
Pebble Presents
Welcome to Pebble Presents, where we explore the latest trends in marketing, research, and brand strategy. Join Emelia Rallapalli, Founder of Pebble Strategy, as she uncovers inspiring and interesting stories from leaders in business, marketing, insights, and design.
Whether you’re new to the world of business and insights, or a seasoned practitioner of the dark art of marketing, Pebble Presents is a place to hear Emelia and her guests dig into the inner workings – and potential futures – of the world of innovation, creativity, and marketing.
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Pebble Presents
Episode 2: Asian A.V. Club: The art of entertainment journalism with Stevie Wong
In this episode, Pebble Presents Stevie Wong, an award-winning journalist and founder of Asian A.V. Club. Emelia and Stevie discuss how his career evolved from advertising student to an internationally recognized entertainment journalist of 30+ years. They dive into Stevie’s specialized approach to interviewing as a self-proclaimed conversationalist, including his uncanny ability to build rapid rapport with celebrities for interviews. Emelia unearths similarities between Stevie's interviewing approach and qualitative research methods, which they dig into.
Emelia Rallapalli is the founder of Pebble Strategy - a brand strategy and marketing research consultancy. Pebble provides custom-made research programs, marketing strategy consulting, and account planning services.
Stevie Wong is an internationally recognized journalist who has worked for Sky News, Star Movies Asia, Deadline, HBO Asia, just to name a few. He recently launched Asian A.V. Club — celebrating Asian creatives working in film/tv behind the scenes, and also in front of the camera.
Welcome to Pebble Presents.
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Resources and References
- Asian A.V. Club - https://asianavclub.substack.com
- Asian A.V. Club on Instagram - https://instagram.com/asianavclub
- Stevie Wong on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevie-wong-2331a3/
Show Notes
0:23 - Emelia introduces today’s topic: the art of entertainment journalism
1:24 - Emelia introduces today’s special guest: Stevie Wong
2:44 - Stevie shares a short history of how he got to where he is today, professionally
11:56 - Emelia and Stevie discuss their professional AND personal fulfillment in their chosen areas of work
15:28 - Stevie shares how he learned the art of working a room for the best interview possible
18:14 - Stevie and Emelia discuss a dependent interview model vs a psychodynamic model, and Stevie describes how there is only room for ONE in his work
23:06 - Emelia and Stevie discuss how they handle vulnerability and emotion in professional interview setting
28:31 - Stevie chronicles some of the seismic shifts he’s witnessed in the journalism and media industries with technological advances
32:49 - Stevie addresses his need to pivot in his career
35:09 - Stevie shares some of the ways he’s taken initiative over the years to become an effective correspondent with deep enjoyment of film (industry and art)
41:33 - Stevie chronicles what prompted him to launch his recent undertaking: Asian A.V. Club
46:03 - Stevie explains his curiosity-based approach to conversational interviewing
48:23 - Stevie shares some of his ideas and plans for the Asian A.V. Club
50:06 - Emelia and Stevie divulge more about their shared background as…choir nerds
51:32 - Episode wrap up
Episode Credits
Executive Produced by Emelia Rallapalli
Produced by Stephanie Watanabe
Editing and Post Production by Erin Zimmerman
Artwork and Design by Liisa Turan-Walters