What was your first job as a journalist?
writing a monthly column for a Ukrainian-language magazine - long story
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I was born in 1977, I didn't use a computer until 1996, at the age of 18. Did most of my work as a student on a typewriter.
How is social media changing news?
making it stickier, but more emotional and superficial
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Tintin
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means listening and keeping an open mind, but being willing to make decisions and present truth to the people. It's hard.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
MS Word, my iPhone
What's your favorite social network?
the offline one where me and good old friends go hiking or throw objects at or through things
Who do you wish followed you?
Tom Ricks
Why did you become a journalist?
Because truth is organized by the stories we tell, and so many people are doing it wrong.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Nope!
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
An essay advocating for female participation in combat roles in the Army - the first of its kind from a male infantry officer, I think
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Go do something great and really specific before you start writing or you won't know what to do with truth when you find it. I went to war.
When's the best time to pitch you?
before 1800 EST
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Did you know that the Ukrainians are fighting tanks from WWI-style trenches?"
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
something about a guy's cousin and thinly-veiled appeals to Objectivism / Social Darwinism
What's your favorite drink?
Old Fashioned.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In order of likelihood: (1) working the phones (2) in the kitchen (3) at a bar (4) playing video games
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Los Angeles Review of Books, hands down.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
PTSD means that people are crazy
