Arvin Donner
(He/Him)
Covers:
blockchain, technology, environment, automotive, energy, arts and entertainment
Doesn't Cover:
sports, politics
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Working for The Columbus Alive as a music journalist and critic.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, but not recently.
How is social media changing news?
Social media content provides more news sources, and the sources themselves are many times newsworthy.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Kermit the Frog...
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Telling the truth as best you can and listening.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I like to hear about what you want me to deliver. What's the reason you want it done? What's your budget? Another way is to tell me the 5 Ws.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
MS Word, Google, news aggregators, Grammarly, Hemmingway, AP Style Word add-on; Discord, IRQ, Telegram, LinkedIn, Reddit.
What's your favorite social network?
Right now? Instagram (it's informatively addictive) or maybe Facebook because I have so many old friends on there.
Who do you wish followed you?
Do I have to pick one person? Guillermo Del Toro, Robert Thurman, Sting, Werner Herzog, and Tom Robbins. I could keep going...
Why did you become a journalist?
So, I didn't have to work in PR or marketing. Then I realized I could make more money in PR and marketing. I'm choosey about who I work for.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, I didn't. I was too busy studying music.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The one I got published in E The Environmental Magazine. The NFT feature I wrote for Cointelegraph was pretty great as well.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Make sure to talk to other journalists who write (or have written) wherever you are offered an assignment. Read the news.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Probably in the afternoon after lunch. But, I am not too picky.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Getting offered to write for The Stacks Foundation was pretty great. Also, writing for Honda was pretty awesome.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
An online video game publication editor wanted me to write feature-length articles for 2 cents a word.
What's your favorite drink?
Non-alcoholic? decaffeinated Starbucks coffee, Mexican hot chocolate, or a matcha latte; Alcoholic? A good wheat beer or dry red wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I am riding my bike, reading, cooking, meditating, trading, analyzing markets, studying marketing, or writing poetry.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
My Google News Feed... I am slowly trying to get through over 100 books (and counting) on my phone.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That blockchain is a scam. It has its issues for sure, but folks who hold that view do not know much about the history of financial markets.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.