Stephanie McNeal

2022

Stephanie McNeal is a deputy news director and senior culture reporter for BuzzFeedNews. She is an alumna of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, where she received her B.A. in Broadcast and Digital Journalism with a double major in International Relations. She is originally from San Diego, California, but now resides in New York with her husband and cat.

Stephanie McNeal is one of the most respected voices writing about internet culture. Her stories collectively average around 100m page views per year and are often cited by other media outlets looking to understand influencer culture.

In Swipe Up For More, Stephanie McNeal takes us behind the perfectly curated Instagram posts and into the secretive real world of influencers. See how three major influencers — fashion and lifestyle juggernaut Caitlin Covington of Southern Curls and Pearls, runner and advocate Mirna Valerio, and OG “mommy blogger” Shannon Bird built their empires through three years of intimate, funny and vulnerable reporting. These creators struggle with:

• The haters and snarkers

• Fighting for creative control from the tech platforms that enable their businesses

• Parenting in public and trying to look good while doing it

McNeal answers burning questions, like: why are there so many Mormon mommy influencers? What is it like to work for a popular influencer? What do they do with all the free swag? How do brand partnerships work? And how much money do they really make?