What was your first job as a journalist?
Writing for electrek.co
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No.
How is social media changing news?
1. You can directly connect with authors and subjects much easier.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Dick Tracy
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To help people learn.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I am not funny...
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Hi content information on solar projects or hardware. Give me something to sink my brain into so I can talk about it well.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Google Sheets and Google Drive to write and organize.
What's your favorite social network?
Bluesky
Who do you wish followed you?
Writers who can turn technical excitement into broader public excitement. Lots of cool things happenning in renewables that need be shared.
Why did you become a journalist?
To help my business grow.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Writing and calculating how much corn based ethanol could turn into solar power electricity.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write about stuff you're interested in.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Later in the prior day, so I can write about it when I hit the computer at 7.30 AM.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
'Hey John, would you like to fly out to our solar power plant in Southern California for a hotel room and food and relax for a weekend?
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Was asked to speak at a natural gas seminar on a quarterly basis to show how gas would also lower emissions.
What's your favorite drink?
Black coffee or a beer
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On a bike
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Bloomberg
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I work 9-5 as a writer and can pay my bills off of it.
