Soap Journalism — From Fan Mags to Fake News

General Hospital Snarkcast – Special Episode with Connie Hayman

Soap Journalism — From Fan Mags to Fake News

Before Twitter had “spoilers,” before Facebook had claim-to-fame scoopers, there were rooms full of writers who actually knew Susan Lucci. This week we sit down with soap journalism royalty Connie Passalacqua Hayman - better known to three generations of fans as Marlena de la Croix - for the origin story of an entire genre: how a “let’s try this and see” experiment by Paul Dennis turned into thirteen competing magazines, network-funded trips to Yugoslavia, and a Disney World takeover called Super Soap Weekend.

Connie takes us from her first job at Teen Beat through the golden age when ABC and Procter & Gamble treated journalists like family - flowers, junkets, open-door access - to today’s landscape of ghosted publicists, algorithm-fed access lists, and AI-generated death hoaxes masquerading as news. Along the way: Gloria Monty’s outdoor stunts, the Vietnam Wall remote that won Connie a GLAAD Award, why nobody’s training new soap writers anymore, and her one-woman (so far) crusade to start a Soap Opera Press Association.

It’s part history lesson, part therapy session, and part rallying cry for anyone who still thinks the truth is worth getting in trouble for. Grab your Tiger Beat, settle in, and let’s talk about the beginning, the middle, and, hopefully not, the end of soap journalism.

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