Becki Robins
As seen in:
Grunge,
MSN,
Yahoo Life,
Yahoo Canada,
Yahoo News Australia,
Yahoo News Malaysia,
Aol,
The Atlantic,
Scientific American,
Flipboard,
Lonely Planet
and
Covers:
Science, nature, history, family, and entertainment
Science writer, teller of stupid jokes, embarrasser of my four children. Occasionally serious. Check out Grunge.com and SciShow to see what I'm up to.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I interned for a local weekly newspaper.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I guess that makes me really, really old.
How is social media changing news?
It's making it tough to know what's real and what isn't.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lois Lane, duh.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Journalism keeps government honest, and it helps people better understand the world they live in. What could be more important than that?
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Evernote, Grammarly and Microsoft Word.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
George R.R. Martin
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I love to write. Is there any other reason?
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was a reporter for my high school paper, and for my college paper as well. I was also the editor-in-chief for the campus magazine.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am proud of any article I write that helps a lay person understand a complex issue.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Query, query, query. Use Evernote. Write down every idea, no matter how stupid it seems (because it might actually be brilliant).
When's the best time to pitch you?
Mornings. In the afternoons, my kids are usually making so much noise that I can't really hear anything.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I used to edit a magazine for horse enthusiasts, and the best pitch I ever got was a story about how horses are represented in live theatre.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
When I was interning at Air & Space, we received a completed story about a woman who meets the ghost of John Gillespie Magee.
What's your favorite drink?
A Bloody Mary with a pickled string bean. It's not a real Bloody Mary unless it comes with a pickled string bean.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Hanging out with my kids.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Smithsonian, and not just because I did my college internship there.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I have one.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.