Jane Simon Ammeson
Verified
As seen in:
USA TODAY 10Best,
Bryan-College Station Eagle,
The Times of Northwest Indiana,
Sioux City Journal,
Indianapolis Monthly,
The Lineup,
Daily Journal (Franklin, IN),
Edible Michiana,
Meer,
The Anniston Star
and
Covers:
Food & Wine
Historic Travel
Architecture
Family travel
50 Plus
Soft Adventure
Europe
Mexico
U.S.
Events
Canada
Green travel
Foodways
Doesn't Cover:
Fast food restaurants
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
When I started my own newspaper at age 8.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes...I even got an electric typewriter for Christmas when I was a kid and loved it! My two career goals were to be Nancy Drew or a writer.
How is social media changing news?
Much more immediate. And it's immensely addictive.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Anthony Trollope, Katherine Brush, Attica Locke, Scott Turow.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
I don't think of myself as a journalist--those are the people who are dodging land mines or exposing political follies.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Phone calls, emails, talking to me over drinks at a party. Whatever--if it's a great idea just talk to me.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
HP Spectre, Ancestry.com, newspapers.com, New York Times Time Machine, newspaperarchives.com, Microsoft Office and I'm the Queen of Google
What's your favorite social network?
Any that I know how to use without committing any social faux pas.
Who do you wish followed you?
That's a long list...Paul Krugman, Gail Collins, Maureen Dowd--I love the way they can make everything humorous no matter how dire.
Why did you become a journalist?
Like I said, it was a career goal I set at age 8 and since I couldn't be Nancy Drew and tool around in a blue roadster, what else could I do?
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Gossip columnist
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I love my books on true crime, my stories on travel and food and people profiles about courage and heroism.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Just keep writing. Don't get discouraged. Just do it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime but 3 a.m.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Me? I don't get pitches? I make them.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Hey, it's like brainstorming...there are no bad pitches because you never know what might turn out to be more interesting than you thought.
What's your favorite drink?
A bold, dry red wine.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At the dinner table, at the pool, in my garden or kitchen or on the road. But I usually have my computer at all those places with me.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New York Times, WaPO, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, New York magazine, the Edible magazines
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's all glamour. That's only half true.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.