THG 85 Janet Parker Final

[00:00:00] Tamyia: Welcome back to another episode of the Hilltop Glove podcast. I'm still shocked that we're on season four. So today we have the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Janet Parker. Janet is an executive producer, motivational speaker, influencer, and media guru. With years of experience in broadcast industry, Janet is a skilled journalist and newsroom leader with expertise in mass media, producing, writing, and management.

[00:00:29] Tamyia: She is a graduate of University of South Carolina, where she obtained her Bachelor's of Arts in Mass Communication and Journalism in 2008. Janet's contributions to the city of Columbia actually got her... In a war. Yeah. February 23rd in 2018 was declared Janet Parker Day by the City of Columbia and Mayor Steve Benjamin.

[00:00:51] Tamyia: Currently she's the executive producer for Charlotte's Queen City News, where she collaborates with anchors, reporters, redu producers, writers, [00:01:00] assignment editors and photographers. And she ensures that the cast is highly, she ensures that the newscasts are highly produced, her the teasers are strong and the content matches the station's brand.

[00:01:12] Tamyia: Janice's expertise in journalism has led her to hold positions such as a senior news producer and evening news anchor for Watch Fox in Columbia, correct? Yeah, I remember that. Columbia to Charlotte, okay. She reviews news scripts, ensures accuracy, fairness, and ethical journalism. She also produces daily newscasts and is involved in recruiting new producers.

[00:01:37] Tamyia: You do a lot. I hope they paying you. I hope you getting payoffs. I hope. Well, we are definitely thrilled to have you here. Thank you for being here. Glad to be here. How 

[00:01:49] Janet Parker: are you today? I'm feeling good. Saturday, you know, a little feel of fall is in the air. Great weather. It is great weather. Off work? You're not?

[00:01:57] Janet Parker: No work. No work then? No. [00:02:00] Nice. Nice. I choose to. 

[00:02:01] Tamyia: So we're familiar with you, but our audience isn't. So can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing and where are you from? How many brothers or sisters? 

[00:02:10] Janet Parker: So I'm from a little small town of Cheraw, South Carolina. Prettiest town in Dixie. Yes. That's a thing.

[00:02:17] Janet Parker: Google it. Okay. But yes, I was raised there and her brother was raised by a single mom. I went to USC, like you mentioned, in Columbia. Go Gamecocks. Yes. And was there for like 10 years before coming to Charlotte, but that's kind of like. My childhood, very humble, you know, beginnings, but I knew that Sherah was not it.

[00:02:40] Janet Parker: Mm-hmm. , like I wanted to leave crazy hard feeling. She, I wanted to leave. Columbia's not it, right? . She's in Charlotte. Listen, Mia's not it, I, I'm saying I, Columbia will always be like a second home to me though. Like, for real, because that's where Launching Pad. Yeah. You know, that's where kind of Janet Parker came to be.

[00:02:59] Janet Parker: [00:03:00] So that's, that's second home hometown in sra. But, Columbia is for sure a second home. I didn't know you had your own day. Yes, first of all, that's big, that's big. Even people in my newsroom here in Charlotte, they're like, like when I came there, they were like, Y'all, she has her own day, okay? Like she's, and I'm like, She's a bitch.

[00:03:19] Janet Parker: Nah, I was like, I 

[00:03:21] Tamyia: wish we could have dropped this episode on her day, but that's just too 

[00:03:24] Janet Parker: late in the year. Yeah. 

[00:03:27] DJ And?: That would be cool. That way we will bring you back up though. 

[00:03:30] Janet Parker: Oh, I'm fine with that. Yeah, that's cool. No, that was, that was very special. I had no idea that that was going to Frendy Clairvaux, who's still at Watchbox.

[00:03:44] Janet Parker: Shout out to Frendy. He orchestrated all of that. I really had no idea. Like I was just told. That I was kinda like, he wanted to take me to like, lunch or dinner before I left, like, the city or whatever. So he faked it and y'all, I walked in and it was like, [00:04:00] my mom, my brother, my best friends, like, mentors throughout my, you know, like, Did you cry?

