Brett Stevens
As seen in:
The Daily Caller
Covers:
politics, environmentalism, death metal, civilization collapse, pipe smoking
Realist: nihilism, conservationism and heavy metal.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Unpaid intern and coffee gofer. To be honest every minute was great.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Of course!
How is social media changing news?
Most people do not read most articles past the headline, picture, and half of the summary.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Phillip Marlowe impersonated a journalist once, I forget his name.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be a camera: you go out there, poke around until people threaten to kill you, then record what you saw and can learn.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
"Punting Babies" was a reference to a woman talking about Trump and what he would need to do to lose her support.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
One-liner about why people are interested.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Microsoft Office and Vim, mostly. A lot of custom Perl scripts.
What's your favorite social network?
The Fediverse of course. Freedom over convenience.
Who do you wish followed you?
Thirty million people.
Why did you become a journalist?
Journalists in an ideal sense serve a vital role in keeping people informed.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
For a brief period of time, I edited the sports section, which was almost a disaster because I know nothing about sports.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
"Hacker Metal," covering how old school hackers loved metal. This was pure fun.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Learn to tell a story and hint at what is still unknown.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Early morning, from the witching hour to dawn.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Want to write about a dead guy who isn't dead yet?"
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Any rambling directionless form letter material.
What's your favorite drink?
Water; there is never a bad time for it.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Wandering around the woods and bayous.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Wall Street Journal. Maybe The Atlantic. Sometimes Wired.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That people involved with politics believe in The System.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.