Brooke Staggs
As seen in:
MSN,
Flipboard,
Phys.org,
The Mercury News,
The Seattle Times,
Baltimore Sun,
Miami Herald,
The Denver Post,
Anaheim Bulletin (Anaheim, CA ),
Irvine World News: Orange County Register
and
Covers:
social justice, cannabis, politics, government, science, women's issues, profiles, education, travel, environment, business
Storyteller: ONT✈️ • Award-winning alum: @SoCalNewsGroup • Author: Stealing from the World's Best Schools • Teacher: @ChapmanU • Traveler: StaggsCrossing
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I was teaching English when the principal asked me to oversee the student paper. I learned along with my students, discovering my passion.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
The electronic kind throughout high school. When my college roommate offered to let me use her computer, I discovered a whole new world.
How is social media changing news?
We have unfiltered access to insight, sources and readers around the globe. Can breed laziness and errors or deeper, more informed work.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
It's a toss-up between Murphy Brown and Rory Gilmore. Or really, any woman who's portrayed as a serious journalist who never beds a source.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Journalists must help readers understand the world around them and assist them in making informed decisions. We also entertain on occasion.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email, phone, social media... Anyway that leads to an interesting and challenging assignment we can both be proud to share.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I'm a Mac girl, from my laptop to my phone. Internet junkie. Avid, Final Cut, Adobe and GarageBand for multimedia work.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter for news, Facebook for being social.
Who do you wish followed you?
Kristof. POTUS. Tina Fey. Didion. Amanpour. Tom Wolfe. Nancy Gibbs. John Stewart. NYT. LAT. Conan. Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Hillary.
Why did you become a journalist?
I'm addicted to learning. Journalism allows me to learn something new and better myself every day while helping my readers do the same.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
My small-town high school didn't have a newspaper at the time. Journalism wasn't on my radar yet. I was, however, in the backpacking club.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I waded through reams of results from my first records request to break a story of a city spending $95 million on a nonexistent power plant.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read, find mentors, have thick skin, avoid student loans, take chances, don't compromise, triple check everything, be an optimistic skeptic.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Now.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Somewhere I've never been
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
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