Jennifer Oliver O'Connell
As seen in:
RedState,
Color Research & Application,
MarketWatch,
Substack,
Patch,
Washington Times,
Townhall,
Ebay,
The Daily Wire,
The Federalist,
JD Supra
and
Covers:
politics, pop culture, community, faith, film, social media, new media, reinvention, yoga
Doesn't Cover:
financial
Write: asthegirlturns @SubstackInc-@RedState-@1819News. Visiting Fellow: @IWF. Retweets ≠ endorsements
#RepealAB5
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
New Expression newspaper in Chicago. I was 15.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Oh yeah! Very thankful for the computer age.
How is social media changing news?
Social media wants to monopolize, but the playing field continues to be leveled. People can find legit news thanks to alternative channels.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Howard Beale.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
A responsibility to tell the truth, to tell the story unfiltered, to engage your audience and inform them, rather than manipulate them.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email allows the sender to give detail and information that may get lost in person or that is not appropriate to leave on voicemail.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Slack, MS Word, Canva, Lexis-Nexis, Any search engine that's not tracking me, podcasts, anything that disseminates information.
What's your favorite social network?
Despite it being a dumpster fire and complicit in restricting free speech, Twitter is still the playground most frequented.
Who do you wish followed you?
I'm pretty happy that in the small space of time I spend on social media, some of the journalists and people I admire actually follow me.
Why did you become a journalist?
Insatiable curiosity, a fascination with people and their stories, a need to find answers, and a refusal to back down.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No. I worked for "New Expression", a teen-based newspaper in Chicago during High School. I was the College-Careers Editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Any story that gives good information, causes my audience to think, and moves someone to action is one that I am proud of writing.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Don't let anyone tell you what motivates you is not marketable. If you're passionate about it, and good at your craft, the rest will come.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Afternoons are good, because I'm fully into my day by that point. Since I prefer email pitches, you can do it any time. I'll read it.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
The kitchen, the kickboxing gym, my church, the garden, with my husband, with my dogs. I have a full life with much to occupy my time.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.