What was your first job as a journalist?
Reporter at the Rutherglen Reformer in Glasgow.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Facebook is taking over and publishers better get used to it.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
The guy from Scoop.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
A good one? Telling stories without fear or favour.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
No standout one.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email first to tee me up. Then telephone.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Too many to mention here. Google "101 tools David Sawyer Zude".
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn.
Who do you wish followed you?
I don't.
Why did you become a journalist?
I became a journalist to get paid for writing. And become a better writer.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Sort of. Work experience at the Northwich Chronicle.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
A media campaign to raise awareness of a scheme to rid the North Sea of litter. It won an award from the United Nations.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read. Everything you can. Make it part of your daily routine. Devote time to it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I'm a sucker for people starting out in PR and wanting advice.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
An automated influencer email outreach with the XXX's where my name should have been.
What's your favorite drink?
Smoothie.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Running.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Changes all the time. Usually it's a blogger. The most reliably good is Neil Patel.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
It (PR) is all about media relations. Full stop.
