What was your first job as a journalist?
Covering the 1968 presidential election in college.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. My mother made me take typing lessons in summer school when I was 13. I typed 85 wpm and kicked everyone's butt.
How is social media changing news?
It's dumped real news in with fake news and diluted our whole game.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Don't have one
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be curious enough about things you see that raise eyebrows for both you and others.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I don't read hashtags. They're B.S.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Send me something that speaks to either the pain or pleasure of the consumer. No studies w/o showing the impact on the consumer.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google Docs, Photoshop, a pen, a pencil, and pushing web searches until they push back.
What's your favorite social network?
I don't like social media -- at least not much.
Who do you wish followed you?
Tom Peters.
Why did you become a journalist?
I became a consumer journalist because a) my time
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I was the artist.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Finding fake OTC hearing aids on Amazon.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Put yourself in the reader's shoes.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Between 7 and 9 am Eastern
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The 12 phone
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A study about pet sweaters, I think.
What's your favorite drink?
Bourbon, straight, one cube
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In front of the TV.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
NY Times
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'll take anything related to it in the smallest of ways.
