What was your first job as a journalist?
Producer at KVVU Las Vegas
Have you ever used a typewriter?
For work? No. For fun? Yes but I was 6 and it was in my grandparents' basement.
How is social media changing news?
It puts a lot of pressure on journalists to conform to the wants of the amorphous blob of the internet.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Am I giving away my consumption habits if I say Rory Gilmore?
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To me it's arming the public with information to be an informed consumer.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
anything that is multiple words and long.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
When its someone that understands my beat. I work in the world of evergreen, long form stories, a lot of the pitches I get are not that.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Premiere Pro mostly...oh and Google Docs
What's your favorite social network?
Personally Instagram but Professionally YouTube. YouTube is the modern day library of Alexandria and I stand by that.
Who do you wish followed you?
The McElroy brothers. I started in this field because I was a fan of Polygon and wanted to be a video game journalist.
Why did you become a journalist?
I wanted to work for IGN or Polygon. I loved watching their YouTube channels and thought it looked like fun.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We were too small to have a high school newspaper. I was the editor of my school's yearbook Junior, senior year.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I really loved my Grocery Store data collection piece as well as my YouTube vs. Netflix piece
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
If you have a college newspaper or student station get your butt in there. Volunteer, practice editing, network. Hard skills are everything.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Right after I publish a piece.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I got a pitch for a DTC coffin company which I thought was very funny and actually inspired me to do a DTC story (not about coffins)
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I got a pitch for a jello shot company saying 'a game you could play with friends' was drinking them until you couldn't (alcohol poisoning)
What's your favorite drink?
Non-alcoholic? Hot apple cider Alcoholic? Malbec
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Either reading or playing Xbox.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I read USAToday daily. Just an easy way to download a lot of information from across the country. I also like the New Yorker.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
To be frank, people think financial journalism is boring. I would say it is dense, but not boring. Learning the lingo is half the battle.
