What was your first job as a journalist?
Technical advisor for fictional screenplays and television shows based on my L/E experience. Then Op-Eds, then Front Pages.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes...to write police reports and college term papers in the 90s.
How is social media changing news?
Broadening the circle and giving an alternative to an increasingly more biased mainstream media.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Currently, Michael Connelly.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To convey informed, objective information that educates readers.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I rarely pay attention to
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word, internet.
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn, twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
Anyone who shapes public policy. Popular or not, that means the federal, state & local politicians, courts, prosecutors & police executives.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I had a immature feud with an alt journalist and I served my penance by taking my turn in the barrel & putting myself out there.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Complex public safety, corruption & security issues that get misreported due to politicization or common misconceptions.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Beware of political pitfalls and double standards. Don't be an activist. Seek comment from an experienced, informed stance (not feelings).
When's the best time to pitch you?
When you can write an email
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Worst: In 2018, I was paid to cover a campaign while also tracking under a pen name & it went bad, so no more political reporting for me.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Already covered that, thanks.
What's your favorite drink?
In London, cask ales. In Miami, Mojitos. LA? Moscow Mules. I know the local swill in towns I work in (Yuengling in Phila, Abita in NOLA, etc)
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Cruising in my classic American car (summer) or having a fine meal with my beautiful wife.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Week, WSJ, NY Post, Daily Wire, City Journal, and aggregation sites specified to certain topics.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
There are numerous. So few journalists understand the CJ system from both sides & actually walk in their subject's shoes in an objective way
