What was your first job as a journalist?
Editorial assistant typing announcements (in AP style) at age 17, wax girl at a publishing company, reporter.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
What are you trying to do, carbon date me?
How is social media changing news?
It's challenging to fill the gaping maw of anxious consumers while staying true to what works, and much of the old way does.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
She hasn't been created yet.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To bear witness.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email by people who've done the research to ensure they're pitching the right person.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mac and PC, Adobe Creative Suite (Premiere, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), iPod Touch, Wordpress to name a few.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
Viola Davis because she's talented, smart and conscious, and would know what to do with the information I put out into the world.
Why did you become a journalist?
To see and hear those who aren't because their humanity matters and is key to this whole thing working.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I wrote, edited, took photos and argued incessantly with the advisor. Will somebody tell her I'm a success?!
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I'm most proud of The Real Motherhood package I curated for Prospect.org. Also, the story I wrote that saved a life.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Prepare for a life of serial mastery. Technology is your friend. Your craft is not perfect but in a constant state of perfecting.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Whenever.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A book about perimenopause. It started a whole thing.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Any organization randomly calling about our "holiday gift guide" in July.
What's your favorite drink?
Vodka lemonade.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In front of some other type of screen, TV maybe.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
If I say, my friends in the business will be offended. So I'll stay mum.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
N/A