[00:04:06] Janet Parker: Oh, I yeah. I cried like a baby, y'all. Like, and then I see the mayor, I see Tameka Isaac DeVine, like, because I always to this day, I'm like, you're still my councilwoman. Yeah. It's true. And yeah, and then the mayor started, you know, like reading this declaration and I was just like, oh, this is okay. 

[00:04:24] Tamyia: How does it feel like hearing all your accolades and like the previous work you've done, especially with me saying your bio, how does that feel?

[00:04:31] Janet Parker: Every time I'm just like, I did all that for real to like win, but there was a point like in my career though, like in my twenties where I was, I was grinding, like public speaking here, going to schools here, like anything needed to be done, I was doing it. I guess now, fast forward, I'm in my late 30s, still can't believe that.

[00:04:51] Janet Parker: That's still young. That's still young. We'll play with it. I can't believe I did it, but I'm, I'm so proud just like of myself. One of the. [00:05:00] Days I'll always remember is like when I graduated from college And I'll never forget like apparently my mom had to like the arena once I walked across because she was so emotional And so after graduation like I went out to her and I cried and I was like we did it Oh, so knowing like self and my brother just what we've achieved Like it's amazing because she always says like we're the best things that she's ever done Yeah 

[00:05:26] Tamyia: I like that you said that, that you put in work in your twenties because a lot of people, they think it's gonna happen like that and it's like, no, you gotta grind first.

[00:05:35] Tamyia: You do fruition and you know, 

[00:05:37] Janet Parker: you do. I mean, when I graduated I did not, it was a very different time in the news world. Yeah. I didn't have a job lined up. You know, I did intern when I was in college. Thank God I did Right. Watch Fox. Okay. Yeah, that's what I had to ask so they could see. Yes. Before release.

[00:05:52] Janet Parker: I interned there, and the News Director at the time, Barbara Bethay, I always will credit her to, you know, basically giving me a chance. And there were no [00:06:00] positions open. Like, she called me one day and was like, We're working on, like, an interview, like, would you come in and just help out? I was like, sure.

[00:06:07] Janet Parker: You know, I was like, because any foot in the door is a foot in the door. All I need to do is get in the door. You know, just get me in the door. So I did, and, you know, the day went by, I helped whatever left, and then she called me, like, a couple weeks later, and she's like, I think there was a misunderstanding, like.

[00:06:22] Janet Parker: We want to give you a job. Like, we didn't want you to just come and help for the day. Like, she's like, I don't have anything permanent, but we got a hard time. Morning associate producer position. And I said, yes. And so 

[00:06:36] Tamyia: what does it actually take to be a news producer? 

[00:06:40] Janet Parker: So. It takes a lot of attention to detail, you know, you need to be a news sponge, you need to be very plugged in, you need to know what's going on in the world it's detail oriented, so you're building, you know, when you turn on the news, someone has spent hours throughout the day gathering those stories, orchestrating them in a way that they flow, that they [00:07:00] make sense.

[00:07:00] Janet Parker: You need to be able to write, obviously. You need to have a solid news judgment. You know, what's important, what matters to people. That was, was pressing, yes. Yeah, what impacts people's lives, you know. Why should I care? I don't want to curse on here, but I had a news director who said, that, what's the gas factor?

[00:07:18] Janet Parker: What's the give a? Yeah. You know, what's the gas of this story? So you have to come to, come to every day with that thought process. 

[00:07:26] Tamyia: Is it hard being on, you know, TV, the whole world watching you, or the city, you know, is it, is it? Oh, there's 

[00:07:34] Janet Parker: pressure. There's definitely pressure. And not just as, you know, you're being on, on air, but I'm a minority on air.

[00:07:42] Janet Parker: I'm a plus size woman, you know, there's definite, because sometimes people forget that you're still human. Yeah. You're not perfect. Thank you. You know, like. Yes, I went to school for this. Yes, I get paid to do this, but I make mistakes, you know, and I'm, I'm still Janet at the end of the day. So there, there's some [00:08:00] pressure.

[00:08:00] Janet Parker: And then when you see people out from, you know, my anchor days, and I try to be the same person, like on camera, off camera, whatever. There are times when, you know, I just want to be you, me, you know, and sometimes people don't understand, like. Just like you have a bad day. I might be having a bad day, you know, and I'm not gonna be all peaches roses.

