Alex Woodward
Verified
(He/Him)
As seen in:
The Independent (US),
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Australia,
MSN Canada,
MSN Colombia,
MSN Ireland,
MSN Money Canada,
MSN New Zealand,
MSN Singapore,
MSN UK
and
Covers:
civil rights, democracy, immigration, voting rights, abortion, the Trump administration, federal courts
senior reporter, @independent: 💌 alex.woodward@the-independent.com / signal: alexwoodward.15
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Writing about a deadly meningitis outbreak on my college campus.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Faster, dumber, more engaging, more democratic. It also has shifted readers' priorities and made newsrooms more transparent.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Above all, be a good storyteller and don't bust a deadline.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Hashtags are for dummies.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Have an actual pitch, not just a vague subject. Write a clear email that's not just a bunch of big words. Tell me why it matters.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Digital recorder, mechanical pencils, steno pads, iPhone, voice memo app, Twitter, Facebook, Storify, Spotify, MS Word, Google Drive
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
I think the ultimate aim for Twitter is for everyone to gradually unfollow each other until we learn how to be human again.
Why did you become a journalist?
Forced to write well and often.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No. I worked for the literary magazine as an editor throwing out bad poetry by Catholic school goths.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Whenever I've written about someone or something who was dying to tell their story and never had the opportunity.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Get it right, not first. Take care of your health. Working until you die is for suckers.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Morning, noon and night.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
This week, a subject line that read "SCARY PRESS RELEASE."
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
When a PR person has a hard time selling or even describing the thing they want you to write about, that's pretty bad.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.