What was your first job as a journalist?
Covering a square dance competition and getting hit in the face by crinoline.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yup!
How is social media changing news?
It's making it shorter, more visual, and less investigative.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Louis Ciccone from Seeing Things.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It's the best combination of empathy and creativity.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Hmmm. Obviously someone who doesn't know what # does.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email is best.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Other than the usual, I invested in good dictation software on my laptop. Gamechanger.
What's your favorite social network?
If I had to pick a favourite ... Instagram.
Who do you wish followed you?
Snoop Dogg.
Why did you become a journalist?
I was published in Owl Magazine at 9-years-old. I kept going with writing from there.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Not high school, but university, as a columnist and general reporter.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Upcoming: articles about bread as the tie that binds us all together. Everyone is made of the same dough.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Invest in yourself -- take a course, keep your equipment up to date, and read ... a lot.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime, but not on the same day as an event you're putting on.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Would you like to interview the Dutch ambassador to Canada?"
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Writing about a skin care line addressing "crepey (sic) skin for middle-aged women.
What's your favorite drink?
My morning cup of coffee.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Clearing my head at the gym.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Walrus.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That you get to eat at some events. You probably don't have time unless you're seated.
