N.C. A&T Alumna Raises the Bar as an Entertainment Journalist and Online Influencer
Sylvia Obell ’12 is living her dream as a journalist at one of the top U.S. news outlets, BuzzFeed. She is an entertainment reporter and the host and producer of her very own show, “Hella Opinions.” It is an online show that discusses unapologetically black culture, politics and entertainment. The show features influential voices on black Twitter and airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on Twitter.
With Obell’s infectious personality and intriguing opinions, she is loved by many on her Twitter account that has over 22,000 followers. She has no problem being an influential voice on social media and Hella Opinions is right up her alley as a thriving digital media journalist.
“If it’s happening in black culture, we are talking about it on Hella Opinions,” said Obell.
Since Obell’s days at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, she has always been a dedicated journalist. She started her journey in undergrad as the managing editor of The A&T Register and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Immediately after graduation, she didn’t waste any time and enrolled in Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism receiving a master’s degree in digital media.
“If it wasn’t for Dr. Teresa Styles at North Carolina A&T, I would have never pursued my graduate degree,” she said. “She told me, I was too good of a student not to go to grad school.”
In 2013, during Obell’s second semester, she worked as a digital intern at Ebony.com. After graduation, she landed her dream job at Essence Magazine when she secured an internship.
“Since I was in high school, I knew I wanted to work at Essence and I told myself during my internship, ‘I am going to make them hire me by the end of summer.’ I ended up securing a job as an editorial assistant,” she said.
Obell worked for Essence Magazine for nearly two years, writing the column “10 Things We’re Talking About this Month,” and she also interviewed black women who were doing great things in their communities and making moves in their careers.
“During this time, there were a lot of layoffs happening with print publications including Time Inc. and I knew it was my time to start looking for other opportunities. I was unemployed for three months in New York City, living off a severance package when BuzzFeed called to offer me a position,” she said.
When Obell started at BuzzFeed, she was a celebrity writer and was able to grow that role into feature writing opportunities. One of her most successful articles to date, “How Blac Chyna Beat the Kardashians at their Own Game,” went viral in 2016 reaching 1.4 million views. The success of that story gave her the momentum she needed to move over to BuzzFeed News as an entertainment reporter. Later in 2017, when BuzzFeed News was shifting more towards programming and shows to be featured on its platform, she was able to wield another moment of the company’s evolution into a new role.
“One day my former editor approached me with an idea to do an ‘Insecure’ recap show that would air on Twitter. This was during the time when black Twitter was always trending during shows like Scandal and Empire. I never imagined myself being on camera but my manager believed I would do well and that’s how Hella Opinions was started,” she said.
Since the launch of Hella Opinions, Obell is the primary host instrumental in bringing in guests to share their opinions about black culture. Also, the show is produced by all black women on and behind the camera.
“Season one of Hella Opinions was a labor of love that was built around the representation of black content,” she said. “It is my baby, my voice and my image, and it’s a project that I am very proud of because I helped build it from the ground up.”
To find out more about Hella Opinions, follow the show at www.twitter.com/Hella_Opinions to stay connected.