[00:08:21] Janet Parker: Let's, you know, so give people grace. Like the way you said 

[00:08:26] Tamyia: that. 

[00:08:28] DJ And?: Man so I know we have our social media nowadays. You work in the actual news media. You talk, you talked about knowing what type of stories are important to the actual viewers and the things that actually going to drive them to actually coming to you for information.

[00:08:44] DJ And?: As an executive producer, of course you help tell stories that are relatable and engaging. What are some of the tips or tricks that you have learned over the years of producing, bringing those stories 

[00:08:55] Janet Parker: to people? So, always read, like, read everything. Like, social media, [00:09:00] print media, everything could be a possible story idea.

[00:09:04] Janet Parker: Okay. Just conversations with people, ask questions. Being, I'm a naturally inquisitive person. Like, my friends will say, like, you want to find out anything, she gonna find out. You know? Yeah. But just having that inquisitive mind, like any conversation, meet and greet, can turn into a story. Like, it's always, everything's networking for me.

[00:09:23] Janet Parker: But I'm networking for, for content, but also for the community, for viewers. Because if it's a story, that's the information that I'm bringing to the community. 

[00:09:31] DJ And?: Do you have to do that in a, in, in, when I, I guess this is a good question to, to bring up at this point. Is that a day to day life thing? Is that like an event that is daily in your life or is it happenstance?

[00:09:42] Janet Parker: I think it's just natural. I think journalists just, we are just naturally, like, it's just ingrained in us that when we're talking to people, like, and some people in certain industries are like, Oh, that's right, you're a reporter, so you're fishing, you know what I was wondering, that's why I asked that, [00:10:00] yeah.

[00:10:00] Janet Parker: I didn't know that. You know, I'm not necessarily just engaging in conversation with you for work. Yeah. But I am very interested by nature so it just happens. It's part of our fabric. So what 

[00:10:10] Tamyia: is a mistake that you've made, big or small, while producing or being on air? To 

[00:10:19] DJ And?: make our audience feel comfortable 

[00:10:21] Janet Parker: about making mistakes.

[00:10:22] Janet Parker: Yeah. I'm trying to think. I mean... When I said attention to detail, small things matter, especially when you're talking about news, right? So, I guess a motto that I like to live by that has probably come from a mistake, I'm not going to say that I necessarily made it, but I'd rather be second and right than first and wrong.

[00:10:46] Janet Parker: Thank you. Especially when you're dealing with sensitive information, like you're talking about death, you know, Age, sex, description of a suspect, like, I'd rather hold off and make sure I have that information right, [00:11:00] than have to go on air, be wrong, and then later have to come back and retract information.

[00:11:04] Janet Parker: I would never want to do that. So I'm sure there's times in my early days of my career that I probably went with some information that I didn't really feel too 100%, you know, good about. But now, I've got some, you know, legwork in the game, you know, like, I would not do that. Like, I just had a conversation with a morning senior producer a couple days ago.

[00:11:26] Janet Parker: He was like, I've got an editorial question. I was like, what's up? He was like, we kind of ran with a description of a suspect. It's like, I wasn't really comfortable with it. He was like, well, we went with it anyway. 5'8 black male. 155 pounds. I was like, okay, so you just got just about every black man In Charlotte.

[00:11:49] Janet Parker: If there's no distinct, you know, does he have a tattoo on his neck, you know, that says love or something? I was like, there's no reason to put that description out there. He was like, that's what I thought. He was [00:12:00] like, you know, the next hour we didn't do it. I was like, go with your gut in situations like that.

[00:12:04] Janet Parker: Like, if you feel hesitant about something like that, don't be afraid to be like, you know what? No, let's hold off. Because I would much rather hold off. And be right when we do go with it, then go with it and be wrong. Yeah, because 

[00:12:16] Tamyia: you take one little bit of information. Right. It destroys somebody's 

[00:12:19] Janet Parker: life.

[00:12:19] Janet Parker: Anything can happen. Like, oh, he's 5'8 he's black, you know, is that him? You know, like, just gotta be careful. 

