Charles Pekow
Verified
As seen in:
AXS,
The Hill,
Mongabay,
Truthout,
The Wire (India),
NewsBreak,
Washington Monthly,
Utility Dive,
Craft Beer,
Eco-Business
and
Covers:
alcohol, bicycling and alternative transportation, environmental issues, etc.
Doesn't Cover:
Don't do anniversary journalism. Don't write a lot of personality journalism or list journalism but will occasionally.
Independent journalist who covers outdoor recreation, government, the beer industry and whatever.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Interned at the Hyde Park Herald, a community newspaper in Chicago.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Grew up with them.
How is social media changing news?
The nine-second soundbite is turning into the 280-character tweet.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Howard Beale in Network. All too real.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means seekiing and finding the facts readers need to know and to get them thinking, even if it means ruffling feathers.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Don't pay attention to such things.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I have to do the pitching.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Not a great user of the latest gadgets. But I scour databases for story ideas, useful information and sources.
What's your favorite social network?
Only one I use is Facebook, but I can see the arguments against it.
Who do you wish followed you?
A lot of assigning editors.
Why did you become a journalist?
It was something my mind was equiped to do and is the most important profession for a free society. And it takes creativity.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was an editor of the paper, won several state and national journalism awards; wrote my first exposes.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Taking on subjects others are scared to report on or ignore. Got a bunch of stories; can't single out one.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Be ready for market changes.
When's the best time to pitch you?
No special time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Can't single one out.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I must have forgotten it.
What's your favorite drink?
my home-made smoothies
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Probably in bed. Or in the gym.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The iPad version of the Washington Post. It keeps me up to the minute and is about as balanced a source as is available.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I'm not there to promote anybody or anything.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.