What was your first job as a journalist?
As an overnight radio news journalist as the SBS office in Melbourne.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, as a child: first a manual typewriter, then electric, with a miracle delete key! Then we graduated to an Apple IIe & never looked back.
How is social media changing news?
Sourcing side: eyewitness accounts; easier to locate talent/sources; although important to note these not always verifiable. Also marketing.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To always be looking for the holes in accepted truths or explanations. To always be seeking out the next questions to ask.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email; Twitter is also good.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Audacity; FCP; lots of social media to track down potential interviewees/sources.
What's your favorite social network?
I'll say Facebook, but I dislike it in equal measure, as it has made us all too accessible. I prefer a bit of mystery.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I thought it might make me rich.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
In the absence of a school newspaper, I was the editor of the school yearbook for two years running.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The surrogacy story. A lot of the work that went into it never made it to air; there was a lot more to the investigation than was shown.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
1. to never fall into the trap of thinking you are more powerful than those you interview; 2. to pick a specialisation wisely from the outset
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime. I never sleep.
What's your favorite drink?
Dirty martini
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In a swimming pool.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Architectural Digest, The Gentlewoman, Lucky Peach.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That South Asia is backward. In fact, SAsia is at the absolute forefront of almost all major contemporary issues: eg security, climate change
