What was your first job as a journalist?
Editor/reporter at the Muskokan, a summer newspaper in Ontario's cottage country.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Makes it faster, also shallower with more opinion and less real facts and valuable analysis. Fractured coverage means lack of comprehension.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Don't have one.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be fair, honest, and reliable. To put complicated issues into understandable and digestible stories. To be courageous & bold, not reckless
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I have always preferred a solid email that includes details of the story and why my readers would be interested in it.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mostly still use a pen and paper but now lots of social media and image work as well. My laptop and phone are my trustiest companions.
What's your favorite social network?
Depends on what you're using it for. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks.
Who do you wish followed you?
.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I am a story teller and journalism lets you connect on a large scale and tell important stories.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We didn't have a high school paper but I was one of the yearbook editors.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My work on diversity in the legal profession.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Work hard, tell good stories, don't be lazy and don't just go for shock value.
When's the best time to pitch you?
A good pitch is valuable anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I don't have one that was that memorable
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Too many to count. Don't just say: I want to write for you.
What's your favorite drink?
Diet Coke
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In the kitchen.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New York Times. Smithsonian Magazine
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Can't think of one
