Ernie Smith
Verified
(He/Him)
- Editor, Tedium Newsletter
- Freelance Journalist, Freelance
As seen in:
Tedium Newsletter
Covers:
technology, pop culture, history, sociology, obscurity, nonprofits, associations, offbeat, industry news, B2B
Doesn't Cover:
News without a relevant hook to my content focuses.
Newsletter author, AI-free search enthusiast. Account is inactive unless my wife can’t log into Hulu.
Find me on Mastodon and Bluesky.
#udm14
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Temporary news designer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Not a bad first gig, right?
Have you ever used a typewriter?
In the 7th grade. We didn't get to use the Apple ][ until Grade 8.
How is social media changing news?
It's making us grumpier, while we look at things less critically. But it's also surfacing things that need to come to light.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Peter Sarsgaard playing Chuck Lane in Shattered Glass. I would kill for an editor like that.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Markdown, Markdown, Markdown. I will not use Word unless you twist my arm. I look for ways to automate wherever I can.
What's your favorite social network?
Tumblr is my all-time fave, with Twitter a close second.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
One of my earliest Tedium pieces, about Mirsky's Worst of the Web. I'd been wanting to tell that story for years.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Side projects are a good idea. Put that stuff on your resume. Use your side gigs to fill in the gaps.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I try to find my own pitches most of the time, but my heart goes aflutter when I find unusual associations to cover.
What's your favorite drink?
I heart coffee, but I heart Guinness nearly as much.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times always makes me feel like I'm learning something new. I also love what Priceonomics does, and Mental Floss inspires me.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I get a lot of PR pitches from folks who see that I covered a topic, without realizing I was really covering the narrow association angle.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.