What was your first job as a journalist?
Interned as a sports reporter for the now defunct Peninsula Times Tribune in Palo Alto, California.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Learned on a Smith & Corona typewriter. Colleagues tell me I type on keyboards WAY too loud because of it!
How is social media changing news?
Unfortunately, it's taking us further and further from objectivity and undermining journalistic credibility IMHO.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Tucker Carlson. Though maybe not a favorite. Just a fictional journalist.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Being infinitely curious. In constant search of the freshest angles. And loving the experience of speaking to all sorts of personalities.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
PC. Office365. Zoom. My Brain. Great editors and sources. Though not necessarily in that order.
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn.
Who do you wish followed you?
My amazing wife. She's such a leader I think I'm always following her.
Why did you become a journalist?
I've been writing - and loving it - since I was a kid. Saw it as a steppingstone to becoming a novelist. One day maybe.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yep. Too long ago to remember what I did.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A story about garbage being dumped in an immigrant neighborhood. Because it was on the county/city line, nobody was cleaning it.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Live the basics. Truth. Objectivity. Verification of facts. Multi-sourcing. Time hooks. Explaining impact for readers. Avoid half-assing it!
When's the best time to pitch you?
I'm on Pacific Time so those daylight hours are good.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A tech company was releasing a new motherboard. Sent pieces of it in the mail each day with instructions on the last day for how to assemble.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Someone sent me a birthday cake to pitch the opening of a local bank. Good cake. Couldn't care less about the bank opening.
What's your favorite drink?
Cabernet Sauvignon
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Playing poker.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
NYT.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
NA.
