Jennifer Berry Hawes
Verified
(She/Her)
As seen in:
ProPublica,
Post and Courier
Covers:
You name it, I'll write about it.
South reporter at ProPublica, Pulitzer Prize team winner & finalist, wrote "Grace Will Lead Us Home" about the Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, SC
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
It was stringing for my local biweekly newspaper outside Chicago covering the school district I'd just graduated from.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I learned to type on one in middle school!
How is social media changing news?
It gives people access to a LOT of false information that can appear just as reliable as legit news outlets' stories.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Stephen Colbert
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means to tell important, factual, interesting stories.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Who can keep up?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
By email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google docs runs my life.
What's your favorite social network?
Ugh, Twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
David Grann, Patrick Radden Keefe, Eli Saslow
Why did you become a journalist?
I loved writing and asking people questions that aren't suited to general dinner conversation.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, I didn't discover journalism until college.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
That's hard. The Emanuel AME Church shooting, "Till Death Do Us Part," and "Minimally Adequate" about SC's education disparities.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
For me, the best training was doing it. Find as much journalism work as you can -- internships, freelancing, you name it.
When's the best time to pitch you?
mornings, by email
What's the best pitch you ever got?
When Albert Lee, a book agent in NY, called to say that I should consider crafting a book proposal about the Emanuel AME Church shooting.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
If it has to do with dog care in Arkansas, you're probably wasting my time (and yours).
What's your favorite drink?
coffee
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading, spending time with my family or running at a local park. Currently trying without success to avoid Twitter.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
NYT and Washington Post
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That journalists just make things up.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.