What was your first job as a journalist?
As an assistant at The Daily Telegraph I wrote stories on the side before I was hired as a full-time reporter.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes when I was a child my parents had one in the house as a hangover from the analogue era but I never did work on one for school thank god.
How is social media changing news?
More negative, more focus on clickbait than what is important, incredible journalist tool, widening audiences as an aggregator for readers
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Tin Tin.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To find the story, to find what's interesting, to find the heart of an issue, to connect with people, to be inquisitive, to ask questions.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I have more important things to remember in my life than long gone hashtags.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Anyway is good as long as it's an actual story and not an ad.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I use Apple Notes, Pages, Mail, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, an iPhone, a Macbook Air, a portable charger and a notepad and a pen.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram makes me the happiest, but Facebook is the most essential.
Who do you wish followed you?
Barrack Obama, then you'd really know you've made it in life.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I love writing, asking questions and talking to people.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Didn't have one.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Working on the Lindt Cafe Siege and it's aftermath in Sydney with the entire newsroom more or less, this was a very big story for Sydney.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Listen to experienced journalists, they have so much to offer. And learn how to write a killer lead.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
To find the pub with Sydney's coldest beer.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Something about bed sheets which had nothing to do with news.
What's your favorite drink?
Orange juice.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On Ipanema beach in Rio.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
National Geographic
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
For travel stories that you can simply write about your holiday like a blog or a journal, but there's more depth to it than that.
