Author: Amber Davis

Working in advertising for a news organization is a peculiar position to hold. You are part of something people say they don’t trust, don’t like, or don’t need anymore, while simultaneously consuming it, quoting it, screen-shotting it, arguing about it, and trying to replicate it on their own platforms. The news is one of the most loved and most criticized institutions in any community. It always has been. And advertising within it carries the same contradiction. I hear it often: “Print is expensive.” “Print is outdated.” “Print doesn’t work anymore.” And yet, here we are. Print advertising has survived radio,…

There’s a quiet lesson you learn when you commit yourself to meaningful work: not everyone who says they’re “here to help” actually is. Some are here for the title. Some for proximity to power. Some for optics, influence, or control. And some, fewer than we’d like, are here because the work itself matters. Community spaces are often idealized as collaborative, altruistic, and heart-led. But beneath the surface, they can mirror the same dynamics we remember from school hallways: unspoken hierarchies, gatekeeping, alliances, and the subtle art of exclusion. The “mean girl” never really disappears—she just learns new language. Words like…