Here’s my perfect Sunday morning: Waking up in a sunny room to coffee, CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, and Phineas.
The New York Times has been a big part of my life since I was a child. My dad relished the Sunday version. I remember him reading it cover to cover. We weren’t allowed to touch it until he was done with it and he was the only one allowed to touch the crossword puzzle, which he did in pen (as opposed to pencil.) Now you understand the yardstick I’m up against when it comes to measuring my own abilities.
How I Grew to Treasure The Times
One summer Sunday I remember seeing the travel section of The Times Magazine. I called every 1-800 number and ordered a catalog to the far-flung corners of the world that I hoped to visit someday and they started piling up in our mailbox in droves. It felt like Christmas. I kept them stashed away under my bed and I’d look at them every day, dreaming of the days when I’d get to travel. I think I was about 8.
And that sealed the deal for me. The Times and I were partners for life. It gave me the chance to dream of what life would, could, and should be when I grow up. I’ve been an avid reader of it all of my adult life. It is the #1 news source I go to.
Getting on the Inside
A few years after my travel catalog spree, my fascination with the organization behind the paper caused me to read Gay Talese’s The Kingdom and the Power. 5 times. (My mother always stressed that I was a “special” child.) I never dreamed of working there, but I did want to know what life was like on the inside of that hallowed institution.
At SXSW 2011, I went to see the documentary Page One and had the chance to meet David Carr, one of my journalism idols. (I highly recommend the film; it’s incredibly well done!) At the end of the documentary, I had an excellent sense of why they decided to change their policy and begin charging for their online subscriptions. The level of in-depth reporting they do around the world requires a good deal of funding. I’ve benefited from it for so many years and I decided in that moment that once the new pricing went into effect, I would become a subscriber.
Win a Digital Subscription to The Times
And now I want all of you to have that chance, too! As a subscriber, I have the opportunity to give away a free 12 week digital subscription to The Times to someone who doesn’t yet have a subscription and I want to offer it up to the readers of this blog who constantly support me and my endeavors. Just leave me a comment on this post and I’ll select a winner at random on Monday evening, letting you know who the winner is on Tuesday.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! 🙂
– Nithya
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Very fun…thanks for the chance….
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My pleasure! If the I get another offer, I’ll make sure to post it up here!
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If only 11 people respond, then consider me – but only after New Yorkers have had a chance – think they would gleen the most from its pages because they live there. Love you.
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Congrats on the win, Trish!
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12 weeks FREE!!! That would be SO awesome!
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I know that my husband would LOVE to get 12 free weeks of the Digital Times along with me. We live in Boston. Whenever we go out for coffee, he loves to have the chance to read it and hold it in his hands. He also buys the Times during the summer when we do our day trips to the Beach. So nice of you to do this. ps It’s not an April Fool’s Day thing is it? .:) Loved your story about the Times. I grew up in NY and had the same experience with my father. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Broadway shows and reviews. Not only are you a special child – you are a very special woman.
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No April Fools joke here. I’m sure the chance will come around again for me to give away a subscription so I’ll post up the next opportunity as soon as it comes through the airwaves!
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Hi Christa! I love the Times, as well. It’s always the first thing I check when I get into work and sit down with my coffee 🙂
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Ditto! We have the same ritual 🙂
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