Claire Wilson
As seen in:
Sourcing Journal,
The New York Times,
Yahoo Life,
The Wall Street Journal,
Yahoo News,
Footwear News,
Women's Wear Daily (WWD),
The Herald (Glasgow),
Crain's New York Business,
Mansion Global,
Commercial Observer
and
Covers:
Real estate, design, architecture, urban planning, retail, travel, marketing and so-called lifestyle topics which is a pretty big umbrella.
Doesn't Cover:
Finance, politics, girlie stuff.
Awesome writer just an email away! Native New Yorker, ex-Parisian, ex-Milanese, word geek, lover of good design.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I was a general assignment reporter at the Staten Island Advance, the Newhouse family's flagship publication.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Who, me?
How is social media changing news?
It lacks oversight which leads to bad info getting out there. Also, anyone can be a journalist without proper vetting/training.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Mary Richards
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It gives me entrèe to places and people I might not otherwise have access to and a way to tell the stories.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Can't say. Probably something to do with Trump.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I want a conversation that starts with a fully formed story idea and suggestions on where to pitch it. We can bang it out from there.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Word, facebook, gmail, google, twitter, instagram. The usual suspects.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
People I'd like to work for.
Why did you become a journalist?
I loved the idea of meeting different people, telling their stories and engaging the public, while disseminating useful information.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I was a reporter.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A profile I did of the chairman of Hermès for the New York Times. He allotted me an hour for the interview, gave me about eight.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn to write properly, don't use nouns as verbs (impact, advantage), and always, always check your facts. A hundred times if you have to.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime. I'm always looking for a great idea.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
One I didn't follow up on because I was living out of the country: the story that was made into Meryl Streep's Music of the Heart.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I get a lot of bad pitches.
What's your favorite drink?
Anything from Burgundy: Puligny-Montrachet, grand cru Chablis, Meurseult, Aloxe-Corton or Romanée-Conti. Depends on the menu, ne c'est pas?
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Watching a news broadcast or food shopping. I like to cook.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times and the New Yorker.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That design is elitist.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.