What was your first job as a journalist?
Freelance for local newspaper.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Of course.
How is social media changing news?
For the worst but it is what it is.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
William Gibson.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Everything. Nothing.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Anyway is fine.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
My laptop and my brain and my smartphone.
What's your favorite social network?
Facebook.
Who do you wish followed you?
I never wish for anything.
Why did you become a journalist?
To reveal truths and expose the deceivers and their financial patrons.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Sure. Sports editor and editorial writer. Wrote editorial for Nixon to resign.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My Harvard Political Review expose on cancer research written when I was a junior at Harvard.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Think like a whore and then say no.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Someone begged me.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Someone begged me.
What's your favorite drink?
Straight tequila.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Walking my pet wolf dog.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
PubMed.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That there is deliberativeness and thoughtfulness.