[00:12:26] DJ And?: So question, do you see that as an issue? That folks who are starting out in the profession that they're almost geared to make if they're seeking to get ahead, do they, are there times where they're like, you know what, if I go ahead and I'm the first to hit this story, it could push me.

[00:12:43] DJ And?: So, I'm going to go ahead and make this, this chance. 

[00:12:46] Janet Parker: Unfortunately, I think you probably do see that because people are like, we were the first or I was the first to bring this in. And it's like, that, what, you want to be known for just being first, though, or do you want to be known for bringing like quality, Quality.

[00:12:59] Janet Parker: Journalism. Mm [00:13:00] hmm. You know, doing, Accurate. Good journalism, accurate information. Mm hmm. Because, you know, I love to tell people, you only get one time to make a first impression, a lot of times, especially in TV, and Charlotte is a very transplant type city. Mm hmm. You have a new person here, they come in, they watch us one day, And Let's say we go with some information.

[00:13:16] Janet Parker: That's their first time seeing us. So they say, Oh, I kind of like it. Next day, they tune in and we're on there saying, Oh, we've got to retract some information that we gave you yesterday. It was actually wrong. How do you even, what do you even say? You know, I mean, you'd have to say like, you know, we want to bring you an update to a story we brought you yesterday.

[00:13:33] Janet Parker: We actually learned that, you know, you don't want to lose that viewer just because you were, you know, trigger happy. Mm 

[00:13:43] DJ And?: hmm. End up like Brian Williams. Mm hmm. Or that brother from the Washington Post ain't gonna say no names, but yeah, they trying to break stories. He didn't say the other guy's name. 

[00:13:54] Janet Parker: He didn't say the other guy's name.

[00:13:56] Janet Parker: I'm trying to be nice to him. 

[00:13:58] DJ And?: Second, Brian Williams, no, he [00:14:00] was wrong. he wasn't even nowhere near the time when the thing occurred. Nowhere around the, so he was in the helicopter, no, you weren't there. Yeah. And 

[00:14:07] Janet Parker: second, or second hand, you have to be careful with the second hand information. In the world of social media, everything's all, you know, Instagram, you got to verify, verify, verify.

[00:14:16] DJ And?: And could you speak about how that is important for people, not who are producing the news, but just for folks who are. Taking in the news, observing it, yeah, actually. Yes, 

[00:14:26] Janet Parker: because even my mom, my lord knows, will love her to death. But, Fat Woman will send me 8 million TikToks, like, every day, and I'm like...

[00:14:35] Janet Parker: She's like, y'all aren't talking about the real stories. These are the real stories. And I'm like, mom, what, what's the source of the information that this person is giving you on TikTok? Is it reputable? You know, like there are reputable sources out there, especially when you're talking about things like the economy, you know, like people have their theories and.

[00:14:55] Janet Parker: All this, but you've got to vet stuff and please, before you know, there's a [00:15:00] lot, we call it click a great headline, want to draw you in. They want you to click, but before you go and share the story, actually click and read the story, read what's in the article, black 

[00:15:11] DJ And?: and white. Of it needs to on 

[00:15:14] Janet Parker: the page.

[00:15:15] Janet Parker: Like, y'all we all follow the shade room, but just click the story. Actually read the information. 

[00:15:22] DJ And?: Because I know having like good consumers of media actually makes, allows for the producers of it to make better product as well. And I don't think that the consumers sometimes, they don't understand the power that they have in the market to actually push and drive for a better product.

[00:15:38] DJ And?: Better, first of all, a better product, but also getting better source materials, too. And they don't realize that when they allow for that bad stuff to fall in and make money, then it continues a 

[00:15:48] Janet Parker: avalanche. It does. And then it makes it hard for operations like ours. There you go. They're like, well, how should we trust you if I'm seeing this over here?

[00:15:57] Janet Parker: And it's like. You have a point, you [00:16:00] know, then we have to work harder to make sure that you know, no, we're reputable and we're gonna do our research and we're going to dig. You must 

[00:16:07] Tamyia: be like FBI, like really digging for information. Like, do you have any research? So going into social media and being an influencer, how does it feel being in the spotlight?

