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David Chambers on Muck Rack

David Chambers

(He/Him)
Washington, D.C.
As seen in: Washington Examiner, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post Opinions, Taylor & Francis Online, Salon, Baltimore Sun, Court Watch with Alex Swoyer, C-SPAN, The Gazette (Colorado Springs), The American Conservative, The New Criterion and
Covers:  Soviet espionage in the US and Western Europe 1920s-1940s
Doesn't Cover: Try me
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Interview

What was your first job as a journalist?

Writer, then co-editor, then co-publisher for Gas Daily and Gas Weekly industry newsletters

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Isn't this a (trick) ageist question?

How is social media changing news?

Social media's free hand is ruining the essence of "News"

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

Ursula K. Le Guin

What does it mean to be a journalist?

To report as fully and honestly as possible for readers

What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?

Don't read news via #hashtag

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

Already answered (twice)

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Depends on the project

What's your favorite social network?

None

Who do you wish followed you?

People who find my work of interest

Why did you become a journalist?

I worked at UPI like my father (also UPI), his father (TIME), his father (magazine illustrator), his father (Philadelphia newspaper editor)

Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?

No

What story are you most proud of writing or working on?

As of today, proudest of original research in "Three works in search of new revelations on communist party USA history": https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0023656X.2024.2421334

What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?

Get published (these days, online) wherever, however you can

When's the best time to pitch you?

Any time

What's the best pitch you ever got?

See previous response about pitches

What's the worst pitch you ever got?

How can a pitch be bad?...

What's your favorite drink?

Jamaica

When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?

Too many possibilities to choose one here in response

Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?

Too many to count

What's the most common misperception about your beat?

A variety of inherited prejudices
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