What was your first job as a journalist?
A copy editor at the Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
In elementary school, yes.
How is social media changing news?
It adds more voices to the conversation and challenges us to find the good ones.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The person my Twitter critics think I am.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
First: Ask questions. Second: Ask more questions. Third: Put the answers in proper context. Fourth: Inspire.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
(kind of an inside joke for soccer people)
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email that focuses on an athlete or a sports issue, not a brand.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Wordpress, Google Docs, Diigo, Twitter, Anchor
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook. More conversation. Less shouting.
Who do you wish followed you?
Bill Bryson.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love digging up information and trying to put it in perspective.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
A tiny bit. It only published on occasion.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
USA Gymnastics in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual-abuse tragedy
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Get experience covering a community. If you don't learn to work in a community and see your work's impact, you will always have blind spots.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Weekday mid-morning.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Hi, Beau. ESPN here. Want to go to Germany and cover the Women's World Cup?
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Someone once insisted that opening a chain of branded gyms was a front-page story for a national newspaper.
What's your favorite drink?
Coca-Cola. I am from Georgia.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
A curling club, School of Rock or a soccer field.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Guardian, for which I write on occasion
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
It is soooo glamorous.
