72. Liz Plosser, Women's Health Editor in Chief
Ali on the Run Show
Ali Feller
4.9 • 4.2K Ratings
🗓️ 10 May 2018
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"This notion of balance is this unrealistic thing we're all striving toward. If you allow yourself to know that and believe that, it takes some of the pressure off." —Liz Plosser
When you picture an editor in chief of a major women's magazine, your mind probably goes right to Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada fame. Now picture the opposite — someone brilliant, kind, caring, and passionate in the most upbeat, positive way — and you have Women's Health editor in chief Liz Plosser. Liz was named EIC of Women's Health at the beginning of 2018, and her rise to the role wasn't fueled by fate. Liz, who grew up in Kansas City, MO, worked her marathoning booty off to get to where she is today. After starting out as an investment banking analyst, Liz followed her dreams (literally) and moved into publishing. She started out at Self, and rose through the ranks at Time Out Chicago, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Canyon Ranch, SoulCycle, and more. On this episode, Liz discusses the challenges and perks of her job, talks about being a busy mom of three, and shares why she's proud to be a "nice girl." Enjoy, and wish Liz luck before she lines up at the start of the Popular Brooklyn Half next weekend!
Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $30 off your wireless headphone purchase!
What you'll get on this episode:
- Liz answers: Was being the editor in chief of a women's magazine always the goal? (2:45)
- Why Liz traded investment banking for publishing, and what that transition was like (8:25)
- The career moves Liz made that led her to her current role as editor in chief of Women's Health — including the decision to leave New York City for a while (11:30)
- Liz's take on whether the publishing industry is a catty, cutthroat one or a place where mentors and nice girls are easy to come by (20:55)
- What it was like getting the call (22:25)
- What Liz says makes Women's Health so special, and whether she was nervous about stepping into the EIC role (24:45)
- The words, phrases, stories, and topics Liz and her team are avoiding, and the changes Liz has started implementing at WH (26:30)
- What Liz is doing to make Women's Health different (29:20)
- The types of stories that get Liz most excited (33:40)
- The types of people Liz wants to hire, plus more career advice (43:20)
- Liz talks about meeting her husband, having three kids, and becoming a runner, plus where her relationship with running is at right now (44:45)
What we mention on this episode:
How Not to Get Pregnant via Cosmopolitan
Desi Linden on Episode 64 of the Ali on the Run Show
Follow Liz:
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks. |
| 0:08.8 | Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and today I'm talking to |
| 0:13.9 | Women's Health Editor-in-Chief Liz Placer. As a fellow writer and editor, I followed Liz's |
| 0:19.8 | career for years. She's a brilliant writer, reporter, and editor, and she's worked at all the |
| 0:24.9 | major women's magazines and brands, from self and cosmopolitan to soul cycle and canyon ranch. |
| 0:31.6 | I was fortunate to get to work with Liz last year at Wellinggood and was absolutely thrilled when |
| 0:36.8 | she landed the Women's Health Editor-in-Chief job earlier this year. Of course, working and publishing |
| 0:42.6 | is no easy feat right now, so Liz and I dove right into what some of the biggest perks of the |
| 0:46.9 | jobs are, like hello celebrity cover shoots, as well as the biggest challenges. Liz also offers |
| 0:53.2 | up a ton of great career advice throughout the episode, so get ready to take some notes. |
| 0:58.2 | And of course, Liz, whose mom of three is also a runner. She often run commutes to her office |
| 1:03.9 | from Brooklyn all the way into Manhattan, just a casual eight mile run commute in the morning, |
| 1:08.8 | and she's running the Brooklyn Half Marathon next weekend. Sound good? Let's dive right in! |
| 1:14.7 | Liz! |
| 1:20.1 | Ellie! Yay, welcome to the Ellie on the run show. Thank you. I am so happy to be here to be |
| 1:26.7 | talking to you. I'm honored to be here in your fancy office with your big view, so before we get |
| 1:32.2 | into all the good stuff, we start with a warm-up, just like a run in theory. Love it. So tell us who you are, |
| 1:37.9 | where you're from, and what you do. My name is Liz Placer. I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, |
| 1:43.8 | where my parents still live, and I moved to New York after college, and I didn't always work in |
| 1:51.6 | magazines, which we might get into later, but I loved New York and was here for about five years, |
| 1:57.0 | and then left and moved to Chicago with my husband. We weren't married yet, but we were engaged. |
| 2:02.3 | He got into graduate school at the University of Chicago, so we did a whole life switcheroo, |
... |
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