[00:16:20] Tamyia: So many Americans in the spotlight, in the daily. Television, just like looking at you, critiquing you, observing you, giving their opinion when it's not needed. 

[00:16:34] Janet Parker: How do you handle all have I have to remind myself that. Everybody's going to have an opinion of, of me, you know, whatever, right? But the best, the only opinion that matters is what I think.

[00:16:45] Janet Parker: Right. Of me. Like, and because somebody feels a certain way doesn't mean that their feelings are valid. Doesn't mean their feelings are fact. 

[00:16:53] DJ And?: Oh, I like that. So yes, they could be valid. They could be 

[00:16:56] Janet Parker: valid. You feel what you feel because you're having it. But it doesn't mean they're based on [00:17:00] facts. You know, what you feel about me is.

[00:17:02] Janet Parker: That's you, that don't have anything to do with me. So, it's, it's difficult. But I, again, that grace, I move with grace. And what, you know, I understand people. People are people. And people are gonna people. So has it has it? People are gonna people. People are gonna people. Yeah, you can't stop them from people.

[00:17:22] Tamyia: But having this job, has it benefited you in some way? Or been harmful in any 

[00:17:27] Janet Parker: way? Oh, for sure. I mean, I've met. So many people and I've had so many opportunities. Like, again, I'm from Chiraz, South Carolina. In 2013, I went to LA to cover American Idol. That was the year that Candice Glover won. Never in a million years would I would think.

[00:17:45] Janet Parker: One, going to Los Angeles. And then two. To cover the news, you know, and be on air reporting live from Los Angeles. And then not only, like, it opened doors for other things because that actually happened on Mother's Day weekend. So my brother and [00:18:00] I split a ticket so that my mom could come with me. So she got to experience all of that with me.

[00:18:04] Janet Parker: So, like, that's just For sure. That's just one thing that this career has allowed me to do. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm very beneficial. Harm. Mm hmm. Balance. It's there. Like the first, first two or three years of my career, I never wore skirts on the air. Like I wear pants every single day. Pants. Because I wasn't completely comfortable yet with myself, like my size, my look, whatever.

[00:18:33] Janet Parker: And viewers would light me up. I mean, you get those emails. To this day, I'm like, I have never in my 37 years of living. Thought to email a news station, right? Yeah. And give my opinion on 

[00:18:46] Tamyia: things. I don't like what she's wearing today. 

[00:18:48] Janet Parker: Oh, you would be surprised. Really? So it exists. It happens, but you have to.

[00:18:53] Janet Parker: Roll with the punches. You have to let that stuff 

[00:18:54] Tamyia: roll off of you. So how do you manage your lifestyle of being an influencer and promoting [00:19:00] body 

[00:19:01] Janet Parker: positivity? So I'm really big on just allowing women to know, like, to love themselves as themselves. You are fine just the way you are. I actually just got a message last night for somebody and it was, I don't know her, you know, she just messaged me and she was like, I just want you to know.

[00:19:17] Janet Parker: That because of you, like, I am way more confident in who I am and my body, you know, like, I've never used to be like that, you know, the clothes that you wear, like, I find myself wearing them, she's like, I want you to know though, it is specifically because I've been following you and seeing you. So I think it's just important for me to.

[00:19:35] Janet Parker: Be unapologetically me, as I will always be that, and showing up as myself gives other people permission to do the same. Yeah, for sure. 

[00:19:43] Tamyia: I love that. I got chills just now. Yeah, 

[00:19:46] Janet Parker: showing up as yourself. Yeah, show up as you. Here's my thing, right? I think that's the theme for today. God took so much time creating you to be who you are.

[00:19:56] Janet Parker: How dare you try and be somebody else? So you're [00:20:00] saying he wasted his time? 

[00:20:01] Tamyia: Yeah. Making you special? How dare you? How dare you? Doubt yourself. Doubt yourself. Yeah. I'm like, hey, so I'm 

[00:20:06] Janet Parker: bringing this to you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, so am I saying that, God, you didn't do a good job. I want to be this person. Right.

[00:20:12] Janet Parker: Nah. Nah. Nah. We're not doing that. We're not going to go there. Yeah. We're not doing that. We owning this. 

