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Spotlight on Nikki Roberti: Editor who is giving girls a reality check

posted by ChickSpeak
Friday, January 15, 2010 at 12:07pm CST

When “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” aired on national television, audiences were quick to recognize the brazen young journalist portrayal of Lois Lane was far from the comic-book character depiction from decades before.

This Lois Lane didn’t swoon after Superman, but rather covered his adventures with fierce determination and the will to succeed. Nikki Roberti, a 20-year-old junior at Appalachian State, accredits that same determination and wide range of achievements to Lane.

Since seeing Lane on television, Roberti has attempted to follow in the steps of her, while making a path for herself as well. From creating a weekly newspaper in the third grade titled Nikki’s News You Can Use to becoming the editor of the church newsletter in the eighth grade with a staff of 10 to 15 members -Roberti has always been a step ahead of other girls her age.

Since arriving on Appalachian State University’s campus three years ago, she has worked at Plemmons Student Union and helps other students at the University Writing Center. She’s also held both writing and leadership positions at The Appalachian, Appalachian State University’s newspaper.

Most impressively for this trail-blazing Chick, Roberti created her own online women’s magazine, REALITY Check Girl magazine.

REALITY Check Girl magazine seeks to give an accurate perspective of the life of teenagers and young women by providing uplifting information that has a Christian background, but also supports other ideologies and opinions.

Roberti created the online publication this past summer, and it officially launched Sept. 1. To date, the site has reached over 28,000 hits and launches a new edition Feb. 1, usually producing 30 to 60 articles a month. REALITY Check Girl’s readership expands to Finland, Germany, France Australia, and more.

Since Roberti used to be a contributor to ChickSpeak, and is such a brilliant chick herself, she took some time to sit down with ChickSpeak and share insight, advice and hopes for the future:

ChickSpeak: How did you come up with the concept of REALITY Check Girl magazine? What’s your mission statement?

Nikki Roberti: Growing up, I loved magazines. At 12 I loved Seventeen magazine. My parents thought it was too worldly for me and tried me to get to read Brio magazine, a former Christian girl magazine. Brio seemed pretty lame to me most of the time and completely sheltering. I vowed that one day I’d find a good balance and bring a reality check to all girls in a way that was entertaining and informative.

When I hit a slump personally in college, I realized…why wait? I’m a firm believer in making my own opportunities so instead of waiting until the “perfect time” to start a career as a magazine editor, I decided at 20 I would learn along the way.

So REALITY Check Girl magazine was born-A Christian based magazine that isn’t a stereotypical Christian magazine. We’re mainstream with a Christian section so everyone can find something they can relate to with REALITY being an acronym for qualities girls living in the real world need to possess: Respect, Elegance, Ambition, Love, Intellect, Taste, Youthfulness.

CS: What has been the most difficult part of starting your own magazine?

NR: Time. Between being a full time student with three part-time jobs, two of which were leadership positions, sometimes I have a hard time staying sane. However, as I get closer to obtaining my degree, I am slowly able to focus more on REALITY Check Girl and more on myself as an individual.

A huge thing I realize though is that the magazine is not about me. It’s about the girls. It’s about the people. And it’s about God. A lot of what has happened has definitely not been because of me. We’re getting worldwide recognition. People in high up places are calling me for advice and wanting to write about my story and the magazine. Sometimes it’s entirely overwhelming, but when I remember that it’s not just about me and that this is what I’m meant to do with my life, I know I can get through anything.

CS: Where do you hope to see REALITY Check Girl magazine in a year?

NR: My original five year plan was to get advertisers in two years from launching, and then go print at five years. With the buzz we’re generating now though, we may be getting advertisers sooner than we thought!

So, my ultimate goal is to go print. We have an edge to our type of magazine and it’s applicable to almost any girl who’d read it. From beauty and fashion to real world issues and economic articles and even touching on subjects of faith, any girl could find something for her. I definitely think we can make it in the print world someday.

CS: What else have you been involved in? What’s an average day for you like?

NR: While at Appalachian State University, I’d wake up around 8 a.m. and work out, go to class or work. I usually put class on Tuesday and Thursdays so I can work on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. By doing this, I usually end up working 10 to 13 hour days. I was the Assistant Online Editor for the school newspaper, the Game Room Manager for the student union and a consultant at the writing center. I even worked weekends and sometimes could be seen filming the football game at field level.

Recently, I moved to Washington, D.C. for a spring internship with the Scripps Howard Foundation. I’m working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the office and working out with a fellow intern in the evenings. Then on the weekends I’ll be getting figure skating lessons. I’m hoping with a less hectic schedule, I’ll be able to focus on RCG mag more.

CS: If you could only check one website for a month, what would you pick? Why?

NR: I hate to say it, but Facebook. I have over 800 friends, all of whom I know or knew closely at an earlier point in my life. I love knowing what’s going on with people and sharing what’s going on with myself. I also love how people post links to news articles or funny websites. It’s like hundreds of web sites and people all put together on one.

CS: What was the last song you downloaded on iTunes? Current beauty product obsession?

NR: I actually don’t really listen to music. I know I’m weird in that aspect. But I did get an iTunes gift card for Christmas and I bought The Odd Couple play by Neil Simon as an audio book. I love plays!

Current beauty product obsession? I love Clean & Clear’s Morning Burst Face Scrub. I also love organic powder foundation. When I think of beauty, I like to keep things simple.

CS: Why is REALITY Check Girl important to you? What has it taught you about yourself?

NR: REALITY Check Girl is important to me because it symbolizes dreams coming to a reality. It’s also giving girls something I wish I had when I was a teenager. I feel like what we are all doing with RCG mag is something that can revolutionize the media for young women, and I know we’re making a difference.

What it’s taught me about myself is that I can do anything I put my mind to. It has taught me to take a lot of different people, ideas, and concepts and bring it all together to accomplish a great vision and goal.

CS: What advice would you give to others who aspire to break out into journalism, magazines or online media?

NR: Just do it. Don’t wait for a certain moment. Just go for it. If you believe in yourself and work hard at what you do, prove it to others and get yourself out there.

Don’t sit there and do nothing. That’s the worst thing you could do. And don’t think you’re all that when really you don’t work hard or write every second you get a chance to. To make it in this business, you need to live and breathe it.

CS: How can chicks get involved with REALITY Check Girl? What do you look for in writers or interns?

NR: We have a large writer’s base: over 60 from ages 16 to 30. I usually will try to give everyone a chance, but the really successful writers are girls who you can tell are what REALITY Check Girls are all about. If you’re passionate about what you do, I’ll see that and want you to write for RCG mag.

E-mail Roberti at editor.realitycheckgirl@gmail.com with questions about contributing.

CS: Where does your passion come from? When you wake up in the morning, what do you think to get yourself going?

NR: My passion comes from God. My writing is a gift from him and I realized that at very young age. Now I have found a way to share that gift with the world. Waking up in the morning can be difficult on no sleep and over-working like I normally do, but knowing I have a greater purpose in life and the Big Guy upstairs backing me up, I know I can do anything I put my mind to.

Writing and being a big-time magazine editor would mean nothing if I didn’t give it all back to God or try to help other girls. It’s never about myself. And once it becomes that, I believe REALITY Check Girl will be doomed.

Lindsay A. Tigar is the Editor-at-Large for Chickspeak and she also contributes to The Beauty Bean and Engagement 101 magazine. Lindsay, like Nikki, believes all things are possible when you’re passionate about what you do, and wishes REALITY Check Girl magazine all of the best wishes for a successful future.