What was your first job as a journalist?
Photographer for college newspaper.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Manual and electric!
How is social media changing news?
Making news-gathering more democratic but allowing false information and conspiracy theories circulate widely.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Howard Beale or Rory Gilmore - Can't decide
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Defending democracy by writing truth to keep powerful people under public scrutiny
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
PC computer with really big screen displaying multiple pages, Microsoft Word, Facebook, Nuance PDF Pro, DropBox
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook
Why did you become a journalist?
Started as a newspaper photographer in college and my editor assigned me to cover the story - I had no choice
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep trying. Don't give up. Start a blog and write professionally on it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Mid-Day
What's the best pitch you ever got?
We need you to explain this to our readers...its complicated and we can't find anyone else who has written on it.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I found your byline on the Internet - do you write about politics?
What's your favorite drink?
Bourbon
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In the kitchen making elaborate meals
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Progressive Magazine
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That right-wing activists are stupid or crazy. I have interviewed neonazi leaders smarter than some MSNBC talking heads.
