Jason Wert
Verified
As seen in:
Branson Tri-Lakes News,
EIN News,
NewsBreak,
WV News,
Victoria Advocate,
Longview News-Journal,
News-Press Now,
The Griffon News,
KPVI-TV (Pocatello, ID),
Water Online,
Blue Mountain Eagle
and
Covers:
Right now my beat is the city of Branson, Taney County government, Taney & Stone County crime, and state government news that directly impacts our region.
Doesn't Cover:
National and/or state news that does not have direct impact on our area. PLEASE do not send me emails about "national" guests. They MUST have a direct, NOT general, connection to our local area.
Journalist.Father.Christian.Drummer
"I never wanted to be famous. I wanted to be good." - Neil Peart
"Music is the closest thing we have to magic." - Tom Petty
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Articles for a small community paper in Shippensburg, PA while I was in high school
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I LOVE TYPEWRITERS. Especially old manual ones.
How is social media changing news?
It makes people less likely to demand truth...they just want their opinions echoed back rather than be challenged by facts.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Do The Lone Gunman count? If not, Ford Prefect.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means you're willing to put your own health, welfare and freedom on the line to keep those in power from abusing it.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
#llamageddon (It was when a group of llamas broke free from their pen and ran through a city streets.)
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Apple MacBook, Apple iPad, Apple iPhone...
What's your favorite social network?
Turning off my electronics and talking around the table while we share a meal.
Who do you wish followed you?
Jake Tapper.
Why did you become a journalist?
It's a way to take my Sheldon Cooper style obsession with facts and use them in a way to help people be better informed.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We didn't have one.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I produced a story on a man in Philadelphia being jailed for seven months without charge because he wouldn't decrypt a hard drive.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Expect to resign at some point because an editor wants you to slant the truth. Stand for truth always.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Via email any time.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Would you like 5 minutes with the President?"
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I was once pitched on doing a story about a radio station's client's wife who had just died.
What's your favorite drink?
Half lemonade/half iced tea.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Wait...you can be away from a computer?
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Wall Street Journal.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
We openly slant our work for a political agenda.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.