What was your first job as a journalist?
Sports reporter.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
yes.
How is social media changing news?
for the worse.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
J. Jonah Jameson.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To tell stories honestly and accurately. And the comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. And to raise hell while doing so.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
email
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
anything I can comprehend,.
What's your favorite social network?
I tolerate Facebook and Twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
Whoever is looking for writers who know how to get the job done.
Why did you become a journalist?
All the President's men. Vin Scully.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote one story. It was a football preview. My adviser thought I plagiarized it. I didn't. I quit.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The oral history of OC Weekly
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
learn how to type faster.
When's the best time to pitch you?
anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
the one that paid.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
to write up a delivery route for someone who managed five water delivery people.
What's your favorite drink?
Modelo.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
thinking about what I should be doing on the computer.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
New York Times, The Atlantic, The Root.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I answer to anyone but myself.
