How is social media changing news?
Social media has upped the demand for fallacy, and dampened demand for facts.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Karla Kolumna, friend of Benjamin the Elephant in "Benjamin Blümchen"
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To check power, tell the truth, evaluate our own biases and prejudices.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
In order to answer this I had to Google "". I still don't know what it is.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I prefer sources to approach me in the following manner: *by email, *keep in mind who, what, why, where, when, how this story matters.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Books, journals, Google Scholar, former IMF staffers, Balkan Insight, Novaya Gazeta, alcohol.
What's your favorite social network?
I have Twitter and know no others. So Twitter, I think.
Who do you wish followed you?
I think you are referring to Twitter. I will provide a better answer when I understand it.
Why did you become a journalist?
First, I read Ryszard Kapuściński's "Imperium". Then, I heard the late Anna Politkovskaya speak. These events had a great impact upon me.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I don't recall our having a high school newspaper in Soviet days.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
There are many, most written for financial periodicals like the WSJ in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
You are entering a profession which requires you to tell the truth. Remember that telling the truth makes you neither popular nor wealthy.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Early in the morning or late at night (CET)
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Any release sent by either Turkmenistan or Belarus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What's your favorite drink?
Assam (am), Lapsang (11ses), Lady Grey (afternoon), Pinot (PM, if not childminding).
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At my allotment, at a conference, seeing friends, on television (against my will) in Moldova, where President Dodon doesn't like me...
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I like to read Novaya Gazeta/Новая газета, The Economist, Der Spiegel, Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung or The New Yorker, generally.
