Bill Shea
As seen in:
Fort Dodge Messenger,
The Athletic,
The New York Times,
Forbes,
Ad Age,
Des Moines Register,
Automotive News,
Crain's Chicago Business,
Basketball RealGM,
Crain's Detroit Business,
Columbia Journalism Review
and
Covers:
advertising, detroit pistons, detroit tigers, business of sports, detroit lions, detroit red wings, media, marketing, transportation
Doesn't Cover:
finance, consumer
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Sports writer in college.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
In just about every way imaginable.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Raoul Duke and Father Guido Sarducci are tied in my book.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means a long hours, a paycheck and sometimes making a positive difference while also sometimes being loathed.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't remember.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Carefully and thoughtfully, by PR folks who know what I cover and what I don't.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word, Composer, Excel, Firefox on a PC, mainly. Sometimes a digital voice recorder. Pencil, pad, telephone. Wit and inquisitiveness.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
Legions of willing minions? Decision makers? Literate sophisticates? The lumpen-proletariat?
Why did you become a journalist?
I needed a job during my sophomore year of college, and the only intriguing position available was at the school paper? The rest? History.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
It was 1990. There were two of us. It was a four-page color fold-out produced an a Mac. We did everything.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
That changes by the minute. Recently, a piece on the issues surrounding hiring Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn video. Learn editing. Learn grammar rules. Read everything. Break down how the best writers and reporters do it.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.