What was your first job as a journalist?
My first professional role was as an intern for the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts, in Arts & Entertainment.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. We had one to play with when I was a kid.
How is social media changing news?
Anyone can speak to everyone now. As journalists, we have to decide more & more often whose voices to amplify and how we are going to do that
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Anyone can speak to everyone now. As journalists, we have an increasing role in deciding how we amplify voices and which voices to amplify.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
A local story that I would want a reporter to work on - phone. All other stories, email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Tableau Public; Hindenburg; OmnyStudios; PicMonkey; Google products especially Sheets, maps and fusion tables; Canva
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram
Why did you become a journalist?
I love learning and sharing what I learn with other people. As a journalist, I can help keep people informed about the world around them.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was a reporter sophomore and junior years & a section editor senior year. It was 16 to 24 pages and published every three weeks.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I am proudest of the series on gun ownership in Lexington, Massachusetts. It let people who owned firearms in a liberal community explain why
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn how to learn, how to ask questions and how to be curious. Those are skills that will help you throughout your career.
When's the best time to pitch you?
The best time to pitch to me is either in first thing in the morning or last thing in the day.
What's your favorite drink?
Apple cider in the fall and winter. Anything I can drink on the beach in the summer.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In the dance studio, learning how to ballroom dance.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Washington Post.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Nothing interesting happens in local journalism. It is all higher-stakes when you have to look your sources in the eyes for years to come.
