Meet Angela Stefano Zimmer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Stefano Zimmer. 

Hi Angela, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and have enjoyed both writing and music (listening to it; I’m not particularly talented at the playing part!) since at least middle school. 

During high school, I wrote for ‘NeXt’, the now-defunct teen-written and -focused section of ‘The Buffalo News’. A lot of the stories I remember best had to do with music: an interview with Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls, a piece about a local battle of the bands, album and concert reviews; I also started going to more and more concerts. I was hooked. 

I went to college in Boston and majored in journalism. It was the mid-2000s, so I entered college being told by our faculty that all us j-schoolers would graduate with jobs at great outlets — and then the recession and social media happened. So, despite some bylines at my college paper, an internship with the Boston Bruins, and several other small freelance projects, I moved back to Buffalo and worked at one of those watch kiosks in the mall. 

I kept freelancing (almost always for free, because experience) and finding jobs that, each time, got me a little bit closer to writing for a living until the fall of 2011 when I moved back to Boston to run a new blog on Boston.com. It was supposed to be permanent, but it didn’t stick, so the following summer, I was back in Buffalo, working for a group of radio stations as their digital editor. 

Two years of that job led me to becoming the editor-in-chief of The Boot, a country- and Americana-focused website owned by the same company. I stayed there for seven years until taking a position at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in November 2021. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, definitely not! Did you read the part about graduating in a recession? Or the part about it taking me two years to find a job I actually liked? Or the part about writing for free just so I had some experience? But I know I was lucky to find a series of jobs that I’d rather forget about but that allowed me the free time, space, and financial security to freelance without having to worry the money I’d make because of it. 

But that doesn’t mean it all got better once I found that first paying journalism job. This industry can be a lot of fun, but it’s not always easy — and burnout is real. If you’re covering tough stories (tragedies are still tragedies, even if they’re happening to famous people), working long or erratic hours, and/or responsible for managing a team of people — if you find yourself always needing to be “on” — make sure you’re also making time to take care of yourself. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, I’m a writer and editor, which means everything from working on new exhibits to writing for social media. As of the writing of this, I’m still new enough that I haven’t hosted any programs yet, but that’s part of the job as well, along with assisting on anything that can benefit from my knowledge of country music and/or writing skills. 

I also occasionally take on freelance projects: artist bios, liner notes, copyediting, etc. In short, I love telling people’s stories and thinking deeply about music and the people that make it. 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Don’t be afraid to say yes, ask questions, and put yourself out there. We were all new once, and while life is busy, plenty of us are happy to help the new newbies how we can. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://angelastefano.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amstefano988/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amstefano988
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/amstefano988