Gary Warner
Verified- State Political Reporter, eomediagroup.com
- Pacific Northwest Reporter, Stars and Stripes
Pacific Northwest
As seen in:
Stars and Stripes,
The New York Times,
Flipboard,
The Seattle Times,
Military.com,
The Oregonian,
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orange County Register,
Anchorage Daily News,
Dayton Daily News,
Government Technology
and
Covers:
Military, defense industries, breaking news, the impact of politics on the military, history and travel.
Doesn't Cover:
While I will write on topics where military and business intersect, I don't write about specific industries, products or businesses.
Pacific Northwest reporter for Stars and Stripes as of August 2023. Former Pittsburgh Press, OC Register, EO Media Group.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Covering Pennsylvania politics in Harrisburg for the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, then going to the Pittsburgh Press ASAP.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I took typing in jr. high. I was in the last Columbia J-School class taught on typewriters. I owned a great blue IBM Selectric
How is social media changing news?
Destroyed it, then erased the idea of even trying for objectivity. Creating a maelstrom of angry noise in its place.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Cameron Foster, the editor played by Bill Nighy in the British version of "State of Play."
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Curry no favor. Tell no lies. Fabricate nothing. Take no freebies beyond a drink or sandwich. Reporting is the best way to good writing.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
No - I have more ideas than time and its rare that something a PR person has to pitch is going to break into that logjam.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Snip
What's your favorite social network?
None. They have all ruined human discourse and turned once mute assholes into assholes with trumpets.
Who do you wish followed you?
Good fortune, Kindness, Health, Contentment
Why did you become a journalist?
To travel, talk to anybody I wanted to talk to, ask questions, sometimes fix wrongs and always to write, write, write.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, but I was editor of the yearbook in junior high.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Writing travel instead of tourism. Hard features disguised as Sunday travel pieces.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write for the love of writing. You won't make money anymore. You won't have stability anymore. You won't have bosses with ethics very often.
When's the best time to pitch you?
I was going to say never. But really, I guess beginning of the week, by email and please don't query twice. I know everyone has a job to do.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A waist-high breaking ball that didn't break. Smacking the living hell out of the thing. No feeling like it.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Many all expense-paid trips. I always said no. You are a slave if you say yes and a liar to your readers.
What's your favorite drink?
The tray of three small martinis - gin, dry - at Harry's Bar in Venice.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
If it is spring, summer or fall, I would be watching baseball at the nearest ballpark - minors or majors.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker. Their best articles immerse me in something completely out of the realm of my usual interests. For news, The Guardian UK.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Two: That I am looking for dirt on the military. Or that I will disregard dirt I see.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.