What was your first job as a journalist?
Freelancing and not getting paid for the privilege
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes
How is social media changing news?
In many ways it has changed things for the worst. Sifting through fake news is a bigger problem now than it ever was.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Eddie Dunford from David Peace's 'Red Riding' quartet
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To strive for an objective truth, even whilst realising the impossibility of such a task
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
N/A
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Short and sweet
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
WordPress, Getty, RollingNews, Instagram, X, Facebook, Outlook, Word
What's your favorite social network?
X
Who do you wish followed you?
A patron of some kind so that I could be sponsored to write whatever I want
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I enjoy writing and still believe in it as a vocation
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Our high school did not have a newspaper
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I interviewed Irish novelist Kevin Barry last year following the publication of his fourth novel 'The Heart in Winter'
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Develop a thick skin
When's the best time to pitch you?
Mid-morning
What's the best pitch you ever got?
N/A
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
N/A
What's your favorite drink?
Guinness
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading a book
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New Yorker
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it is *always* interesting
