What was your first job as a journalist?
Elevator operator.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Of course!
How is social media changing news?
Not for the better.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Sammy Glick. Not really a journalist.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Depends.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
idk
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
X
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Pencils. Pens. A computer.
What's your favorite social network?
my gf
Who do you wish followed you?
Thoreau.
Why did you become a journalist?
I never did decide. Just happened.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote about politics. Then, as now.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Wasteland, for Harper's.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read. Re-read. Write. Re-write.
When's the best time to pitch you?
When I'm holding a baseball bat.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Fastball down the middle.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Soviet Jewelry. Old joke.
What's your favorite drink?
Coffee. Black.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Yapping in front of a classroom.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
NYTimes.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'm a food writer.
