Jon Fingas
Verified
(He/Him)
As seen in:
How-To Geek,
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Australia,
MSN Canada,
MSN UK,
Yahoo Entertainment,
Yahoo Life,
HuffPost,
MSN India,
Yahoo Canada
and
Covers:
Computing, gaming, mobile, wearables, politics, regulation, B2B, SaaS, cloud, AI, finance.
Doesn't Cover:
Very few.
Senior technology journalist. Former reporter at Engadget, Techopedia, Android Authority, AppleInsider and other fine outlets.
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Senior Editor at Electronista.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Only growing up at home!
How is social media changing news?
Social media is pushing news outlets to publish faster and include more audiovisual elements like video.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Peter Parker. He's doing his best to tell the truth about his alter-ego despite his editor's sensationalism!
What does it mean to be a journalist?
It means to report impactful news with accuracy, objectivity, and insights that make a real difference to readers.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
Probably #robopocalypse — any trend about the inevitable robot uprising has my vote.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email to my company address. Keep it short, reasonably professional, and teaser-free (i.e. name the company and product).
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
CMS systems like WordPress, RSS and social media monitoring for news, Adobe Creative Cloud, and project tools like Asana and Trello.
What's your favorite social network?
Instagram. I'm an avoid photographer, so an image-focused network helps me tell my story.
Who do you wish followed you?
Kara Swisher. An epic journalist who's not afraid to speak her mind.
Why did you become a journalist?
I love following emerging technology, and I learned that I was a good writer — merging the two was a logical move.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
I didn't work for my high school newspaper, unfortunately!
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I broke the news of BlackBerry's reaction to the iPhone years before it reached the book. It was a huge scoop early in my career.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Always look for the hidden context or unfamiliar angle. Tell a story that hasn't been heard before.
When's the best time to pitch you?
The mornings before 11AM ET, and the earlier the better.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The crowdfunded Ouya game console — it was an interesting subject, and I got to talk to design legend Yves Behar.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
A gamification startup that was not only off-topic, but pitched multiple times per week for several weeks.
What's your favorite drink?
A hazy Ontario IPA is a go-to with a hearty dinner.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading space and dinosaur books with my son.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Verge. It's not afraid to stick its neck out and make definitive statements on products or politics when called for.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That companies pay us to write positive coverage, especially reviews. Tech journalists still prize objectivity and ethical standards.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.