David Dodge
Verified
As seen in:
Green Energy Futures,
Apple Podcasts,
LinkedIn,
O Globo,
UOL,
Estadão,
The Times of India,
USA Today,
Yahoo News,
Clarín (Argentina),
La Nación (Argentina)
and
Covers:
Cleantech, green energy, green buildings, energy, solar, wind, geothermal, electric vehicles, net-zero buildings, biomass, biogas, biodiesel, industrial symbiosis, entrepreneurs, and climate change.
Doesn't Cover:
Anything other than cleantech, clean energy, green buildings, electric vehicles, green energy technologies.
Producer of www.GreenEnergyFutures.ca - How to Thrive in the Net-Zero Economy
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Photojournalist for the St. Albert Gazette in 1981.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, IBM Selectric.
How is social media changing news?
Good news: It's democratizing news; bad news: it's empowering purveyors of "fake news" - not the kind Trump talks about, but real fake news.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
My favorite recent fictional journalist is David Chernushenko, author of "Burning Souls."
What does it mean to be a journalist?
I was working on a Forestry degree when I secured my first job as a photojournalist and journalist–I was swept away by journalism.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
No funny hashtags.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Final Cut X, Capto, OneNote, WordPress, YouTube, much more and Headliner, cool software for creating visual podcasts.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook because we reach a more diverse audience there. And if it counts, then YouTube. Subscribers are great, once you finally get some.
Who do you wish followed you?
Elon Musk, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, any provincial Premier –– as many political leaders as possible!
Why did you become a journalist?
1981 at the St. Albert Gazette, while still attending university.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Started a high school radio club at Eastglen Composite High School in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Canada's first net-zero church and social housing project. Save the church, save the school and power it with solar energy.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Believe in what you do, do it well, carve out your niche over time and love what you are doing and don't fret the small stuff.
When's the best time to pitch you?
There is no best time, we receive pitches every day, but because our we are so specialized in our niche, pitches are often way too fluffy.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
From Derek Leahey of Rural Routes to Climate Change. He called for advice about a podcast and we wound up co-producing a few podcasts.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
No worst pitch, just pitches that have obviously not read a thing we have published before.
What's your favorite drink?
Beer, a good, dark, brown beer.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Mountains, lake, yard or doing construction projects around the home.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
CBC Radio, and then various online conventional and unconventional writers and publications.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
There is a rich mythology surrounding green energy, we love spending time addressing the myths head-on.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.