What was your first job as a journalist?
The Great Neck Record
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Olivetti.
How is social media changing news?
Today's news is now divisible by minutes.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Elizabeth Gilbert
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Being a journalist means doing my best to translate what I see and hear into words to share.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Directly.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I use a fountain pen and paper. My brain works better.
What's your favorite social network?
twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
My children.
Why did you become a journalist?
I am curious about the world and the people in it. I want to write stories that help people understand who we are.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was the girls' sports reporter.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My travel piece on the Matanuska Glacier for The New York Times because I rode my motorcycle almost 5,000 miles to get there.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Keep writing.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time. I'm like a doctor, always on call.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Writing about how to date a millionaire.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Covering a school board meeting.
What's your favorite drink?
H2O
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On a bicycle, snowboard or boogey board.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
The Western Galilee is much more diverse than people realize.
