What was your first job as a journalist?
A summer intern that never left, turned top-notch freelancer, before joining staff fulltime as sports editor. The rest is Hurley History!
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
It opens your work up to a world wide web-sized audience. I’ve had several features shared as close as Highland Avenue to far as Tokyo.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Carl Kolchak!
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To provide the who, what, where, when and whys so accurately, descriptively and effectively, that it puts the reader right there!
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email me!
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Everything and anything.
What's your favorite social network?
Not sure if I'd call them my favorites, but Facebook and Twitter seems to drive traffic, so why not?
Who do you wish followed you?
Thank you for following me if you do. I really don't care if you don't. I'm still writing killer stuff, regardless!
Why did you become a journalist?
Its something I was good at that I enjoyed. It also didn't seem like work. My friends still say I need to get a real job. I hope I never do.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, but I wrote about a dozen letters that appeared in the Boston Sunday Herald Fanfare section while in high school. Does that count?
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Feature on college athlete I covered in high school who was dealing with substance abuse issues. He trusted me enough to tell his story.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Don't limit yourself to just one beat. There's plenty of opportunity out there. Find your unique niche and clean house!
When's the best time to pitch you?
In the middle of the day, when I'm not sleeping and not on deadline.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
From a guy who invented the sport Prehistoric Paddle. It was a feature that wrote itself, and one that continues to follow me around today.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Ones that are are clearly agenda-driven, and if you dare question the motives, the pitcher blows up on you.
What's your favorite drink?
Coca-Cola!
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In a pressbox, a concert or a movie. Or sitting on a beach with a drink in my hand, and my toes in the sand.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Hockey and baseball scouting reports. Bios from the Complete Handbook of Hockey. Pop culture lists found in the People's Almanac.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That sports journalists don't work. Yeah, we may roll into the office around noon, but we usually don't finish till about midnight.
