have also stepped into movie production, as I feel very at home on movie sets. managing people and workflow, and understanding the business and creative sides, equally. I have met so many incredible people in entertainment, I think additional work on films will come naturally.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.TimesLocalMedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynettecarrington/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynette.carrington
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynette-carrington-6b77268/
- Twitter: https://x.com/LLCarrington
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tHnD29QLQjURsUebF6rfx?si=d7e7af3a9b2c4426
