Junae Benne
(She/Her)
As seen in:
Medium,
MSN,
Substack,
Tom's Hardware,
PC Gamer,
Yahoo,
Laptop Mag,
NewsBreak,
Games Press,
Black Girl Nerds
and
Covers:
gaming, streaming, technology, esports, Black women in gaming, video game culture
Helping devs & brands get visibility, featured in press & communities
Bylines: @WIRED @TomsHardware @NBC
#WomenInGaming
Biz: junaebenne at g mail (dot) com
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
I was a journalist at Northern Illinois University's newspaper, Northern Star
How is social media changing news?
For better or worse, a lot of ideas are being shared. Therefore, many people can weigh in on topics and hopefully learn and share knowledge
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Kermit the Frog, Kent Brockman, and Lois Lane.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Emails
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Grammarly, Canva, Google, Microsoft Office, and a little bit of Adobe Suite.
What's your favorite social network?
Discord
Who do you wish followed you?
Issa Rae, Childish Gambino, and Spice
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
Jamaica Is a Tech Desert. Gamers Make It Work Anyway
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Write, write, write and listen to the people. See what they like and what they're talking about. And try to view things differently.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime. I'm good about checking my email.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Hiking or by some water. Otherwise right at my desk, playing video games.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
It's easy to write about gaming and esports. They're industries, so the complexities are still there.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.