What was your first job as a journalist?
I was a market reporter for a trade journal.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I used a typewriter to write my earliest fiction and nonfiction pieces. I was leery of computers, fearing my work might vanish in a e-mishap
How is social media changing news?
Faster. Dumber. Shorter.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Carl Kolchak.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To find and share the stories that need to be told.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Hashtags, are a strange place to look for humor.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
The stories I like begin with supporting documentation.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I keep things simple. A voice recorder when necessary, voice to text as available for transcriptions.
What's your favorite social network?
I find Twitter best for news, and reluctantly rely on Facebook for its ease of reaching social contacts.
Who do you wish followed you?
Bill Gates.
Why did you become a journalist?
To find answers for questions no one else was asking.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, but I took the class, and had friends on the paper. I wanted them to cover the scandals, but the paper didn't print real news.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My years of research on the Cash-Landrum UFO story.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Get independent verifications and do our own research. If you get a press release or its equivalent, don't use it as the basis for a story.
When's the best time to pitch you?
After coffee.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Not so much a pitch as an offer. Write anything you like.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Have you ever thought about?
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee. Black.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Working or playing outside. Or asleep.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Saucer News.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's simple, and that you must either be a believer or a denier.