[00:20:18] Tamyia: So a lot of people don't know that we actually did a short film together. Yay! And it's going to come out soon. Yeah. So talk a little bit more about the short film, She Pours. 

[00:20:28] Janet Parker: She Pours. I loved it because my role, matter of fact, was like a reporter anchor and just voice eyes and talking about like the struggles of, you know, trying to fight for my place in the work, in the workspace while also owning who I am and my body.

[00:20:44] Janet Parker: So. I thought it was just amazing. Great opportunity. It was. Perfect take. Man. I get to get it first. I get to a 

[00:20:54] Tamyia: viewing at Spotlight Cinema for November, November, I don't know the date, but I know it's in November. It's a Saturday. So I'll [00:21:00] let you guys know. Saturday, okay. Please. 

[00:21:01] Janet Parker: But yeah. Yeah. I know. It's, it's, yeah, it's a Saturday after Thanksgiving.

[00:21:05] Janet Parker: I think. Oh, perfect. But no, it was great because the script, I didn't even really have to change a lot. Right. Because I was my life. Yeah. Like, this was my life. This was my life. For sure. I'm so excited. Y'all doing stuff behind the scenes? 

[00:21:18] Tamyia: Y'all don't know, but we've been doing things in 

[00:21:21] Janet Parker: 2023. We've taken up all the space.

[00:21:25] Janet Parker: No, 

[00:21:25] DJ And?: y'all have. You look. Women in 2023, y'all have filled up the space. Specifically Black women. Y'all have done an excellent job. You all have put together, in front of folks too some really dynamic individuals. I'm talking black when y'all did y'all job this year. We needed it cause, I'm not gonna lie, some of us fellas, we was looking bad.

[00:21:43] DJ And?: Oh. Looking 

[00:21:43] Janet Parker: real bad this year. You gotta keep y'all on y'all toes. Yeah, no, seriously, yeah. Somebody gotta save culture. Cause we were 

[00:21:49] DJ And?: letting this thing crash and burn. True. Yeah, so, I'm happy y'all stopped in this year. Very happy. I know, man, gosh, you messed me up with that. I gotta, you guys sent me, I want to watch this thing now.[00:22:00] 

[00:22:01] DJ And?: So of course we ask everybody this question. This is a common question for us. We have to ask you about your work life balance. We did list all this crazy stuff at the beginning that you do. And so for other millennials, 

[00:22:14] Janet Parker: Yeah, 

[00:22:14] DJ And?: yeah. For millennials, a lot of us don't understand the. Possibilities that we can have.

[00:22:20] DJ And?: If we're able just to put a little discipline in and then use time management. Explain to our audience what your work life balance looks like and how do you manage to stay mentally and physically healthy? 

[00:22:30] Janet Parker: So I prioritize me. They used to do that. I don't think a lot of us used to do that, right?

[00:22:36] Janet Parker: Yeah, younger. It was just, I got to go get it. I'm doing everything, everything, everything. And then it's like, whatever's left is what I get myself. And That creates burnout. You don't get up and keep doing that every day. So now I prioritize me. In the morning, I'm taking my time. Get ready. I'm having my moment with God.

[00:22:54] Janet Parker: I'm meditating. You know, I'm not rushing last minute just to get up and go and get to work. [00:23:00] No. Work, you get me once I'm ready to get to work. You know what I mean? Like, so it's not the ground running every day. It's taking a moment for me. It's working. It's on a Saturday. If I'm like, nah, I'm gonna just sleep in.

[00:23:14] Janet Parker: You know, like, yeah, I could go out and I could brunch and I could Sunday Funday and sometimes I do that. Don't get me wrong, but every now and then I'm just like, you know, I'm not feeling that today. I'm gonna just put me first. I'm gonna prioritize me. I think we need to do more. Like, we are so driven as Millennials, and again, you know, I think there's two groups of Millennials, but Right, you could mention like any of those.

[00:23:35] Janet Parker: There's that, you know, very driven, got it out the mud, you know, Millennial group. We want so much because we saw our parents struggle, and we don't want to go through that. Yeah. But, we don't prioritize ourselves, we're not going to be around long enough, you know, to have everything we're working for.

