What was your first job as a journalist?
I took it upon myself in grade school to write an op-ed to Newsday about a tv commercial that REALLY bothered me. In hindsight, no one asked.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
My father got me a red/black ink one as a gift when I fell in love with William Goldman's use of red in The Princess Bride. So, yes.
How is social media changing news?
No one knows what's real anymore. We're in post-truth times.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Harris K. Telemacher.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To seek answers, tell the truth, write with integrity and live in complexity.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Laptop, wifi, caffeine.
What's your favorite social network?
Actual quality time with people- unplugged and real.
Who do you wish followed you?
Joan Didion, may she rest.
Why did you become a journalist?
To tell the truth. Always.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Worse: I was a published poet in my high school's literary magazine. Plus cheerleader. Plus- know what? Next question please.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
With infinite time I'd rewrite each. But proud of writing a Bill for proposed amendment to legislation for breast cancer when I was a patient
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Your work is crucial. Machines can not replace you.
What's your favorite drink?
Pastis.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
As far from it as possible.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I read everything- total news junkie. Every story I'm interested in, I check from multiple pubs, to get all angles. Help me.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That the beats I write most are the only ones I want to write. I'm always going new directions... so ask me.
