What was your first job as a journalist?
Copyeditor at City Paper
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes I love my typewriter, though I don't use it for work.
How is social media changing news?
I'm not sure it's changing news anymore, it's already changed it.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
April from Ninja Turtles
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To entertain and inform.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email. Please, only email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Mostly Google Docs, Otter, and Photoshop/Lightroom.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Author Ben Percy.
Why did you become a journalist?
It was the only way to actually make money writing
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, but I wrote some poems for our literary mag.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My story on Kerouac in Good Beer Hunting
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Be patient, you need practice to be good. And you need to be bad before you're good.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any day but Friday
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Hard to say.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I frequently get pitches about Minnesota that show a clear ignorance of the state.
What's your favorite drink?
A dry-hopped Italian pilsner
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
In my yard with my kids
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Welcome to Hellworld
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That every outlet wants to cover every beverage release.