[00:23:52] Janet Parker: Honestly, I work myself

[00:23:57] DJ And?: to 

[00:23:58] Janet Parker: You're going to run out, you're going to [00:24:00] deplete, you've got to take care of you. 

[00:24:01] Tamyia: So how do you manage yourself mentally? Physically, you know, do you 

[00:24:07] Janet Parker: work out? I don't know, I heard meditation. I do, yeah, meditation. I've started incorporating yoga more so. Like, the gym is just not, the gym is not going to be my friend.

[00:24:18] Janet Parker: Like, we just, But you know you're being real with yourself. Like, that's just not going to be my ministry. I've tried, been there. But like, yoga really has helped me. Like, it centers me. The stretching, like, It's just a great time that I spend with 

[00:24:31] Tamyia: myself. Don't get me started on yoga. I was up, I was up at 3 in the morning.

[00:24:37] Tamyia: My body said stretch. I did it, I did a split at 3 in the morning and got back in the bed. Good Lord. Because when your body tell you something, you gotta do it. It needs to listen. And it's like, what did he say in the interview before? You gotta honor yourself. The more times you don't honor yourself is.

[00:24:51] Tamyia: You pay for it, you pay for it, and 

[00:24:53] Janet Parker: they take it away. Yeah. Like, loving myself, that's what loving myself looks like. It looks like taking a [00:25:00] little time to stretch, do a I'm a, I'm a writer. Obviously, I'm a journalist, so journaling is... It's very big for me. You still journal? Oh my gosh. If I don't. If I don't.

[00:25:13] Janet Parker: Cause 

[00:25:13] DJ And?: I tell people like, it's still something you can do. And they look at me like, well, 

[00:25:16] Tamyia: you can do a journal. I journal. I color. Yeah. I do all of that. 

[00:25:20] Janet Parker: Coloring is great. For anxiety. Yes. 

[00:25:23] DJ And?: That childlike activity. It comes back. Oh my gosh. And 

[00:25:27] Janet Parker: cooking. Cooking is so therapeutic for me. What's your 

[00:25:30] DJ And?: favorite? No, no, no, no, no.

[00:25:31] DJ And?: Not what your favorite is. What are you best at cooking? Who tells you, like, some people say you make this so 

[00:25:37] Janet Parker: well. My grits. Lord knows. My best friend's like, you making your grits? Like, how you make your grits? I'm like, yes, bestie, I'm making my grits. Yeah, my grits. Everybody loves my grits. And my sweet potato pies.

[00:25:48] Janet Parker: Parker pies. Parker Pies? 

[00:25:51] DJ And?: Yeah, we gotta get good friends with Ms. Parker so we can get some Parker 

[00:25:55] Janet Parker: Pies. Oh yeah, I have a whole little hashtag, Parker Plates. It's a thing. This is a thing. You [00:26:00] have to go 

[00:26:00] Tamyia: find me on social media and see all your 

[00:26:02] Janet Parker: hashtags. Parker Plates is a thing. Yeah, Parker 

[00:26:05] Tamyia: Plates, that's what I want.

[00:26:06] Tamyia: So you, we know you're being an influencer and everything. What current projects are you working on right now? And what can we expect from you in the future? 

[00:26:14] Janet Parker: That's a good segue. So future, I do actually have a cookbook I want to put out. Oh, wow. Specifically for the Curvy Girls. Okay. Not really. I mean, anybody can, it's recipes.

[00:26:24] Janet Parker: So yeah. But I don't want to give the title away. This Curvy Girls is involved. So yeah, cookbook and then actual about like my life and evolution of me. And I started it, like, January 1st, 2022. And I was writing, writing, writing, writing. And then I came to a wall, and I was like, Now, why can't I get this part?

[00:26:48] Janet Parker: And it actually, I got to the part where I started talking about my career. And at that time, I was out of TV for a little while. And I'm like, Okay, God, so you needed me to stop. Because my career's still [00:27:00] doing its thing, and now I'm back in news. So, I'll pick that back up and finish that. The book and the cookbook.

[00:27:07] Janet Parker: Are coming working on right now. I'm just modeling for different, you know, small business, small entrepreneurs and brands who are focused on women, body positivity for sure. 

