Joel Balsam
Verified
(He/Him)
As seen in:
MSN Deutschland,
Yahoo Life,
BBC,
BBC Travel,
Business Insider,
The Guardian,
TIME,
Yahoo Canada,
Yahoo News,
Aol
and
Covers:
Travel, culture, food, language, politics, tech
@LonelyPlanet author and freelance journalist @TIME @NatGeoTravel @AtlasObscura @GlobeandMail @BBC_Travel. Speak: 🇨🇦🇫🇷🇲🇽🇧🇷 he/him
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I worked as a photojournalist at The Low Down to Hull & Back, a scrappy weekly newspaper in a hippie town 45 mins north of where I grew up.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
While I'm often accused of being a hipster, I cannot say that I have.
How is social media changing news?
It's already changed. Now we have to adapt.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Ron Burgundy
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To ask questions and document for the greater good.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Writing about the man saving the largest venomous snakes in the Americas for TIME – one slithered dangerously close to the photographer!
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
With a personal touch that understands the types of topics and destinations I like to cover.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Keep it simple with my laptop, phone, notes app and occasionally my digital camera.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram, unfortunately.
Who do you wish followed you?
The guy from Subway Takes, Kareem Rahma.
Why did you become a journalist?
At the dinner table growing up, my dad would make outrageous claims about politics and the world. I had to find the truth.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I wrote a story challenging my high school's policy of breathalyzing students before dances. It landed me in the principal's office.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Writing about the man saving the largest venomous snakes in the Americas for Time
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Sure, it's a difficult career to get into, but ignore those who tell you it's impossible.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime!
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I love pitches with pitchable story ideas and access.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I hate it when my name is put in the subject line.
What's your favorite drink?
Scotch, though I rarely drink it.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Shopping at a local farmer's market, weighed down by far too many bags.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I dream the day when I have the time to read The Economist cover to cover every week.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That as a travel journalist I'm just on vacation all the time. In fact, I'm always "on" and take my journalistic ethics seriously.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.