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Henry Giardina on Muck Rack

Henry Giardina

Verified
(He/they)
Covers:  Gender, Trans stuff, Feminism, culture, pop culture
walter winchell if he was gay and mentally ill

Interview

What was your first job as a journalist?

As Culture Editor at Bullett Magazine in 2010

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes

How is social media changing news?

It's putting greater emphasis on headlines

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

Hildy Johnson, in the Front Page

What does it mean to be a journalist?

It's different for everyone-- for me, it means writing about the long-forgotten things in history that no one seems to care about

What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?

Any of the ones relating to Harambe

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

Straightforwardly. One or two sentences tops.

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Microsoft word, hootsuite, excel

What's your favorite social network?

Instagram

Who do you wish followed you?

Stephen Fry

Why did you become a journalist?

I just sort of fell into it. I've been writing since I was a kid.

Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?

Yes. I wrote articles that would (usually) get cut for being too opinionated.

What story are you most proud of writing or working on?

A soon-to-be-published essay about my obsession with Joe Orton

What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?

Keep on plugging!

When's the best time to pitch you?

Whenever

What's the best pitch you ever got?

A straightforward one-liner about a TV show

What's the worst pitch you ever got?

A no-frills profile of the writer's friend

What's your favorite drink?

Alcoholic or non? For alcoholic: Dark and stormy. For not: coffee

When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?

Asleep in bed

Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?

The London Review of Books

What's the most common misperception about your beat?

That it's boring and navel-gazing. Perhaps it is to some, but not to me.

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