What was your first job as a journalist?
Reporter for local daily newspaper in my hometown.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, many!
How is social media changing news?
Important stories pop up in unexpected places. Less experienced journalists gin up weak stories and overlook or miss the big story.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
J.J. Hunsecker. (Sweet Smell of Success, played by Burt Lancaster)
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To find and report the under-covered important story, or the fresh angle or overlooked backstory. To put news in context. Get it first.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google Drive, Google Search, RocketReach, Whitepages
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn
Who do you wish followed you?
Public officials, legal profession, public policy experts, investment executives, criminal justice reformers
Why did you become a journalist?
The assassination of JFK. I was 15 years old and nothing sounded anywhere near as exciting as reporting news as it happens.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes. I started it, wrote much of it, edited the rest.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
"The Man on Mao's Right," the memoir of a senior Chinese diplomat.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Find an editor you admire, try to get a job working with that editor, or failing that, find a mentor who will read your work and critique it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Afternoons
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Write a book about modern China through the eyes of one of its top diplomats.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Write a book for a conspiracy theorist.
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading the news on my smartphone. I'm a news junkie.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Political Wire, Time, The Hill, The Atlantic, Vox
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Cannabis is legal now, and safe to consume.
