Melissa Geurts
Verified
(She/Her)
As seen in:
Hearst,
MSN,
Yahoo Life,
Aol,
Substack,
Flipboard,
Good Housekeeping,
Yahoo Style Singapore,
Yahoo Style Canada
Covers:
Lifestyle and service journalism; wellness and mental health; sleep; home and gardening; beauty and culture; emotional storytelling; consumer trust and testing; technology and AI in everyday life
Doesn't Cover:
Hard news or politics; crypto and NFTs; sports; breaking celebrity gossip; generic product launches or affiliate-only pitches without editorial value
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Home decor at Style at Home in Canada. But I've always been on the art and creative direction side, which means I've never thought about words in isolation. I think about how a story lands with everything: the visuals, the layout, the pacing, the whole experience. It's not just what you say, it's how it all comes together. That lens has shaped everything I do.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. Of course. I owned one in my 20s. Never actually used it properly though. Never replaced the ink. I just typed letters with no ink, watching the keys hit the paper and leave nothing. Which honestly feels like a metaphor for something but I'm not going to unpack that here.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Carol from Pluribus at the moment. I don't want to spoil anything but the way that show handles media, truth, and narrative really got to me. She's questioning everything, and her research methods are fantastic. Immersive in the best way. That's the kind of journalist character I find interesting.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Short and human. Tell me what the story is, why it matters right now, and why you think I'm the right person for it. If you've actually read something I've written, say so—it makes a difference. I don't need a press release or a wall of stats. I need to understand why a real person would care about this. Bonus points if there's an emotional angle or a "wait, I never thought about it that way" hook. I'm way more interested in pitches that make me feel something than pitches that just check boxes.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Too many. And the list grows every day. InDesign, the full Adobe suite, Canva, Figma, and increasingly whatever AI tool is going to save me three hours on a Tuesday. I'm always testing new stuff. It's part of the job and also just how my brain works.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram. I know, I know. But my actual friends are there and I like that it's not just work. It's where I post my garden chaos and my music and whatever weird thing I'm obsessing over that week. It feels more like real life than the other platforms.
Who do you wish followed you?
Bowen Yang. I feel like he'd get the weird specific humor of writing about potatoes and nervous systems in the same breath. Also he seems like someone who would appreciate a good unhinged voice memo.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love telling stories. Whether that's through art or words or how a page comes together. I love sharing human stories that could make other people's lives easier. That's it. That's the whole thing.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My rooftop potato story. I wrote it, I shot it, I designed it. The whole thing is me all over the page. That's what I love about coming from the creative direction side: I get to think about the entire package, not just the words. How does it look? How does it feel? How does it all land together? And the story itself is basically my philosophy: you don't have to know what you're doing to start. You're going to mess up. That's the whole point. I want to show people what's possible when you just try the thing.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Stop waiting until you feel ready. You're not going to feel ready. You're going to feel like a fraud and do it anyway, and then one day you'll look up and realize you've been doing it for years. Also: develop a point of view. The internet doesn't need more people summarizing things. It needs people who actually think something. And if you can, learn the visual side too. Understand how stories land as a whole experience, not just words on a page. The people who can think across formats are the ones who'll thrive.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Honestly? Most of my best story ideas come from colleagues saying "you should write about that" after I've gone off about something in a meeting or on Slack. I'm constantly curious about everyday stuff and I tend to think out loud about how things work or why they feel a certain way. The AI speaker story came from me actually doing it and realizing other people might want to know they could too. Same with the potatoes. I'm just living my life and noticing when something feels like it could be useful to someone else.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Slate—and specifically their advice columns. I'm kind of obsessed with advice columns in general. There's something about watching someone else's messy situation get untangled that makes you feel less alone in your own mess. Plus the best advice columnists do this thing where they tell you the truth you already knew but couldn't say to yourself. That's the kind of writing I aspire to.
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