What was your first job as a journalist?
Reporter at the Long Island Herald.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I love my Smith-Corona Classic 12.
How is social media changing news?
Bits and pieces now fill us up.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
April O'Neil, Spider Jerusalem, Kermit the Frog, and Ben Urich are tied.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To tell, with eloquence, honesty, and prudence, the truths that humans need to most effectively live in the world they happen to inhabit.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Hashtags aren't funny.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Drupal, HTML, lots of Google stuff.
What's your favorite social network?
I don't know. What's your favorite evil?
Who do you wish followed you?
Any A-list features editor who can't wait to work with me.
Why did you become a journalist?
I believe in freedom of information, and I'm good at it, god help me.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Writer, half-heartedly. Won 1st Place in a journalism contest, but I forget what for.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My answer changes daily.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write about everything. Read about even more.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Afternoons, and preferably not on the weekend.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Usually those pitches just aren't pitches, but a bunch of ideas in an email that takes me three minutes to read before my eyes glaze over.
What's your favorite drink?
I actively eschew favorites, but I love smoky and sour tastes. Anything too sweet I prefer to avoid.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Physically speaking? In my body. Metaphysically speaking? No comment.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I read Bon Appetit cover to cover with regularity. I love meaty features most, though, so pick a hibrow consumer mag and I probably love it.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That it's not widely culturally significant.
