What was your first job as a journalist?
A piece on Superman's TV history for The AV Club.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Oh, yes.
How is social media changing news?
It's democratized the reach of most outlets, even those that don't value fact-checking and other vital tenets of the free press.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Lois Lane. Maybe Spider Jerusalem of TRANSMETROPOLITAN.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means providing insights and clarity to subjects that people find fascinating, or important; a tool to sharpen my own understanding.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I'm not on Twitter, and I rarely followed hashtags when I was. So I can't say!
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email: jarrodwjones@gmail.com; jarrod@doomrocket.com
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google Docs, Pixlr, Wordpress -- whatever I need in the moment to get the job done, I'll use it.
What's your favorite social network?
Letterboxd.
Who do you wish followed you?
I don't really think about it, but I suppose I'd take it as a sign of professional progress if any number of actual film critics followed me.
Why did you become a journalist?
Better hours than virtually every single day job I ever had. Also, I like to write.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I didn't, but I did write for my elementary school newspaper. I wrote about field days and lunch and stuff.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
It's a sign of where I'm at intellectually, perhaps, but I'm most proud of my retrospective on SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES for The AV Club.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write. Especially when you don't want to.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time. I generally follow up within 24 hours.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Well, my TV editor at The AV Club once pitched me a "who'd win in a fight: Alligator Loki or Eagly from PEACEMAKER," and I could not say no.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
No comment.
What's your favorite drink?
Two fingers of Michters, with a backup of Topo Chico.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading a stack of comics at home. Maybe the movies.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Reveal, a film review Substack newsletter, by Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it lacks the stresses of a "real job."
