What was your first job as a journalist?
I wrote about music for Philadelphia Weekly right out of college.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
In high school, when I didn't really write all that much.
How is social media changing news?
It makes it easier to feel like everybody (or nobody) is reading your work.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I don't read enough fiction to answer this.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Beats me. I write a lot of unreported stuff that often only lives online and ranges from 800-1500 words. Am I a journalist?
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
All the ones about One Direction that don't immediately make sense to me.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Over email. Preferably with little or no room for me to determine the pitch for myself.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mac laptop and Microsoft Word.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter. I can't help myself and Twitter encourages—even rewards—you for this problem.
Who do you wish followed you?
All the people I admit who don't follow me on Twitter.
Why did you become a journalist?
I'd wanted to be a music critic since high school. Later, I started watching a lot of basketball and couldn't keep quiet about it.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I started as a plain old writer, then had a column, then became the arts editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My 2011 feature on the Thunder.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn to specialize then devote yourself to undoing it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
I am all ears, all the time.
