Marc Malkin of E! News Talks San Diego Comic-Con, Gives Advice to Aspiring Entertainment Journalists

In the world of entertainment journalism, there are a few names that jump out at you that make you think “expert.” We trust their news, their scoop, and their know-how more than anyone else on this wild ride we call the Internet.

E! online is one of those names, and in this case Senior Editor and E! News personality Marc Malkin is the face we put to that name.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Malkin this week at San Diego Comic Con about entertainment journalism and how the Internet is changing the field.

Tell-Tale TV: How plugged into the Internet and social media are you on any given day?

Marc Malkin: It’s 24/7 for me. I’m constantly on Facebook, constantly on Twitter, constantly on Instagram. You can ask my husband, because I’m constantly trying to get both of us to put our phones down. Entertainment news is literally just around the clock. Nonstop, something is happening.

TTTV: So you’re well aware of how Twitter and Facebook are playing a part these days.

Malkin: I mean, it’s completely changed journalism. It’s almost hard to explain… I remember when you used to actually fax things to people. We get so many leads from Twitter. Facebook has been a great source of information. I have friends who are interested in what I’m interested in, and they post something, and I see it, and we get interested in it. It’s really like the world is just at our fingertips at this point.

TTTV: The immediacy of the Internet means that spoilers and rumors are popping up pretty much every minute. How much do you guys feed from that and how much attention do you pay?

Malkin: It’s really tough. As you know, the great thing about social media and the Internet is that stuff gets spread pretty fast. If you write a story, it’s out there, and people are crediting you — and it’s exciting. But then at the same time rumors get started that we’re chasing down that turn out to be nothing. Or, for some reason, people are repeating it and repeating it, and a lot of times you’re looking at stories where basically the story you’re writing is to shoot down the story that’s out there.

TTTV: So many things got leaked online this year (The Flash, Supergirl, Game of Thrones, etc), how do you guys at E! Online handle those situations?

Malkin: It really comes down to a case by case basis. It’s 1. Is this for our audience? 2. Is it true? 3. If it’s true, is it reportable? Where is the information coming from? Who’s leaking it? How much is it going to spoil something? At this point, spoilers are tough because you could sit there and say, “I don’t want to spoil it for anyone,” but everyone else is doing it. So how much do you follow everyone else? [At] E! News, we pride ourselves on being journalists, so we’re not in the business of saying “gotcha” to people in order to ruin it for everyone.

TTTV: What is your ‘must see’ event at San Diego Comic-Con this year?

Malkin: Absolutely the Mockingjay panel. What’s interesting is there aren’t a lot of panels for the movies, so the ones that [are] there are big panels; they’re all exciting. So you have Mockingjay, then you have the Warner Brothers presentation, which is Batman v. Superman, and a rumor that Suicide Squad is going to be a part of it, no one can confirm that.

Then you have Fox. They haven’t announced who’s coming, but we’re expecting to see X-Men, Deadpool — which is Ryan Reynolds. Any time you see Ryan Reynolds, that’s a good day. Then Star Wars. I don’t understand how the convention center is going to be able to contain everyone when Star Wars happens… I mean, it is Comic-Con, so it’s crazy.

TTTV: What would your main piece of advice be for aspiring entertainment journalists here at San Diego Comic-Con, trying to do what you do?

Malkin: I would just say learn how to do everything. You can’t just be a writer, you can’t just be a reporter, you can’t just be a producer, you can’t just be an editor. You need to do everything. The thing is, the market is shrinking. They want people who can do everything. So don’t feel you’re too good to do something. Don’t get stuck in, “I’m just going to be a writer!” Be willing to do everything.

*Edited for space and content.

To keep up with all of the breaking coverage from the event, tune-in to E! News weeknights at 7/6c and 11/10c or log on to E! Online (www.eonline.com). You can also get updates via @eonline on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and via @eonlinesnaps on Snapchat.