James Barrett
Verified- Travel Writer, Freelance
- Travel Writer, Yahoo Creators
- None, Freelance, Yahoo Creators
- None, Freelance: HuffPost, Buzzfeed, Travel + Leisure, others
New Jersey
As seen in:
Yahoo Creators,
MSN,
MSN Australia,
MSN Canada,
MSN Money Canada,
MSN New Zealand,
Yahoo Life,
HuffPost,
MSN South Africa,
Yahoo Canada,
Yahoo News Malaysia
and
Covers:
Covering everything from travel, interviews, personal essays to lifestyle and entertainment.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I'm freelance so HuffPost the piece was on Alzheimer's about my grandmother so it's pretty sentimental to me.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes it's a whole different way of thinking when you write.
How is social media changing news?
It's saturating news. Everything serious is associated with a meme. Lady Gaga recently called social media the toilet bowl of the internet.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Zoe Barnes! (House of Cards)
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To tell a story that you can't read anywhere else.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
#FakeNews? Maybe?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Headline, subhead, description. No more than 3-4 sentences.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Voice recorder app, mac, and my brain.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram.
Who do you wish followed you?
Nicki Minaj
Why did you become a journalist?
To tell stories from a perspective that I wasn't reading about anywhere else.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes I was the graphics and reviews editor.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
"Alzheimer's Will Not Be How My Grandmother's American Dream Ends" because it helped a lot of people.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Continue to follow-up
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Just trying to sell a product that wasn't good.
What's your favorite drink?
Guinness.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
I'm either reading a book, at the gym, on a run, eating sushi, watching netflix, hanging with friends or playing with my nephew.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I love how fluff-free Refinery29 is.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That being a generalist is a bad thing.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.