What was your first job as a journalist?
When I was 8 for the local newspaper
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, I am that old
How is social media changing news?
News have to catch the audience within a fraction of a second, otherwise it gets no attention
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
No idea
What does it mean to be a journalist?
A connector between different realities
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
My Macbook, Apple Pages, LibraOffice
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn
Who do you wish followed you?
Why don't you ask who I wish who didn't follow me?
Why did you become a journalist?
Curiosity and stubbornness
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was politically active and wrote in national newspapers when I was in high school.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Topics that are close to my personal values and with people I honour and respect
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Do everything you are afraid of until it doesn't scare you anymore
When's the best time to pitch you?
How AI in education is destroying the next generations just like social media has made us more antisocial and lonely.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
There are many (fortunately) But I like those where I have the opportunity to thought-provoke people to reflect on their own lives
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I got a pitch in Russian and I don't speak a word of that beautiful language
What's your favorite drink?
Black Russian, and all the great wines
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On the beach, in the mountains, in a Michelin restaurant, onboard an aeroplane, in bed, at a cafe, on my bike
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker, Le Monde (French), New York Times, The Independent
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That humans are becoming obsolete because of AI, automation and deep learning. We become much more valuable
