What was your first job as a journalist?
News writer
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Not really. I've always used computers since I started.
How is social media changing news?
First, it changes the way we get news. We get most news from social media now because it's always with us. Secondly, we get all types of news
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be a witness of history in the making.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
(I don't know if that's news-related).
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via e-mail
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
My phone, Word doc, Call Recorder, Google Docs, Grammarly, Canva, Audacity, Transcription services, phone book, online dictionaries etc.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Writer Edwidge Danticat.
Why did you become a journalist?
First, I wanted to be a writer (which I am today), and I discovered that journalism was a way for me to write every day, and tell new stories
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Not in high school but in college. I was a writer at The Reporter (Miami-Dade College) and PantherNow (Florida International University).
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The story of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s visit to Haiti.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
If you are curious, if you love writing, telling stories, making discoveries, recording history in the making, journalism is your calling.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime, but I'd prefer early in the work week.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
I had to follow Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie during their first visit to Haiti. Angelina was pregnant with her first child, and it was crazy.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
There was a time I was sent to report in a violent neighborhood in Port-au-Prince—and ended up getting beaten. I went there to cover the new.
What's your favorite drink?
Water
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Outside, walking in the park, breathing fresh air.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I read newspapers (Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Miami Times, NYT etc). I read magazines, books, news websites (Politico, the Atlantic etc)
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Some people think I am just having fun when I say I do Entertainment Reporting.