[00:27:18] DJ And?: Excellent. I'm going to ask you real quick before we move on about that, about your your book. Is it autobiographical or do you have somebody writing it?

[00:27:25] DJ And?: It's 

[00:27:25] Janet Parker: all I'm writing it. Okay. It's me. Yeah, because you are really Oh, it's my voice. You really you say you are, right? Oh, yeah. I'm writing it. So you are. I could never. Excellent. I could 

[00:27:32] Tamyia: never. I'm a journalist. Why would I 

[00:27:33] Janet Parker: No, you also I have a Why would I Why would I give somebody else my pen? They're so tired of 

[00:27:37] DJ And?: like, you know what, I don't want to do it myself.

[00:27:39] DJ And?: No. Let me list 

[00:27:40] Tamyia: somebody else. Okay. This is going in 

[00:27:41] Janet Parker: history. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm writing my own story. You know when you read something and you feel what the person I need people to feel Yeah. What you're saying. What I'm saying. Yeah. It's gotta be me. I'm excited. Me too. Y'all got me all. I'm like, I know her.

[00:27:54] Janet Parker: I interview her. in here. 

[00:27:57] DJ And?: Oh man. And of course I mean, you, you let [00:28:00] folks know about what you have coming up, but you have to let people know where they can find you. This is a shameless plug time. So, I mean, anything that you have going on, anybody that you wanna let us know about, that we don't know about, that our audience should know about?

[00:28:12] DJ And?: You can plug anything. 

[00:28:14] Janet Parker: Make sure you drop 

[00:28:14] Tamyia: your Instagram and stuff. Of course, you told us about your mom, you know. You can shout out your brother. 

[00:28:18] Janet Parker: Oh, for sure. My mom, my brother, those are, we call ourselves the tripod. Like, the, yeah, we were like, the three of us. Three legs. Yeah, they're, they're my foundation, man, for real.

[00:28:29] Janet Parker: Like, I'm like, if I can make God proud of them proud. I'm good. Yeah, for sure. I'm on all social media. Janet Park, 86. Hit me up. If you're a brand, you know, you need a curvy model, let me know. Excellent. Excellent. And we 

[00:28:43] Tamyia: can watch 

[00:28:44] Janet Parker: you every day. Queen City News. Turn on Queen City News if you're in the Charlotte area.

[00:28:48] Janet Parker: Please, please. You can also go to qcnews. com if you're not in the market. Do 11 hours of news. Most local news. We do the most local news out of North Carolina and South Carolina. [00:29:00] That's not a lie. 11 hours news every 

[00:29:02] Tamyia: single. I know I have a quick question. What has been the most major, I guess, story that you've talked about?

[00:29:11] Tamyia: The largest story, the biggest story that you've ever 

[00:29:16] Janet Parker: come across? I would say the most impactful story that I had an opportunity to be a part of. It was field anchoring the day the confederate flag came down at the statehouse grounds in Columbia. That was major. That was a major day. And I think it's very ironic that that was like one of the hottest days in Columbia.

[00:29:33] Janet Parker: And I was like, this ain't some symbolism. I don't know what it is. It was so much emotion. It was sweltering that day, but that was a powerful day to be a part of. Definitely 

[00:29:44] Tamyia: necessary. Going down in history. 

[00:29:47] Janet Parker: Seriously. 

[00:29:48] Tamyia: Thank you for being here today. Thank y'all for having me. No problem. 

[00:29:54] DJ And?: And so, I guess, man, it's time to close out, man.

[00:29:57] DJ And?: Man, for everybody at the Hilltop Glove podcast, our audience [00:30:00] members, those who are in the building with us today, we've got some folks outside, so they were looking at baseball games. Watching the game. Yeah, man, we want to thank you for joining us on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. Of course, I always like to tell, I'll tell everybody, please tell somebody next to them that you love them, that you care about them, you cherish them.

[00:30:13] DJ And?: And for Skip. Tamiya, DJNWet, and our esteemed guest, Janet Parker, we appreciate y'all and we will see you on the next episode of Hilltop Globe Podcast. Peace.