Grant Balfour
As seen in:
Yahoo Sports Canada,
Miami Herald,
The Miami Times,
Biscayne Times,
Porthole Cruise Magazine
Covers:
Travel -- including luxury cruising and expeditions to remote ports of call -- encompassing food, drink, fashion, history, art, culture, gemology, science, technology, and marine biology.
Not too bad.
@grantimatter.bsky.social
@grantimatter@mstdn.social
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
My first job was filing Palm Beach clips for my father, who'd been a freelancer for ages. I was in middle school.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes. I also play cylinders on an Edison Standard phonograph.
How is social media changing news?
Social media is making it possible for anyone to become a reporter, "one who reports." The problem: fact-checking and perspective is fading.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Well, my first thought was Hunter S. Thompson, who created himself. But I have a lot of time for Billy Batson, junior radio reporter.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
A journalist captures moments and reveals their meaning.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
More than one sentence, less than 600 words. "I was just visiting X, and there was a thing there that made me think of Y. Turns out, it's..."
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mostly, my memory and my extensive web of friends and colleagues who do interesting things.
What's your favorite social network?
Honestly, I miss the heyday of forums before Facebook came along and spoiled the fun. I spend more time on Twitter and Reddit than the others
Who do you wish followed you?
Followed? Too much pressure. But was delighted when @GreatDismal retweeted me once.
Why did you become a journalist?
I had thoughts of becoming an English professor, but opted to follow my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather into this bizarre trade.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
To the best of my knowledge, neither of my high schools had a newspaper.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I'm quite glad I was able to help boost the profile of Hurtigruten's low- or zero-emissions hybrid polar expedition ships. That's the future
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
You only own what cannot be lost in a shipwreck.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Just email. Let me read it when I'm ready.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The most memorable were hilariously bad (no more nude beaches, thanks-and no pix!). The best assignment I made was on Italian marquetry.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
As mentioned in a previous question, there was one - more than one, really - about nude beaches. It included photographs of the author.
What's your favorite drink?
If I can't have a decent cup of tea, then cool water. I mix an excellent alabazam, though.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Either out back with a shovel and something in a pot, or persuading loved ones that it's perfectly safe to get on this thing that floats.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I quite enjoy Nature, and often find myself sharing stories from Aeon.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Honestly, it's that you have to set aside something that intrigues you in order to sell the shiny thing that you think the reader wants.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.